Chen Dong - ＂Oriental Aesthetics · Echoes Across the World: A Role Model for Cultural Export＂
Chen Dong
Born in Xiangtan, Hunan Province in 1968, Chen Dong has devoted himself to artistic research for thirty years. He graduated from the Chinese Academy of Arts in 2007, and has since resided and created intensively in Beijing Songzhuang Art Zone and Dongying Art District. Currently, he serves as Director of the French International Artists & Designers Association.
As a contemporary artist rooted in Chinese cultural heritage with a global vision, he delves deep into the ancient Chu shamanic civilizations of Hunan-Hubei regions and established an independent artistic system centered on spiritual resonance and superconscious meditation. He stands as an iconic figure bridging Chinese contemporary art with the world and facilitating inter-civilization dialogue.
Artist Statement
The profound shamanic culture of the Chu land holds a belief that all living things possess souls and communication between humans and divinities is attainable. This ancient spiritual origin constitutes the spiritual source of all my creations. Within a globalized artistic context, I regard painting as a spiritual passage that guides intuitive insight into the secret realm of the superconscious.
I abandon premeditated composition and artificial design. Creating in a meditative, concentrated state, I follow my intuition with brushstrokes and allow the energy of the subconscious to flow naturally onto the canvas.
I always respect the inherent spirituality of materials. On canvas, ink, acrylic and glue interpenetrate, repel and coagulate with one another. Glue layers block the spread of ink, while ink carves new paths amid resistance. The interplay between the two generates one-of-a-kind natural textures, through which the intangible superconscious spirit manifests tangibly. Ink and colored ink on rice paper deliver soft, misty diffused textures; faint ink traces represent the purest breath of life at the awakening of spiritual intuition.
*Mask · Enlightened One in Meditation*
Ink, acrylic and mixed media on canvas
90 × 60 cm, 2010
*Mask · Chinese Landscape*
Ink, acrylic and mixed media on canvas
100 × 80 cm, 2008
*Meditation · Buddhist Verses*
Ink and acrylic on canvas
50 × 60 cm, 2009
Core Creative Vein
My artistic journey began with mixed-media oil painting experiments exhibited at the National Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition in my early years, during which I continuously explored the integration of Western canvas medium and Eastern spirituality. After settling in Songzhuang, I formally shifted to ink-glue mixed-media creation on canvas:
The Meditation Series uses wool brushes with forceful, rhythmic strokes to freeze superconscious visions attained during deep meditation;
The Mask Series forms the academic backbone of my entire artistic system, constructing a spiritual space for human-divine resonance at the hazy boundary between reality and primordial chaos;
The Shadow Series and Rhythmic Hues Series return to rice paper ink painting, using flowing ink tones to record the fluctuations of inner spiritual intuition.
My body of work advances layer upon layer, completing a full evolution from material experimentation to the establishment of a complete spiritual artistic system.
*Chu Shaman · Meditation*
Ink and acrylic on canvas
50 × 60 cm, 2026
*Sanxingdui · Meditation*
Ink and acrylic on canvas
50 × 60 cm, 2026
*Age of Shennong · Meditation*
Ink and acrylic on canvas
50 × 60 cm, 2026
Key International Exhibitions
1. Top Global Prestigious Venues
2023 International Art Exhibition Temperature, Louvre Museum, France
2017 Nominated Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Artists, 57th Venice Biennale. His representative work Meditation on the Classic of Mountains and Seas No.117 was broadcast on large screens worldwide; awarded Outstanding Artist of the China-Austria Art Exchange Program
2022 The 5th Fukuoka Asian Art Biennale, Japan, winner of the Fukuoka Mayor’s Award
2. European & American International Tour Exhibitions & Projects
2015 Curated large-scale contemporary performance art Land Reclamation Plan. Awarded Group Gold Medal and the honor of World Peace Art Ambassador at France World Peace Art Ceremony
2010 Solo exhibition of the Meditation Series at Galleria Tartaglia, Rome, Italy, featured in a special report by Roma TV. The Mask Series launched the international touring exhibition of American Neo-Wild Art
2007 Group exhibition of multi-national contemporary artists across Berlin, Germany, followed by a European tour
3. Early Foundational Domestic Exhibition
2001 Mixed-media oil painting selected for the national landmark exhibition National Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition
*Shadow · Meditation on the Classic of Mountains and Seas No.117*
Ink on rice paper
79 × 107 cm, 2016
Authoritative Academic Comments
Yang Wei, Secretary-General of Annual Conference of Chinese Contemporary Art Critics
Rooted in the primal spiritual lineage of Chu shamanism, Chen Dong has constructed a complete superconscious artistic system. He has elevated the integration of Chinese and Western art beyond superficial formal collage, achieving a historic breakthrough of shared spiritual insight and unified superconscious core, with his paintings perpetually retaining a subtle, distant aura of ambiguous separation.
