Obituary: Portrait artist Chen Yifei dies at 59

[Marcus Lim]

(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2005-04-11 08:43


Chen Yifei, a renowned artist who leveraged his fame to set up a business empire that included magazines, fashion brands, film production, a modeling agency and a restaurant in Xintiandi, died yesterday morning at Huashan Hospital from gastric hemorrhage. He was 59.


Chen Yifei died at 59, leaving his debut film "Barber" unfinished. [baidu]. "Chen was a talented man," lamented Peng Yangjun, a photographer with the Yifei Group. "He was quite utopian and always open to new things. Chen, in particular, intended to give young people opportunities for their future development."

Chen, who was born in Zhenhai, Zhejiang Province, in 1946, studied painting at the Shanghai Art Academy. He rose to prominence in China's art world in the 1960s and 70s for a series of oil paintings depicting historical events.

He moved to New York in 1980 - reportedly with only US$38 in his pocket - and he soon earned the attention of gallery owners in the city. In 1991, one of his works sold for 1.37 million yuan (US$164,400) at auction in Hong Kong.

Chen moved back to Shanghai in the early 1990s and began setting up his business empire, which includes Shanghai Tatler magazine, the Layefe and Leyefe fashion brands, and Yefe Home, an eatery in Xintiandi.

He also began making films, starting with a documentary about his life entitled "Old Dream on the Sea," which was screened at the first Shanghai International Film Festival in 1993.

He was in the middle of shooting a film called "Barber" when he was hospitalized earlier this year. The film was to star Jiang Wen and Ge You.

"Chen was a clever person," said a fellow artist who asked not to be identified, "He never spent a moment in silence."

"Chen's name was like a 'golden name,"' said Wu Meisen, who helped to turn Taikang Road, an area full of rundown warehouses and factories, into a gathering place for artists and gallery owners. Chen set up his own gallery on the street a few years ago.

"His decision to move here helped make Taikang Road the active scene it is now. I feel so sorry to hear he has passed away. He was too keen on every detail."

Chen's name regularly popped up in local newspapers, whether for his business achievements or due to gossip about his affairs with models.

Unlike many other local celebrities, Chen was more than happy to give out his mobile phone number to reporters.

"Just imagine the phone calls that he received every day from various newspapers and magazines," said Zhang Lixing, a local reporter, "The man was rather something."

Chen is survived by his second wife, Song Meiying, a former model, and their 6-year-old son. He is also survived by Chen Ling, a son from his first marriage.

Two mourning halls will be set up for Chen, one at his newly purchased villa on Longdongdadao, and another on Taikang Road.

"Life is like a long journey with many stations," Chen once said, "Sometimes you have to stop to unload or load something for the next station."

[Sharon Knettell]

Marcus,

Thank you for that interesting biography from another part of the world.

Do you have any examples of his work you can post?

[SB Wang]

A shocking news...Thank you for posting.
I talked with Chen Yi-Fei several times. He once invited me to work with him in New York. He said that after a painting completed, he felt very sick. He claims jokingly that he has a decease like a child love to be active.
Certainly it is a warning signal for those workaholic.

[Marcus Lim]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Marcus,

Thank you for that interesting biography from another part of the world.

Do you have any examples of his work you can post?

Yes, he has a website...

http://chenyifei.com

[Kimberly Dow]

Thank you for posting this. This one is my favorite.

[Jean Kelly]

Yes, thank you Marcus. I went to his site and had to look at everything. His work is amazing!

Jean

[Marcus Lim]

Alas, another precious gift to the world is gone forever....

I've always regarded him, and other artists from Cultural Revolution period as living greats from China...other artists his generation include Chen Yan Ning and Hou Yi Min who are still alive.

I'm attaching another image by this artist Hou...hope i don't hear another one going off so soon.

[SB Wang]

The Paintings of Chen Yifei
by Michelle Fram-Cohen
http://www.monadnock.net/essays/chen.html

Editor's note: this essay is accompanied by an online gallery of Chen Yifei's paintings; click any of the links below to view the appropriate image.

Chen Yifei is a Chinese artist who came to America in 1980, leaving behind the security of his position as head of the Oil Painting Department at the Shanghai Painting Academy. By the 1990s, his paintings were auctioned at Christie's in Hong Kong for record prices and he gained the status of an artist-entrepreneur. The most fascinating part of his career has been his attempt to combine elements from his native country with the Western traditions of both realism and impressionism. Chen Yifei was trained in the Western techniques of classical realism, which were introduced in China at the turn of the century. Ironically, because of China's isolation from the West under the Communist regime, Chinese art was not exposed to the blatant modernism in the West and kept the tradition of realism alive. China cultivated young, gifted artists in the same way it cultivated athletes, and Chen Yifei was provided with the best conditions to develop his talent. He rose to stardom in the Chinese art world at the age of twenty with his painting "Begin the Avant Garde". In the next ten years, he established himself on a national level with his epic historical works, such as The Seizing of the Presidential Palace. Since realism was the only school of art officially sanctioned in China, his success over all his competitors was even more dramatic.

By the late 1970s, after the death of Mao Tse-Tung and the remission of the Cultural Revolution, Chen Yifei began to break away from the uncritical glorification of historical events. His painting Looking at History from My Space, painted in 1979, depicts the specific events of the 1910s and 1920s in China, but portrays the artist's attempt to separate himself from the torrent of events, to introspect about where he stands.

In 1980, at the age of 34, Chen Yifei relinquished his position and came to New York City, the center of contemporary art, where the school of realism was practically ignored. Chen Yifei had the ability and self-confidence to defy the odds. He painted elegant American and Chinese musicians as well as the lush countryside scenery of the Yangtse river. In 1983, his first one-man exhibition, at New York's Hammer Galleries, created a sensation. His success sent a clear message to the New York art arena: classical realism is back!

However, Chen did not come to New York in order to take on the art establishment. He needed the freedom to develop his personal creative aspirations unhindered. He says of his first encounter with New York's art world: "Once I had gained confidence to walk past uniformed commissioners at the doors of galleries, I was elated by the freedom to look at art." There is a visible transformation from his "official" historical work in China to his personal choice of themes and styles in America. In the former, the human figures are interchangeable and there is no personal attachment to them. In the latter, each individual is unique and the painting radiates a release of emotions.

Chen Yifei's work does not fit easily into a "Chinese" or "Western" mold. Perhaps his art can be described as "multi-cultural"

[Marcus Lim]

Thanks for having this essay here, Wang.
Now i know more about his life, other than the legend that i heard about him when i was just starting out as an artist...that he came to the US, with only his luggage and 5USD in his pocket!!

[SB Wang]

Thank you Lim:
Yi in the name of Chen Yifei means leisurelyness. (Fei--to fly), but he worked too hard.