Dan Chen

Click images to see artist's work.

The well known art of Dan Chen is a marriage of the finest qualities of eastern and western art style and technique. Born in China, his love affair with art began at age three, while watching his father paint. The older Chen was self taught; Dan was introduced to master artists who helped him hone his skills of observation. For years, he worked under the critical eye of his mentors before he was allowed to display his art at a state show. More than twenty years have passed since that first showing.

How do you describe a Dan Chen? Here is a man who at one time created twelve full sized pastels of all the animals in the Chinese calendar over the period of just one weekend! This is a man who travels 6000 miles a year to show his work and then, at each show, gives demonstrations of his techniques, whether in pastels, pottery, or raku. Or he may allow you to watch the sculpting of one of his many animal creations. Fluent in both Chinese and English, he teaches a night course at the local University and introduces art to a group of youngsters at his daughter's school. He researches the development of babies to illustrate a book on neurology and supervises the reproductions of his bronze sculptures. In between he finds time to help his children with their first attempts at making clay figures, installs waterfalls in the front and back of his house, puts in a hothouse for his Bonsai collection and a playground complete with slides and sandbox for his and the neighbors' children. Then, to top it all off, with the help of his friends - of whom he has many - builds a 500 square foot studio - one wall all glassed in for daylight and with huge light fixtures in the ceiling so that he can work through the night!

Behind such a man is a loving, supportive wife.

Because Dan is a modest man. When asked if he wanted to be known as a painter, ceramicist, or sculptor, he simply said - "artist".