Xia Kejun, Professor of Art, Renmin University of China
The Mask Series wanders between reality and the primordial chaotic realm of the superconscious, pioneering an exclusive spiritual dimension belonging to Chinese civilization. The unique thin, translucent texture of the works forms an Eastern artistic conception of void and solid coexisting, possessing irreplaceable academic innovative value that stands unique in contemporary art.
Geng Jie, Special Envoy of LABA International Biennale
Chen Dong’s superconscious meditation art strikes the universal spiritual yearnings shared by all mankind. He profoundly integrates ancient Chu shamanic spiritual totems with contemporary mixed media, forming an Eastern spiritual art paradigm rooted in Chinese cultural origins that resonates with collectors across the globe.
*Shadow · Classic of Mountains and Seas · Shao Music*
Ink and colored ink on rice paper
82 × 53 cm, 2019
*Rhythmic Hues · Dream of Divine Land I*
Colored ink on rice paper
52 × 85 cm, 2023
International Media Coverage & Cultural Outreach
A core artist promoted for Chinese cultural global communication by the Boao Forum for Asia, Chen Dong received an exclusive in-depth feature interview in the column Inheriting the Ancient, Creating the Contemporary published by Minsheng Weekly under People’s Daily Press. Over a dozen representative works featuring spiritual superconscious aesthetics have been published on official overseas platforms including Time and The Wall Street Journal. Leveraging global mainstream Western media channels, he propagates the Eastern spiritual aesthetic derived from Chu shamanic culture worldwide, serving as a vital bridge for dialogue between Eastern and Western contemporary spiritual art.
*Standing Sages*
Mixed-media oil painting
100 × 80 cm, 2003
*Rhythmic Colors · Dream of China No.1*
Colored ink on rice paper
52 × 85 cm, 2023
Core Artistic Value
Uniqueness in Spiritual Creation
Thirty years of dedicated research into Chu shamanic spiritual lineage and superconscious mysticism fills the academic gap of indigenous Chinese primal spiritual aesthetics within global contemporary art.
Original Artistic Language
Four exclusive proprietary techniques – glue washing, layered masking, shadow ink painting and accumulated color application, paired with the delicate translucent visual construction of the Mask Series, forge an irreproducible exclusive visual symbol for the School of Primordial Chaos – Shamanic Ink Painting.
Cross-Cultural Global Compatibility
Exhibited repeatedly at landmark international platforms including the Venice Biennale, the Louvre and top Asian biennales, the spiritual core of his art aligns with the mainstream inward spiritual exploration trend in European and American contemporary art, readily striking a chord with overseas academia and collectors.
Diversified Industrial Application Potential
The spiritual totems, primordial chaotic landscapes and meditative ink textures of his works can be seamlessly adapted for digital collectibles, cultural creative IP, real estate art exhibitions and cultural tourism development, balancing rigorous academic standing with broad commercial and industrial application prospects.
