Born in Zhongshan, China in 1969 and arrived in Australia in 1989.
1998 Masters of Fine Arts, Chelsea School of Art
1996 Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours), University of SA
1994 Diploma of Visual Arts, North Adelaide School of Art

Zhong was born in Zhongshan, China and arrived in Australia at the age of 19 in 1989. Zhong’s early paintings ‘Stupid Laughing Series’ 1996 conveyed the exploration of his dual identity of being an Chinese born Australian artist. Since these works, Zhong has continued to explore issues of cultural identity, transcultural identity, belonging and place.

Zhong’s pixel paintings incorporate images of Chinese portraits, animals and landscape, each of which is central to the genre of traditional Chinese ink brush painting. Zhong has painted Chinese beauties, Peking opera characters, Door gods and Imperial dogs in his recent body of paintings. By using traditional Chinese inspired images Zhong conveys a sense of his cultural identity. The choice of images are pop, as the folk art of China are an important part of the everyday and popular culture. Woodblock prints and paper cut outs are placed on windows and doors in China. Door god images are placed on doors to protect from the evil spirits. The ‘Romeo and Juliet’ paintings show images of traditional inspired Chinese lovers relating to Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy. David Thomas writes, “Paradoxes abound, not the least of them being the telling of a highly romantic tale through the calculated images of a computer. But these paintings are undeniably contemporary images, sophisticated in their marriage of ancient Eastern customs with new Western technology. The elegant faces may be based on age-old concepts of Chinese beauty, but they materialise as pixelated images of the computer age.” (1)

(1) David Thomas, “Zhong Chen: The Unity of the Past and the Present”, Zhong Chen Catalogue, Melbourne, 2002

Art Gallery of South Australia
Gold Coast City Art Gallery
Western Mining, Australia
Artbank
F.H.Faulding and Co. Adelaide
Macquarie University
Private Collections in Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australia

2005
‘Paintings by Zhong Chen’, Greenhill Galleries, Review by Judith McGrath
Makin, Jeff, ‘Squaring up old Shanghai’, The Herald Sun, Melbourne
‘Marriage of old and new experiences’, The Whitehorse Leader, Melbourne
Smith, Nyanda, ‘Zhong Chen’ Greenhill Galleries, Perth

2004
‘Shanghai Summer' Exhibition Catalogue, Schubert Contemporary, Gold Coast
Maier, Heidi, ‘Homeland Inspiration’, The Courier Mail, Queensland
‘Not all as it seems’, The Gold Coast Weekender, Queensland
Xin Nian Contemporary Chinese Australian Art Catalogue and CD.

2003
'The Pixel Paintings' Eva Breuer Gallery Catalogue
The top 50 collectable artists, The Art Collector Magazine
'In the Frame' The Sun Herald, Sydney
Li Zhi, 'The Pixel Myth', The Australian Art Review Magazine, November - February 2003

2002
SBS art award catalogue

2001
200 Gertrude Street Catalogue

2000
Nelson, Robert, ‘Fairs and Prizes enhance art’s allure, The Age, October

2000
‘The Right Chemistry’, The Adelaide Review, September

2000
Chemistry : South Australian Art

1990 – 2000
The Faulding Exhibition Catalogue

2000
Cultural Identity at heart of SA Award winner’s paintings, State of the Arts Magazine

1999
‘The Samstag Accelerator Effect’ Artlink Magazine of Contemporary Arts Vol 18 # 4

1999
Lloyd, Tim, ‘A man of talent finds his art and a home in his past’, The Advertiser – Adelaide

1999
Radok, Stephanie, ‘My hyphenated identity’, The Adelaide Review, Adelaide

1999
‘Chen’s new Art mesmerises’, The Advertiser, Adelaide

1998
The Chelsea School of Art Masters Exhibition Catalogue, London