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Chen Qiang uses the concept of “cruising” to describe his creative state: it is neither a fixed, stationary stance nor a purposeless drifting, but a sensitive posture navigating continuously between initiative and passivity along boundaries. “I need chance encounters, not forceful captures.” This openness to the unknown and the careful control of rhythm injects a breath-like vitality into his paintings.

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On the canvas, he layers short and dense brushstrokes: the marks sometimes run parallel, sometimes intersect, forming textures akin to woven fabric. Browns, blue-greens, warm yellows, and deep blacks interact through flows and accumulations, creating color relationships that appear random yet contain a hidden order. Chen Qiang rejects preset goals, allowing the act of painting itself to become an open exploration of existence; in the gap between certainty and uncertainty, he invites viewers to experience the undercurrents and rich tensions of perception.

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Born in Hunan in 1960, Chen Qiang currently lives and works in Shanghai. As a key figure in Chinese abstract painting, his works have been exhibited at institutions such as the Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, the National Art Museum of China, the Edwidge Museum, and the Doba Huol Contemporary Art Museum. His works are in the permanent collections of the National Art Museum of China, Shanghai Art Museum, Yuz Museum, Haomen Art Museum, and the Insel Hombroich Art Foundation in Germany.