Born in Nantong, China, Düsseldorf-based artist Chen Ruo Bing studied Chinese painting at the Zhejiang Academy of Arts in Hangzhou, followed by studies in Germany at the University of Kassel and the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf.
Chen’s minimalist abstract paintings are rooted in the artist’s spiritual connection to light as well as his focus on creating purity of form. Executed in soft gradations of pastel colors, his luminous geometric compositions hover above solid backgrounds, simultaneously generating their own light and recalling an empty void. In the artist’s own words, his body of work “naturally reflect[s] [his] spiritual journeys in China and Germany” and rewards the viewer’s slow, deliberate engagement.
Chen regularly shows his work in solo exhibitions at Ginkgo Space, Shanghai/Shenzhen/Beijing (2023, 2022, 2019, 2017, 2015); Galerie Albrecht, Berlin (2022, 2020, 2017); Chabot Fine Art, The Hague (2023, 2021, 2019); Galerie Frank Schlag, Essen (2023, 2020, 2016, 2012, 2010); and K.O.N.G. Gallery, Seoul (2022, 2018, 2015, 2008) among others. He has been included in group exhibitions in museums around China, South Korea, Japan, and Germany.
Chen is the recipient of the Advancement Award of the Hedwig and Robert Samuel Foundation, Düsseldorf and has been an artist-in-residence at the Josef und Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut; Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwangju-City, Korea; and the Heinrich Böll Cottage in Achill Island, Ireland, among others. Chen recently collaborated on a Creative Identity Art Project with Tiffany & Co.
Chen’s work is included in the collections of the Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China; the Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont; Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany; the Times Art Museum, Beijing, China; and the Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwangju, Korea, among others.