Between Vistas

The terrains and spaces around us have long inspired and challenged artists, engendering varied responses and narratives. This exhibition delves into the language and visual traditions around the concept of the “ideal landscape”. Informed by his formal training in Western art techniques and interest in Chinese artistic traditions, Chen Shitong melds these diverse influences into the scenes he creates. The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual, a seminal publication on Chinese painting philosophy and colour block painting published in 1679, led Chen to consider how landscapes can be a storytelling device.

Printmaking, painting and ceramics are harnessed to conjure evocative landscapes that explore the relational condition of the individual with the environments they dwell in. Chen’s compositions range from abstract, panoramic landscapes to scenes fraught with narrative intent. He experiments with juxtaposition and perspective, building images that hint at what lies beyond the edges of the works. Between Vistas considers the limits and possibilities of visual representation in helping us relate with the world around us, where the boundaries between the real and imagined are constantly shifting.