Chen Ruofan

Chen Ruofan currently lives and works in Shanghai. She holds an MFA from the Royal College of Art, London, and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NY. Through paintings, installations, and videos, Chen focuses on the intricacy of human emotions and their ebbs and flows by meticulously depicting the carriers that support them and the imperceptible changes between them. Navigating between the multi-layered digital world and physical reality, she caches memories and emotions within her built objects, attempting to intervene in their natural trajectories. Her attention to ecological rhythms related to “slowness” often leads to a construction process characterized by a chronic, non-dramatic, non-lethal state that awaits activation. Ruofan sees the editable or woven technological process as an organic way to blur the boundaries between virtual and real. On the one hand, she regards the pixels in the digital realm as the foundational matrix of the physical world, while on the other hand, she does not impose the differences between them onto the viewer. In the previous series, she focused on geographic memory constructed by nature and humanity, infusing her own emotions into explorations that probe the subtle relationships between herself and the world.

Some recent solo exhibitions and projects include:“shelter”, BANK, Shanghai, 2024; “White Peach,”Powerlong Art Center, Xiamen, 2020; “Property of Neutral,” Paper Gallery, Manchester, 2020. Recent selected group exhibitions include: “The Cloud Catcher” at Galerie Perrotin, Shanghai, China, 2025；“Encoding Phenology,” Beijing Times Art Museum, Beijing, 2024; “Super Community”, TANK Shanghai, Shanghai, 2024; “Incarnation,”Song Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2024; “Whispers of the Forgotten,”Xintiandi x UCCA, Shanghai, 2023；Aranya Plein Air, Chengde, 2023; “BAGT Artworks Open” at Barbican Arts Group Trust, London, UK，2021; “PROXY,” Cromwell Place, London, 2021; “Media Art; Reinterpreted Time”, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2021; “Carry-On,” Yuan Art Museum, Beijing, 2021. She has participated in several residency programs including: K11 Group X ArtReview Artist-in-Residence Programme, Wuhan, China, 2024; Artist Residency at The Arctic Hideaway Fleinveer, Bods, Norway, 2023; Artist Residency at AranyaArt Center, Beidaihe, 2023; "RanRan" Young Artist Incubation Program by Xintiandi x UCCA, Shanghai, China, 2023. She was awarded as “RanRan” Young Artist Prize by UCCA x XINTIANDI, Shanghai, China (2023) ,Young creators recognition Award by AUDI x to summer, China(2025) and Honor award of Galerie Biesenbach “ART MATTERS 2”, Cologne, Germany (2020), shortlisted by Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London, UK (2023), New Contemporaries, London, UK (2022), and nominated for International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement in “Contemporary Sculpture Award,” New York, USA (2019).

Credit: Chen Ruofan、BANK


Diary from the Arctic Circle, silk, polyester; Digital animation Duration: 2’’16,250 x 140 cm,2024,Diary from the Arctic Circle: Referencing the weather and mood recorded in my diary during the residency, I used software to simulate each day’s wind, sunlight, turbulence, and shape of the sea. The mood reflected in my diary also became a highly influential meteorological factor.
Soft Window.Floor part: Oak, magnets, steel nails, silicone, elastic fabric; Hanging part: Sand, stone, sawdust, cotton thread, steel wire. 265 x 242 x 180 cm / 49.4 x 18x 84.7 cm；100 x 100 x 150 cm. Soft Window: Wind-pressurized to the point of being wrenched askew and collapsed below the horizon. Extreme weather increases in tandem with global warming.“October 16th, 15 gale force winds still blow. Many thanks to this wood house,secured tightly by the wire rope. It's really good to have you these days.” Words to the wood house from my diary.The somewhat oppressively small space has made me intimate with the house for the first time, the shelter becoming another layer of clothing. It also made me reconsider the importance of refuge. The fine gravel and the problems we face seem to be the same as the slow intrusion of dust- but as it is not imminent at first, we choose to ignore it Soft Window.Floor part: Oak, magnets, steel nails, silicone, elastic fabric; Hanging part: Sand, stone, sawdust, cotton thread, steel wire. 265 x 242 x 180 cm / 49.4 x 18x 84.7 cm；100 x 100 x 150 cm. Soft Window: Wind-pressurized to the point of being wrenched askew and collapsed below the horizon. Extreme weather increases in tandem with global warming.“October 16th, 15 gale force winds still blow. Many thanks to this wood house,secured tightly by the wire rope. It's really good to have you these days.” Words to the wood house from my diary.The somewhat oppressively small space has made me intimate with the house for the first time, the shelter becoming another layer of clothing. It also made me reconsider the importance of refuge. The fine gravel and the problems we face seem to be the same as the slow intrusion of dust- but as it is not imminent at first, we choose to ignore it
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