ziqi.verse@gmail.com
ZIQI CHEN.
(she/her)
Ziqi Chen is a Glasgow-based artist. She graduated with distinction from the Glasgow School of Art, receiving an MLitt in Fine Art Practice in 2025. Her work has been exhibited in numerous locations across China, UK and Germany.
Working primarily in watercolour, she adopts juxtaposition as a main methodology, exploring the visual convergence of organic forms and artificial constructs. She incorporates the layering techniques of mineral pigments and Chinese lacquer (Da Qi), recognised as an item of China’s intangible cultural heritage, into her creative process, rearticulating them through a more contemporary painterly language.
She is currently focusing on the interplay between the natural and the synthetic amid conditions of information oversaturation in the post-digital era. Through a bold, vivid colour palette and symbolic motifs, her work examines how opposing materials and symbolic systems can coexist and interact on a single surface.
The Possibility of Papaver Rhoeas
The Possibility of Papaver Rhoeas
Ziqi Chen, 24*17cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.
Where Will You Gaze, Where Will You Go?
Where Will Gaze, Where Will You Go?
Ziqi Chen, 37*52cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.This work explores the sense of confusion brought about by the age of information overload.
I use vivid colours and a dense juxtaposition of symbolic elements to examine the relationship between human logic and natural existence, shaped by both opposition and interdependence.
Rehearsal for a Daydream
Ziqi Chen, 24*25cm, 2025, mixed media.
The Syntax of Vitality
p1: The Syntax of vitality
Ziqi Chen,
44.3*30.7cm, 2026,
watercolour on paper.
p2: The Syntax of Vitality, Reid Building,
photographed by Ross Finnie
IG Article
This is a New Year artwork commissioned by The Glasgow School of Art.
I extracted the key virtues of the Chinese Zodiac of horse, such as freedom, inclusivness, and resilience, then deconstructed these motifs representing these virtues and reassembled them through a surrealist approach to construct the composition.
The horse is represented as a toy pony, an embodiment of happiness and innocence. Other motifs in the painting include the tulip, which dominates the frame, symbolising universal love and triumph.
The tulip blossom, together with the dynamic movement of the other elements in the composition, forms an ‘infinity’ symbol, conveying the promise of an open future filled with endless possibility. The clownfish represents inclusiveness; the swallow represents the spring and freedom; the hand acts as a symbol of acceptance; and the Möbius strip represents perpetual renewal and bids farewell to the Year of the Snake.
Blue Reverie
Blue Reverie
Ziqi Chen, 17.8*26cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.
Traces of an Unseen Dialogue
Ziqi Chen, 76*53cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.
For Sale: Price on Request
Because of the complexity involved in interpreting language, verbal expression alone is often insufficient to fully convey emotion. As a result, bodily gestures become necessary to support communication. The image of the hand appears repeatedly throughout the composition. In my view, the hand, as a form of body language, carries rich emotional content and expressive potential; in this sense, it functions almost as another face.
Undeciphered Nautical Map
Undeciphered Nautical Map
Ziqi Chen, 67*44cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.
Lullaby
Ziqi Chen, 65*44cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.
The work focuses on a soft and quiet state of repose, viewing rest as fertile ground for new beginnings. The composition is built upon a stable horizontal framework, its overall rhythm gentle and restrained, like a slow breath.
Echo
Echo
Ziqi Chen, 53*37cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.For Sale: Price on Request
Amplitude
Ziqi Chen, 60*90cm, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
For Sale: Price on Request
Vernal Tide
Vernal Tide
Ziqi Chen, 28*50cm, 2025, watercolour on paper.For Sale: Price on Request
Little Companions
Digital painting, variable dimensions.
Exhibitions
Ziqi Chen (she/her)
Artist
ziqi.verse@gmail.com
Instagram@sphinxspeaking
小红书 rednote@东予(6358677298)
Ziqi Chen is a Glasgow-based artist. She graduated with distinction from the Glasgow School of Art, receiving an MLitt in Fine Art Practice. Her work has been exhibited in numerous locations across China, UK and Germany.
With an interdisciplinary background in art and technology, her work fuses rational structure with artistic sensibility. She adopts juxtaposition as a main methodology, exploring the visual convergence of organic forms and artificial constructs.
Working primarily in watercolour, she incorporates mineral pigments and the layering techniques of Chinese lacquer (Da Qi), recognised as an item of China’s intangible cultural heritage, into her creative process, rearticulating them through a more contemporary painterly language.
Instead of confining herself to a fixed trajectory, she is currently focusing on the interplay between the natural and the synthetic amid conditions of information oversaturation in the post-digital era. Through a bold, vivid colour palette and symbolic motifs, her work examines how opposing materials and symbolic systems can coexist on a single surface.
小红书 rednote
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China.
Expected in Jun. 2027
Glasgow School of Art, UK.
Sep. 2024 - Sep. 2025
Sep. 2019 - Jul. 2023
EXHIBITIONS
Rituals, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, UK, 2026.
Spring, The OpenGallery CIC, Halifax, UK, 2026.
Spring Equinox, Foxyard Gallery, Stowmarket, UK, 2026.
China–Hungary “Symbiosis — 4th International Digital Art Triennial,” Hangzhou, China, 2025.
Between Dreamscape and Digital Echoes, PADK Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2025.
Something in the Mirage, SIX FOOT Gallery, Glasgow, UK, 2025.
Starter Pack, SIX FOOT Gallery, Glasgow, UK, 2025.
Day Dreaming, Glasgow School of Art, UK, 2025.
Annual Exhibition of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou, China, 2024.
Changsha Youth New Media Art Exhibition, Changsha, China, 2022.
“Objects and Mechanisms” Art & Technology Automata Exhibition, Guangzhou, China, 2022.
SECRETS--Exhibition of Creative Image Works, Guangzhou, 2021.
Longlisted, Jackson’s Art Prize, 2026.
Selected for the 2025 China Illustration Art Yearbook, 2026.
Shortlisted, ArtEvol 2025: Voices from the Undefined, London, 2025.
Second Prize, 'Challenge' Science and Technology Invention Category, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, 2023.
Silver Award, KAN TAI-KEUNG International Design Award, Student Category, 2022.
Judge KAN TAI-KEUNG's Award, KAN TAI-KEUNG International Design Award, 2022.
Bronze Award, Singapore Art Design Contest, 2022.
Bronze Award, British International Creative Competition, 2022.
Bronze Award, British Ecology Design Award, 2022.
Merit Award, International Food Design Competition, 2022.
Physical Model Single Award, MANA Global New Media Art & Design Competition, 2022.
Selected as one of the Hottest New Media Art by MANA in October, 2022.