*Rhythmic Hues · Dream of Divine Land II*
Colored ink on rice paper
52 × 85 cm, 2023
陈栋 Chen Dong
1968年生于湖南湘潭，深耕艺术求索三十载，2007年毕业于中国艺术研究院。此后常驻北京宋庄、东营艺术区潜心创作，现任法国国际艺术家与设计师协会理事。作为立足华夏本土文脉、面向全球的当代艺术家，他深挖湖湘楚巫上古文明，构建起以灵犀交感为入口、超意识冥想为内核的独立艺术体系，是当下中国当代艺术走向世界、实现文明互鉴的标杆人物。
创作自述
楚地源远流长的巫性文明，信奉万物有灵、人神交感，这一上古灵性根脉，构成我全部创作的精神源头。在全球化艺术语境之下，我把绘画打造为灵犀通往超意识秘境的精神通道。创作摒弃预设构图与人为设计，以冥想入定的状态跟随直觉落笔，任由潜意识能量自然流淌于画面之上。
我始终尊重材料本身的灵性。画布之上，墨、丙烯与胶质相互渗透、排斥、凝结，胶层阻隔墨色流淌，墨色又在阻力间自由生长，二者博弈形成独一无二的自然肌理，让无形的超意识精神自动显形。宣纸水墨与彩墨则呈现出氤氲晕散的柔软质感，浅浅墨痕，正是灵犀初醒时最纯粹的生命呼吸。
历经三十年打磨，我独创冲胶、蒙隔、影墨、积彩四大技法，不为炫技，只为捕捉转瞬即逝的灵性瞬间。尤其是《蒙系列》依托半透隔层营造出若即若离的微妙心态与虚薄意境，完美诠释东方美学虚实相生的哲学境界。每一幅作品都是一座当代精神祭坛，接续上古先民通天通灵的古老智慧，回应现代人普遍的精神空虚。我的创作绝非简单复刻远古图腾，而是用综合材料的当代视觉语言，让中断千年的东方神秘主义文脉，在当下重新焕发生命力，由此创立“巫水墨·鸿蒙派”。
核心创作脉络
从早年《中国油画大展》的综合材料油画实验起步，我持续探索西方画布与东方精神的融合路径。定居宋庄之后，正式转向布面墨胶综合创作：
《冥想系列》以羊毛刷顿挫运笔，定格入定状态下的超意识图景；
《蒙系列》成为整套体系的学术支柱，在虚实鸿蒙边界搭建人神交感的灵性空间；
《影系列》《律彩系列》回归宣纸水墨，以流动墨色记录内心灵犀的起伏波动。
整套创作层层递进，完成了从材质实验到精神体系建立的完整蜕变。
重要国际展览
1. 全球顶级殿堂展
2023 法国卢浮宫国际艺术展《温度》
2017 第57届威尼斯双年展中国当代艺术家提名展，代表作《山海经冥想117》全球大屏巡播；获评中奥艺术互访优秀艺术家
2022 第五届日本福冈亚洲艺术双年展，斩获福冈市长奖
2. 欧美国际巡展与项目
2015 策划大型当代行为艺术《填海计划》，斩获法国世界和平艺术盛典群体金奖、世界和平艺术使者荣誉
2010 《冥想系列》亮相意大利罗马塔尔塔利亚画廊，罗马电视台专题专访；《蒙系列》开启美国新野性艺术国际巡展
2007 德国柏林多国当代艺术联展·欧洲巡回展
3. 国内起步奠基
2001 综合材料油画入选国家级大展《中国油画大展》
权威学术评论
杨卫（中国当代批评家年会秘书长）
陈栋扎根楚巫原生灵性文脉，搭建起完备的超意识艺术体系，推动中西艺术告别表层形式拼接，实现灵犀精神同源、超意识内核合一的历史性突破，画面始终保有若即若离的微妙心态。
夏可君（中国人民大学艺术教授）
《蒙系列》游走在现实与超意识的鸿蒙秘境之间，开辟出独属于华夏文明的灵性精神维度。画面独有的虚薄质感，造就虚实相生的东方意境，无可替代的学术创新价值，在当代艺术领域独树一帜。
耿杰（LABA国际双年展特使）
陈栋的超意识冥想艺术，直击全人类共通的精神渴求。他将楚巫上古灵犀图腾与当代综合材料深度融合，是立足于中华文化根脉、能够打动全球藏家的东方精神艺术范本。
国际媒体传播
作为博鳌亚洲论坛重点推介的文化出海艺术家，《人民日报社·民生周刊》《袭古创今》栏目为其艺术专访并刊文深度专题报道。十余幅灵犀超意识代表作陆续登上《时代周刊》《华尔街日报》海外官方平台，借助全球主流外媒矩阵，把楚巫文脉孕育的东方灵性美学推向世界，成为东西方当代精神艺术对话的重要纽带。
艺术核心价值
1. 精神赛道稀缺性：三十年深耕楚巫灵犀文脉与超意识神秘主义创作，填补全球当代艺术中东方神州原生灵性美学的学术空白。
2. 艺术语言独创性：冲胶、蒙隔、影墨、积彩四大独家技法，加上《蒙系列》虚薄含蓄的视觉营造，铸就“巫水墨·鸿蒙派”独一无二的视觉符号，无法复制。
3. 国际文化适配性：多次亮相威尼斯双年展、卢浮宫、亚洲顶级双年展，作品的灵性内核契合欧美当代艺术向内探索精神世界的主流趋势，极易引发海外学界与收藏家共鸣。
4. 产业延展多元化：灵犀图腾、鸿蒙秘境、冥想水墨肌理，可无缝落地数字藏品、文创IP、地产艺术展、文旅项目开发，兼顾学术高度与产业落地空间。
