CHEN NONG climbing to the moon REFLEX AMSTERDAM

c l i mb in g to t he moon
 c l i m b i ng to th e moon

CHEN
NONG

R efl ex Ed i ti ons Amste rdam

2 “Climbing To The Moon” #3 (detail), silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm
 CHEN NONG
Reenacting the past in China

As a historian, philosopher or visionary, Chen Nong, hutongs, the narrow lanes, that used to form the

the 45 year old Chinese artist, is not known. vibrant heart of the Chinese capital. Learning

from books, he started his artistic career as a

Five years ago, my first impression of the photo photographer, who literally added color to his work.

paintings of Chen Nong was so overwhelming that

the genius of his artistic vision has since stayed with Throughout its 7000 years history, China has had its

me. The Yellow River series, exhibited at the 798 Art share of wars, upheavals and revolutions. Conscious

district of Beijing, consisted of eight works of historic about the immense past of the Middle Kingdom, he

dimensions. started to think about ways to visualize in his work,

the culture and history of the Chinese nation.

Chen Nong was born in 1966 in the coastal city

of Fuzhou in the southwestern part of China. “We can never escape history”, says Chen Nong.

His parents were laborers. After getting a basic “It is embedded in us, part of who we are and of

education he worked a few years as a factory worker what we become”.

in a TV production facility. For several years, he did

not succeed to get accepted at the local academy Starting point for each and every work is the historic

for fine arts. In his hometown, he first became and cultural significance for Chinese society.

a sculptor before turning to his fascination for The influence of his humble family background is

photography and establishing his own photo studio. evident in his lines of thought and work. One of his

Moving to Beijing at the turn of the century, Chen first series of photo paintings, a combination of his

Nong first started a coffee house in one of the photographic work and his colorful enrichment of

4 “Forbidden City” #6, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm 5

 the photos, is the Yellow River series situated on the some instances their weapons and other attributes.

banks of the Yellow River. In order to be able to render a realistic and truthful

reflection of the past, he designs the costumes

His original idea evolved around the last 2000 years and props of that time. In the Yellow River series,

of Chinese rural history about which written records those costumes were then made by a tailor. In his

are available. imaginary time machine, he brings the past into the

With his family background, Chen Nong first of all present, creating a new reality.

looked at events in the vast rural areas of China.

He discovered that during the last 2000 years, After all these preparations, Chen Nong starts his

eight major rebellions took place led by farmers field work. Leaving for the regions, where the

against the landlords and the authorities. He rebellions occurred, he looks for the right settings

customarily does a lot of research and reads about in the countryside, carefully choosing the season

the circumstances and developments surrounding and location for the photo shooting. Visiting villages

an event. In this way, he is getting a realistic image along the Yellow River, he mobilizes its inhabitants

about the people involved and the atmosphere in for a small fee and dresses them with the prepared

that era. Chen Nong makes, through sketches, a kind costumes and other attributes. Like a film director,

of pictorial scenario, so that the emerging photo Chen Nong places his village actors in the landscape. “Yellow River” part 1/8, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm

paintings will ultimately tell a story. Reenacting the historic events surrounding the

farmers rebellions, the amateur actors are engaged

Getting a clear picture of a rebellion, Chen Nong in protests and fights on the natural stage of the

proceeds to look for the details like the clothes of village theater, while Chen Nong is directing them.

the farmers at the time, their working tools and in While the villagers are involved with their roles,

Chen Nong at set, shooting for the series “Yellow River”

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 Chen Nong takes the pictures with an antique
camera. After this artistic shooting spree, he returns
home to Beijing with a varied collection of black
and white photographs from the rebellion in the
countryside.
After the research, the sketching, the preparations
and the photo shooting sessions, the next stage in
his process is the selection of suitable pictures for
the painting process. Each of the chosen pictures
is being color painted by hand, so that the violent
scenes become even more impressive.
Putting his ideas in a historic perspective is giving
some direction to the turbulent course of Chinese
history. Without becoming a prisoner of history,
he is giving an extra dimension to the events he is
so colorfully describing with his lens and his paint
brush. Through his looking glass, Chen Nong is
“Yuan Mingyuan 2” (detail), silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 50 cm | 100 x 100 cm
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looking at the mirror of the past to make sense of the
present. As if to say, look we came from turbulent
events, look what we accomplished and where we
arrived today.
The farmers rebellions of the last 2000 years are just
one example of the way Chen Nong approaches
his work with powerful imagination. With the
warriors of the Three Gorges, he brings the soldiers
of the terracotta army to life. Violence and protest,
however, are not a recurrent theme in his series
of photo paintings. Men’s quest for the Moon and
from the series “Peking Opera Mask” #5 and #11, silver gelatin prints color-painted,
the planets in the enormous Universe become for each 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm
instance a central theme in his series “Climbing
to the Moon”. In these rocket propelled photo
In more romantic series Chen Nong turns around civilization is the destruction of the beauty, which we
paintings, his visionary mind and dream-like
placing events in the midst of the natural beauty and are facing.
fantasies are melding together in adventurous
diversity of his beloved country, its flora, fauna and In this first overview of Chen Nong’s work, of photo
images. In this series of photo paintings Chen Nong
its people. In series like Fly, Forbidden City and Water paintings, published by the Dutch Art Gallery Alex
expresses, that human desire knows no limits.
Lily, the master photographer inspires us in a more Daniels, the focus is on the cultural heritage of
intimate way showing another side of the character China. From his different photographic angles
of the Chinese people. and perspectives, he succeeds in installing his
global audience with his vision of the cultural
Looking at the very different images, one might developments in the Middle Kingdom. By
think that Chen Nong is a storyteller. At a closer accentuating his black and white images in such
look, one is becoming not just curious, but intrigued special colorful ways, Chen Nong brings to live long
by the pictures. The full story remains, however, forgotten Chinese societies. The dynamics of his
hidden behind the images. Chen Nong turns out to original artistic processes have such an impact, that
be more of a curtain-raiser than just a storyteller. we become almost active participants in his dream-
With his fascinating pictures, he is opening up the like and visionary world.
contradictory and often conflicting worlds of ancient
as well as contemporary China. In modern China, Robert Simons,
according to Chen Nong, it seems as if the price of Shanghai, August 2012
10 “Forbidden City” #9, silver gelatin prints color-painted, 50 x 120 cm | 100 x 240 cm 11
12 “Water Lilly” #3, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 13
14 “Water Lilly” #1, triptych, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 180 cm | 100 x 360 cm 15
16 “Fly” #3, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 17
18 “Fly” #4, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm “Fly” #2, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 19
20 “Fly” #1, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 21
22 “Climbing To The Moon” #1 (part 1 and 2), silver gelatin prints color-painted, each 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm 23
24 “Climbing To The Moon” #1 (part 3 and 4), silver gelatin prints color-painted, each 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm 25
26 “Yellow River” 8 parts, silver gelatin prints color-painted, each 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 27 “Yellow River” sketch, 8 parts, ink, color pencil, pencil on paper, each part 21 x 28 cm 28
 “Yellow River” part 4/8,
silver gelatin print color painted,
50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm

