Artwork Description

Title: Body
Artist: Chae Ho (Chinese, b. 1962)
Date: Undated
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 39.4 x 39.4 in (100 x 100 cm)

Artwork Identification
Body is a striking oil painting by contemporary Chinese artist Chae Ho, executed on a square canvas measuring 100 x 100 cm. Presented in a professional frame, the work features a stylized depiction of the human form, rendered with confident brushwork and tonal modulation. The figure is not merely anatomical but symbolic—abstracted and poised within a quiet field of painterly gesture. The composition demonstrates Ho’s sensitivity to both structure and atmosphere, inviting reflection on corporeality, presence, and the silent expressiveness of form.

Artistic Style and Influences
Rooted in the rigorous training of the China Academy of Art, Chae Ho’s artistic style merges academic realism with contemporary abstraction. His approach often explores the body not as object but as vessel—imbued with tension, poise, and meditative stillness. In Body, one senses the influence of Western postwar figuration (such as the existential tones of Giacometti or early Bacon), yet equally grounded in the Chinese tradition of harmonious form and philosophical inquiry. The work straddles visual cultures, presenting a body that is at once personal and universal.

Historical Context
Emerging from the generation of artists educated in the immediate aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, Chae Ho belongs to a cohort that helped redefine Chinese painting in the reform era. Graduating from the China Academy of Art in 1986, he matured artistically during a period of increasing international engagement and domestic reflection. Body reflects the nuanced shift in Chinese contemporary art toward introspective themes—where identity, embodiment, and the self became subjects of painterly exploration beyond ideological narratives.

Provenance and Authenticity
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

Condition and Conservation
The work is preserved in its original frame and remains in excellent condition. The surface of the canvas is stable, with no signs of pigment loss, cracking, or restoration. The artwork is professionally stretched and has been stored in climate-controlled conditions.

Artistic Significance
Body exemplifies Chae Ho’s mature vision as a painter deeply concerned with form, humanity, and visual contemplation. It stands as a meditation on presence—quiet, restrained, yet filled with latent emotional depth. His work contributes to the evolving discourse of Chinese contemporary figuration, bridging classical technique with modern sensibility. As collectors turn increasingly toward voices within regional academies and artist collectives, works such as this offer rare insight into the personal and philosophical trajectories shaping 21st-century Chinese painting.