东予_Ziqi Chen

The Syntax of Vitality, Ziqi Chen, 44.3*30.7cm, 2026, water colour on paper. It’s a real honour to create this New Year artwork for my beloved school. I would like to thank GSA and our director Penny for providing this wonderful platform to share happiness and culture, and Sam and Alice for all their support throughout the process! I hope this artwork can bring everyone warmth, good luck, and a sense of connection in the new year. happy new year and 新年快乐！ I extracted the key virtues of the Chinese Zodiac of horse, such as freedom, inclusivness, and resilience, then deconstructed these motifs representing these virtues and reassembled them through a surrealist approach to construct the composition. The horse is represented as a toy pony, an embodiment of happiness and innocence. Other motifs in the painting include the tulip, which dominates the frame, symbolising universal love and triumph. The tulip blossom, together with the dynamic movement of the other elements in the composition, forms an ‘infinity’ symbol, conveying the promise of an open future filled with endless possibility. The clownfish represents inclusiveness (because of its ability to coexist with toxic sea anemones); the swallow represents the spring and freedom; the hand acts as a symbol of acceptance; and the Möbius strip represents perpetual renewal and bids farewell to the Year of the Snake. Image 1: Ziqi Chen, The Syntax of Vitality, 2026 Image 2: The Syntax of Vitality, Reid Building, photographed by Ross Finnie @glasgowschoolart #artwork #illustration #illustration #watercolour #watercolor

My new personal website is now live! 👏 It has been completely upgraded with a brand-new design and layout. I’ve also added a built-in one-click email feature, making it much easier to get in touch with me and access my social media accounts. https://ziqichen.cargo.site/ 【You can click on the bio section on my homepage to jump directly to the website.】 You’re very welcome to take a look! It’s fully accessible on mobile as well.🌷 #Ziqichenart #Ziqichenillustration #illustration #artist

She is the moss left behind the spring rain. #illustration

My two artworks are currently being exhibited in the “Spring Equinox”at Fox Yard Gallery! 🐠 @foxyardstudio

Artist Highlight ✨️ Ziqi Chen is a Glasgow-based artist. She graduated with distinction from the Glasgow School of Art, receiving an MLitt in Fine Art Practice in 2025. Her work has been exhibited in numerous locations across the UK, China and Germany. Working primarily in watercolour, she adopts juxtaposition as a main methodology, exploring the visual convergence of organic forms and artificial constructs. She incorporates the layering techniques of mineral pigments and Chinese lacquer (Da Qi) into her creative process, rearticulating them through a more contemporary painterly language. She is currently focusing on the interplay between the natural and the synthetic amid conditions of information oversaturation in the post-digital era. Through a bold, vivid colour palette and symbolic motifs, her work examines how opposing materials and symbolic systems can coexist and interact on a single surface. City and country: Glasgow, UK Website address:  https://ziqichen.cargo.site Instagram @sphinxspeaking ----------------------------------- Work 1: "Vernal Tide" Medium: watercolour on paper,  mounted on wood panel, 28x50cm, 2025. £660. Vernal Tide takes marine life and spring blossoms as its central motifs, exploring the vitality of life. The goldfish held in the hands symbolizes acceptance and happiness, while the nautilus, as the primary element, represents natural order, the continuity of life, and mathematical beauty. The entire painting is immersed in a gentle pale blue calmness, delicate like a spring breeze. Work 2: "Blue Reverie" Medium: watercolour on paper, 20.5x27.5cm, 2025. NFS. Blue Reverie is a relaxed, freely flowing work, created almost entirely without preliminary sketches, allowing the natural spontaneity of the hand to emerge. Organic forms such as branches, goldfish and hands interweave with abstract shapes common in digital editing while fantastical forms float across the composition. Water serves as the central motif of the work. The predominantly blue palette creates a dreamlike atmosphere... Part of the exhibition "SPRING EQUINOX" at Fox Yard Studio / @foxyardstudio , partnered with @artmagnitude .

🐶 #ziqichenillus #illustration

puppy🐶 #ziqichenillus #illustration

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Undeciphered Nautical Map Ziqi Chen, 67*44cm, 2025, watercolour on paper. This work takes the ocean as a speculative field in which natural ecology and digital visual language are interwoven within a single composition. It reflects on the ways in which humans perceive and interpret nature. When the ocean is translated into data and information, is it truly understood? Or is it simply re-encoded? This sea map does not offer a definitive answer. It remains open-ended, inviting viewers to reconsider the relationship and distance between humanity and the natural world. #ziqichenart #contemporaryart #delphianopencall2026 @delphiangallery

Where Will You Gaze, Where Will You Go? Ziqi Chen, 37*52cm, 2025, watercolour on paper. This work explores the sense of confusion brought about by the age of information overload. I use vivid colours and a dense juxtaposition of symbolic elements to examine the relationship between human logic and natural existence, shaped by both opposition and interdependence. The work is primarily composed of a large number of leaves and other natural organisms drawn from my immediate surroundings. I am drawn to the freedom of living beings, yet my own sense of uncertainty and a lack of direction is also reflected in the work. At the same time, it intertwines digital anchors and pixelated serrations, symbols of rationality, with organic natural forms that represent sensibility. Through this dialogue, I contemplate how, amid the coexistence of excess information and perceptual confusion, humanity might rediscover its direction of gaze and seek a possible coexistence between reason and emotion. #ziqichenart #contemporaryart #watercolor #delphianopencall2026 @delphiangallery

Two of my works have been longlisted for the Jackson’s Art Prize!🎨 1️⃣ Traces of an Unseen Dialogue. This work revolves around the concept of Whisper and Dialogue, exploring the complexity inherent in verbal communication through a visual form. Because of the complexity involved in interpreting language, verbal expression alone is often insufficient to fully convey emotion. As a result, bodily gestures become necessary to support communication. The image of the hand appears repeatedly throughout the composition. In my view, the hand, as a form of body language, carries rich emotional content and expressive potential; in this sense, it functions almost as another face. 2️⃣ Where Will You Gaze, Where Will You Go? This work explores the sense of confusion brought about by the age of information overload. I use vivid colours and a dense juxtaposition of symbolic elements to examine the relationship between human logic and natural existence, shaped by both opposition and interdependence. #ziqichenart #ziqichen #watercolor #contemparyart @jacksons_art_prize

Amplitude, Ziqi Chen, 60*90cm, 2025, acrylic on canvas. This work focuses on the movement of a dove in flight. I was interested in how the eye retains motion for a brief moment, creating a visual afterimage. In this work, the bird’s form is stretched and repeated, similar to the way ripples spread across water. Rather than depicting a single frozen moment, the painting shows several overlapping positions of the wings. This layering blurs the boundary between the bird and the surrounding space. The work explores how movement can leave a temporary visual trace. Light and surface texture shift across the form, reinforcing this sense of instability and uncertainty. #ziqichenart #contemporaryart #delphianopencall2026 @delphiangallery