Richmond, BC – Lipont Gallery is excited to present AMPHIBIOUS – A Return to Self and Place, a solo exhibition featuring the works of Langley and Vancouver-based artist Sichen Grace Chen, also known as “SG”. Chen explores the interconnectedness of human, more-than-human, and technological realms, focusing on spaces of memory and emotional resonance.
Chen’s early years were marked by constant movement between different places such as Chengdu, China, British Columbia, and Rhode Island, where she lived and studied. This was her initial experience of self–fluid, adapting, and constantly re-forming. Currently, she lives in Langley, and her artistic practice, studies, and creations are deeply rooted in Vancouver. Here, her body, mind, and spirit are re-converging, creating a sense of wholeness, a true return to self within a defined time and space. This "coming home to herself," this return to essence, resonates deeply with Chen’s paintings.
Like her abstract, fiery forms resembling complex organisms or a nebula, pulsating with vibrant orange and red hues against a monochromatic background, her journey has been one of intense energy and organic growth. The interwoven strands and tendrils in her work mirror the tangled network of experiences that have shaped her own return, creating a sense of movement. The vastness evoked in her paintings, like outer space or a deep ocean, reflects the immensity of the inner, emotional and cerebral landscape she has traversed.
This sense of return extends beyond the personal. She thinks of water and its inherent fluidity and its fundamental connection to all life. Our species, intrinsically linked to every other life form, cannot survive in isolation. This realization underscores the profound interconnectedness of all things, a constant flow, much like water, that binds us to creatures beyond the human and the very essence of our shared existence. Chen’s luminous, star-shaped forms and swirling, celestial-like formations, suggestive of dynamic energy, capture this sense of mystery and wonder. Even the simple wooden bench, house, garden plants, and grassy landscape in some of her paintings, symbolizing a comfortable and domestic life, speak to the universal longing for belonging and connection.
The exhibition will be on view at Lipont Gallery from July 5 to July 24, 2025, with a public opening reception on Saturday July 5th, from 2-4 PM. An artist talk will take place on Wednesday July 9th, from 6-8 PM, offering audiences an opportunity to meet the artist and delve into her creative processes.
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