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Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang

Chen Jiagang

Country: China
Birth: 1962

Born in 1962 in Chong Qing, Chen Jiagang began his career as a celebrated architect and real estate developer before making the transition to photography. In 1999, he was named one of twelve "Outstanding Young Architects" by the United Nations. Jiagang is the founder of the Sichuan Upriver Museum, the first private museum in China and the author of Third Front (Timezone 8 Limited, 2007). He currently lives and works in Beijing.

Source: Edwynn Houk Gallery


Although originally trained as an architect (and awarded by the UN the accolade of being one of the 12 ‘outstanding young architects' in China), Chen Jiagang has been a practicing photographer for over 12 years, and has exhibited widely since 1999. He has twice been awarded the Excellent Works Award at the annual China Photographic Arts Exhibitions. Chen photographs often feature obsolete and useless factories, hidden away in his country's hinterlands. Among these monumental, abandoned ruins, these industrial leftovers, he places ghostly human figures, reminding us of the workers who lost their jobs and were sent back home to start again. He documents the effects on society of China's extraordinary development drive in these large, sumptuous compositions.

Source: Waterhouse & Dodd


1980-1984 studied in Architecture Department of Chongqing Architecture College from 1980 to 1984.
1984-1992 worked in Southwest Architecture Design Institute as a National Certified Architect, and had been awarded grand architecture prizes in various types for many times.
1992 founded the Company of Chengdu Haosi Property Development.
1996 the Company of Sichuan Gangjia Architecture Design.
1997 founded Sichuan Upriver Stock Co., Ltd.
1997 founded Upriver Art Gallery, the first private Art Gallery in China.
1998 founded Chengdu Upriver Guildhall and Kunming Upriver Guildhall.
1999 elected as one of the twelve "Outstanding Young Architect" of China by UN.
2001 Bigining to be an artist from then on.
2002 The excellent works prize of the 20th China Photographic Exhibition.
2003 The excellent works prize of the 21th China Photographic Exhibition.

Personal Exhibitions
2012
Diseased City, Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery, Paris, France
Chen Jiagang photography, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland

Selected Books on Available on Amazon
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang: Third Front
Chen Jiagang: Third Front
Feng Boyi, Zhou Minghao, Chen Jiagang

Agency

Galerie Paris-Beijing

Galleries

Edwynn Houk Gallery

Waterhouse & Dodd

Website

www.chenjiagang.com

 

Selected Books

Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang
Chen Jiagang: Third Front
Chen Jiagang: Third Front
Feng Boyi, Zhou Minghao, Chen Jiagang

Inspiring Portfolios

Jesús Umbría Brito
© Jesús Umbría Brito
Nanda Hagenaars
© Nanda Hagenaars
Carole Mills Noronha
© Carole Mills Noronha
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More Great Photographers To Discover

Hugo Thomassen
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Lennard Grohn
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Lennard Grohn, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is a photographer whose work seamlessly blends melancholy with a profound celebration of life's beauty. From the moment he received his first analog camera at the age of 12, a gift from his parents, Lennard discovered a passion for storytelling through light and composition. He later refined his craft at the University of Fine Arts in Mainz, where his studies laid the foundation for his classic approach to photography. This formative period shaped his dedication to creating timeless images that capture both personal narratives and universal emotions. After the untimely loss of his father, Lennard found solace in black-and-white photography, using it as a medium to explore themes of memory, childhood, and the imperfections of a once-idealized world. Alongside his photographic pursuits, Lennard's background as a drummer and percussionist brings a sense of rhythm and movement to his work, leading some to say his images echo with the harmony of music. Awarded Photographer of the Week - Week 11
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Born and bred amongst thousands of Indonesian islands, Hengki Koentjoro is a Californian-educated fine art photographer who finds solace in the monochromatic realm. A platform towards idealism he believes to be his true purpose in life's journey of expression. Hengki Koentjoro is an accomplished photographer, specializing in capturing the spectral domain that lies amidst the shades of black and white. Born in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia on March 24th 1963, he proceeded to pursue further education in Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California—an expedition that plunged him into the professional arena of video production and fine art photography. Childhood introduction to camera on his 11th birthday is by now an earnest love affair that involves an elaborate choreography of composition, texture, shapes and lines
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