Chen Danqing

Chen Danqing, born in Shanghai in 1953 with ancestral roots in Taishan, Guangdong, is an oil painter, writer, and critic of art and literature. In 1980 his graduation work, the Tibetan Paintings series, drew wide attention in the art world. In 1982 he moved to New York and worked as a freelance painter; he returned to China in 2000, joined the faculty of the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, and resigned in 2004. His writings span art and literature, with major works including Literary Memoirs: 1989–1994, the four-volume Mu Xin Lecture Series, Mu Xin on Mu Xin: A Supplement to Literary Memoirs, Zhang Fu and Mu Xin, the Local series, and essay collections such as Collected Regression and Collected Neglect. Centered on painting, literature, and everyday observation, his plainspoken, reflective prose has exerted a lasting influence on art criticism and cultural essays.