Born in Singapore in 1959, Henri Chen Kezhan is a graduate from Baharuddin Vocational Institute (1979) and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris (1986). He was also a student of eminent artists Fan Chang Tien (1907-1987) and Zhao Shao-ang (1905-1998). Since 1977, Chen has exhibited in solo and group shows locally and internationally, and in 2001 he was one of four artists who represented Singapore in the 49th Venice Biennale. In 1985, Chen was awarded the silver medal by the Salon des Artistes France and in 1993, the Young Artist Award by the Singapore government. In the late 1990s, Chen developed an interest in depicting rocks. As a follower of the principles of literati paintings who believes a painting needs to express and evoke spiritual truth, emotions or concepts, he paints ‘Rock Study’ with intense brushwork to emulate the textures and lines of rocks. The rhythmic overlapping of ink washes is an extension of his previous series
