Artwork Description

Title: Gene Baby
Artist: Chen Feng
Date: n.d.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 70.9 x 39.4 in (180 × 100 cm)

1. Artwork Identification:
This compelling oil on canvas by Chinese artist Chen Feng, Title:d Gene Baby, continues his provocative exploration of bodily transformation and synthetic beauty. Executed in a striking palette of pinks and silvers, the figure depicted is a surreal, cyborg-like female form with exaggerated anatomical features and a single cyclopean eye — emblematic of Chen’s hybridized vision of human identity and bioengineering.

2. Artistic Style and Influences:
Chen Feng’s work draws on elements of science fiction, eroticism, and pop surrealism, merging hyper-femininity with post-human aesthetics. The glossy surfaces, symmetry, and stylized anatomical excess recall Japanese manga, digital avatars, and futuristic fetish fashion. This stylization aligns with the artist’s interest in altering visual perception and breaking the boundaries of realism.

3. Historical Context:
Chen Feng, born in 1986 in Wuhan, emerged from China’s New Media Art movement and was trained at the China Academy of Art. Though known for his multimedia works and video art, his oil paintings reveal an equally sophisticated investigation into identity, gender, and post-technological existence. His Gene Baby series mirrors contemporary anxieties about genetic engineering, digital beauty filters, and media distortion.

4. Provenance:
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation:
The painting is in very good condition, with well-preserved pigment, canvas tension, and surface clarity. No visible restoration or structural damage.

6. Artistic Significance:
Gene Baby stands as a powerful symbol of the synthetic self. Through Chen’s stylized mutation of the female form, the painting challenges viewers to reconsider perceptions of beauty, control, and surveillance in a digitized, manipulated world. A provocative and highly collectible piece from one of the emerging voices of China’s post-1990s art scene.