Decheng Cui was born in Qingdao, China, in 1990. During undergraduate education in China with a major in oil painting and a practice producing representational work. After he came to the School of Art Institute of Chicago to begin his master's degree in painting department, his work began to focus on content rather than language, becoming a conceptual artist. Although he has rich painting experience, his creation is never limited to painting. Depending on what he wants to express, his work covers painting, printmaking, sculpture, animation, sound, and more.
His recent works have a very grand philosophical proposition, the Metaphysics series. This series is divided into four chapters, namely, Sensibility & Rationality, Critique of Sensibility, Critique of Pure Reason, and Human's Limitation. Works from the first two chapters have been shown in solo and group exhibitions in galleries around the world and will be featured at this year's ART Miami fair. What is contained in this is a review of human history, the methods and possibilities of people's cognition of the world, the impact on the present and the hidden dangers in the future.
Cui Decheng sees his works as fragments of his soul, as he said. “The purpose of my work is to use it to fight fear from death. Since the demise of the flesh is inevitable, then I can only find ways to plant the fragments of my soul among human civilizations, to root it to console myself. Therefore, it is unimportant to me that what kind of art language I use, and it play a whole key role in my work that what kind of my concept, my soul, in it.”
EDUCATION AND TRAINING ·Master of Fine Arts: Painting & Drawing School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL, U.S. | 2020 ·Post-Bacc: Painting & Drawing School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL, U.S. | 2017 ·Graduate Seminar: Art History China Central Academy of Fine Arts | Beijing, Beijing, China | 2015 ·Graduate Seminar: Art Critic China Central Academy of Fine Arts | Beijing, Beijing, China | 2014 ·Painting Formative Arts Lab | Beijing, Beijing, China | 2013 ·Bachelor of Art: Design Object (science department) Shandong University of Art and Design | Jinan, Shandong, China | 2010 ·Bachelor of Fine Art: Oil Painting Shandong University of Art and Design | Jinan, Shandong, China | 2009 EXHIBITION AND COLLECTION ·VEER 2022-Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Art, Organizer: China Association of Collectors, Undertaker: IARTSEE. June 28 to August 28, 2022. ·Exhibition, Eye-diolect: Susanne Doremus selects, ZOLLA\ LIEBERMAN GALLERY, March 25 ~ April 30, 2022 ·Collection, FLAXMAN LIBRARY, Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, IL, 2022 ·Exhibition, RAPPORT and ABSTRACTION, The Art Center Highland Park, IL, February 18 ~ April 9, 2022 ·Exhibition, Midsummer Dream show/ ATT Angie, Studio 659, Whiting IN, 2021 August ·Exhibition, Words Matter, The Art Center-Highland Park IL, 2021 August ·Exhibition, Abstracted Abstraction, St. Louis Artists’ Art Museum, Clayton MO, 2021 July ·Exhibition, Omni Art Expo, Shanghai, 2021 July ·Exhibition, Upstream, The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, 2021 July ·Exhibition and Collection, awakening 2021- Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary from Youth Artistes, Organizer: China Association of Collectors, Undertaker: IARTSEE. May 2021 ·Exhibition and Collection, Artworks of Non- traditional Aesthetic Meaning- Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Artists, China Association of Collectors, Beijing, April 2021 ·Exhibition & Competition, 8TH SEASON FINALIST ARTWORKS, PRISMA/ART/PRIZE, Rome, 2021 ·Exhibition & Competition, 2021 ALL Cityscape Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art Gallery Online, 2021 ·Exhibition, Launch, SAIC Galleries, 33 E. Washington St, 2020 ·Exhibition and Collection, Long Hello, Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI, 2020 ·Exhibition and Collection, Stars Project, TREE ART MUSEUM, Beijing, 2020 ·Exhibition, INCUBATOR, Wabash Window, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 2020 ·Exhibition, Backyard Stories, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, 2020 ·Exhibition, CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2019, THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, Venice, 2019 ·Solo exhibition, NEW WORKS, Maclean Center, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Chicago, 2019 ·Exhibition, Book and Paper Arts, KOKOMO DOWNTOWN ART GALLERY, Kokomo, 2019 ·Group exhibition, SLOW DESIGN Pop-Up Exhibition, PIS Global Culture, New York City, 2019 ·Solo exhibition, reason & Sensibility, Google building, Silicon Valley, CA, 2019 ·Exhibition, Spring in Motion, Mooch Gallery, Chicago, 2018 ·Exhibition, Post-Baccalaureate Annual 2018, SAIC SHOUWS 2018, Chicago, 2018 ·Exhibition, Poet of Landscape, Museum of Contemporary Art of Zhangjiang Pudong Shanghai, Shanghai, 2014 ·Exhibition, 40th Anniversary Exhibition of Shandong University of Art & Design, 2013 Reports and awards ·Magazine: Artmarket magazine, JULY 2022 Decheng Cui was selected as a featured artist by Artmarket magazine and published Art Market Magazine - July 2022 Subscriptions | Pocketmags ·Art criticism article published Art.china.cn, JULY 14, 2022 Ying Yi: About against sensibility - A critique about Cui Decheng's Art 易英：关于反感性——崔德成艺术琐谈 _艺术中国 (china.cn) ·Media coverage NEWS. ARTRON, JULY 13, 2022 A report on being invited by 7pm literary salon to give an art lecture at Berkeley. 伯克利讲座：崔德成的观念艺术_媒体关注_雅昌新闻 (artron.net) ·Interview: 艺见ART, SOHU, January 7, 2022 Samuel Art Dialogue with Cui, Decheng: Critique of Sensibility 艺术家背后的故事｜崔德成：对感性的批判_Line__绘画_Heart (sohu.com) ·Award and Magazine: Tree Art Museum, Beijing, 2020 Stars Project ·Interview: Samuel Art 28th Universal Questions, IWV 2020
Artworks
Metaphysical Series
The purpose of my work is to use it to fight fear from death. Since the demise of the flesh is inevitable, then I can only find ways to plant the fragments of my soul among human civilizations, to root it to console myself. Therefore, it is unimportant to me that what kind of art language I use, and it play a whole key role in my work that what kind of my concept, my soul, in it.
My current series, Metaphysical Series, is a series of works with four chapters. The reason is that if I don't show this pair of opposite contradictions at the same time and look at each other from the perspective of the opposite sides, then it will definitely be incomplete, biased, and even anti-social. I hope that the different worldviews I present will be acceptable to all, especially those with different worldviews. In the current wave of anti-globalization and the wave of people's thinking becoming more and more fragmented. The world needs more neutral speeches that can stand in different worldviews. Understanding each other's world is the most urgent event in the current world.
In terms of artistic language, the works of this series cover almost all the main types of artistic language, including painting, printmaking, fiber, sculpture, performance art, animation, sound and so on.
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