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 “Yellow River” part 3/8,
silver gelatin print color painted,
50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm

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34 “Three Gorges” #2 part 1/8, silver gelatin print color painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 35
36 “Three Gorges” #2, 8 parts, silver gelatin prints color painted, each 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 37
 “Three Gorges” #2, part 7/8,
silver gelatin print color painted,
50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm

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 “Three Gorges” #1, 8 parts,
silver gelatin prints color painted,
each 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm

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50 51
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56 “Forbidden City” #5, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm 57
58 “Forbidden City” #1, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm “Forbidden City” #2, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm 59
60 “Forbidden City” #3, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm “Peking Opera Mask” #1, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 61
62 “Peking opera mask” #12, silver gelatin print color-painted, 60 x 50 cm | 120 x 100 cm “Peking Opera Mask” #6, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 63
 CHEN NONG

Born in Fuzhou of Fujian Province, China 2009 Melbourne Photography Festival, Australia
Chen Nong worked for a TV production before he started to do sculptures in 2009 “Contemporary China”, photo exhibition, Budapest, Hungary
Fuzhou, Fujian Province. In 1996 he established a photo studio in Fuzhou, and in 2009 MOMA Photo Exhibition, San Francisco, USA
2000 a photo studio in Hutong café in Beijing. He is living and working in Beijing. 2010 Solo exhibition, OPHOTO, Shanghai, China
2010 Solo exhibition, XYZ Gallery, Beijing, China
Exhibitions: 2010 Solo exhibition, Schneider Gallery, Chicago, USA
2011 Solo Exhibition, OPHOTO Gallery Shanghai, China
2005 “I Could Fly”, Pingyao Photo Festival, China 2011 Museum of Cultures, Basel, Switzerland
2006 “HERE” solo exhibition, Yuantian Photo Gallery, Beijing, China 2012 Solo exhibition “Climbing To The Moon”, Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam, Netherlands
2006 Photo Biennale, Rome, Italy
2007 Pingyao Photo Festival, China Chen Nong’s works are included in international collections such as Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam,
2007 “Chinese Square”, New York, USA Marlborough Gallery / New York, Schneider Gallery / Chicago, XYZ Gallery / Beijing, OPHOTO Gallery / Shanghai,
2007 Australian Photography Festival, Perth, Australia International Center for Photography / New York, MOMA / San Francisco, National Museum of Art / Australia,
2007 “Contemporary China”, photo exhibition, National Museum of Art, Australia Museum of Art / Harvard University, USA, St. Barbara Museum / California, Museum of Cultures / Basel.
2007 Solo exhibition, XYZ Gallery, Beijing
2007 Guangzhou Photo Biennale, Guangzhou, China
2008 “HERE”, XYZ Gallery, Beijing, China

64 “Peking Opera Mask” #5, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm “Peking Opera Mask” #7, silver gelatin print color-painted, 50 x 60 cm | 100 x 120 cm 65
 COLOPHON

Published on the occasion of the exhibition 

CHEN NONG
climbing to the moon 

Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam

September 29 - November 3, 2012

All artworks by Chen Nong.

Introduction by: Robert Simons, a former Middle East

correspondent for Holland and Belgium, and former
foreign editor of Dutch public television.  
Since 2005, living in China he is an art consultant
promoting cultural exchange between China and
Europe.

Book and cover design: Alex Daniels Reflex Editions,

Amsterdam, all rights reserved.
Calligraphy by Master Feng
Production assistant: Viola Winokan
Special thanks to Robert Simons,
Catherine Cheng Guoqin, Ria en Lex Daniels.

Print: Meco Offset BV, Zwaag.

Published by Alex Daniels, Reflex Editions,

Amsterdam 2012.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may

be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without prior written permission from the copyright
holders and publishers.
All images courtesy of Chen Nong and
Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam

ISBN 978-90-71848-15-5

Weteringschans 79 A, 1017 RX Amsterdam

open: Tuesday - Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm
Phone +31(0)20 627 28 32
Fax +31(0)20 620 25 90
info@reflexamsterdam.com
www.reflexamsterdam.com

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