Chen Zhou

Chen Zhou(born in Zhejiang, China, in 1987 and currently based in Shanghai) takes film, drawing and performance which he began to practice in recent years, as his primary medium. He often constructs situational scenography by deconstructing and reassembling related spiritual practice from diverse cultures, merging improvisational performances by actors within fictional narratives, and stimulating enlightening narratives from the intermediate zone between the tangible and intangible. Chen Zhou excels at leading the audience from their everyday experiences into profound existential encounters. Influenced by Buddhist philosophy, his early works often explore various dilemmas of existence, the performative nature of identity, the deceitfulness of contemporary virtual life, while more recently, he has been delving into the spirituality of objects and the consciousness states and energy fields of human beings. Chen Zhou's practices often employ a playful, absurd, and slightly surreal narrative style, accompanied by fragmented phrases that permeate a sense of contemplation and introspection. He metaphorically describes this artistic approach as the creation of an internal mirror.

Chen Zhou lives and works in Shanghai. His first feature work, Life Imitation (2017), received the ‘New: Vision Award’ at the CPH: DOX Film Festival and the ‘Asian Perspective Award’ at the DMZ film festival and has been included in the Official Selection of the 61st BFI London Film Festival. He is also selected of ArtReview Future Greats (2018). 

He has exhibited internationally including ‘The Circular Impact: Video Art 21’, OCAT, Shanghai(2021); ‘Age of You’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto(2019);’ Emerald City’, chi K11 Art Foundation Pop-up Space, Hong Kong (2018); ‘Cold Nights’, UCCA, Beijing (2017); ‘2nd Asian Film and Video Art Forum (AFVAF)’, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (2017); ‘28 Chinese – Rubell Family Collection’ , Rubell Gallery, Miami (2013); ‘ON|OFF: China’s Young Artists in Concept and Practice’, UCCA, Beijing (2013); ‘Unfinished Country: New Video from China’, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (2012); and ‘7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale – Accidental Message: Art is not a System, not a World’, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, China. (2012).