Jun Chen

RED LAND

24 September — 19 October 2024

Born 1960, China
Lives and works in Brisbane

View profile

The sun-baked earth, cracked and worn, stretches out for miles under a relentless sky—pockmarked by dead stumps and odd rock formations. Gnarled trees stand sentinel, their twisted limbs reaching toward an infinite blue where clouds drift lazily, casting fleeting shadows over the arid soil. The distant horizon melts into soft, hazy purples, blurring the lines between earth and sky. Amid the parched expanse, life clings stubbornly. A tapestry of contradictions, the resilient flora—fields of wildflowers and spindly shrubs—etch their survival against the backdrop of ochre sands, roots digging deep into the dry ground.

As day surrenders to twilight and swallows whole the sun, we are offered a fleeting moment of reprieve. Fiery reds and oranges bleed into deep purples and indigos. Shadows stretch, contours sharpen, and pockets of life emerge like hidden treasures. Wildflowers splay in vibrant bursts—yellows and magentas splashed against the ochre canvas. It is a stark beauty that wraps itself around you like the heat of the day. The sky, now awash in hues of coral and lavender, gently cups the silhouettes of distant outcrops. Life flourishes in defiance of surrounding vastness.

This is the place Jun Chen allows us to visit from the safety and comfort of our world outside his canvas. His latest exhibition signals a profound shift in his engagement with the land. With a visceral intensity, he captures Australia’s most elemental aspects. The softness of florals, the twisted gums, the rugged portrayal of dense foliage each reveal the depth of Chen's artistic evolution. He echoes the long lineage of classic Australian landscape artists such as John Russell, Arthur Boyd and Arthur Streeton—yet infuses them with his own contemporary vision.

RED LAND is suggestive of Australia's iconic soil, but his works do not limit themselves to a single colour or motif. He presents the land not as static, but as alive and in constant flux. Balancing on the edge of survival and abundance, his paintings are a testament to the spirit of a country that is as unforgiving as it is breathtakingly alive.

His landscapes, dense with thickly applied oils, capture the rugged physicality of the land. He has mastered impasto to the point where paint seems to take on a sculptural quality. His depictions of hardy shrubs, spindly trees, and textured soil are imbued with intricate, layered details; resembling the very surfaces of the outback they depict. Flowers are not rendered with photographic precision but with sweeping, energetic strokes. He transforms their fragility into something colossal. The trees themselves are monuments to endurance. Their trunks and branches stand in stark contrast to the wild, tangled underbrush below.

RED LAND stands as a powerful homage to the enduring spirit of the Australian landscape. The pigmented earth, vivid and alive, pulses underfoot—a reminder of the deep ties to land that run through the very veins of the country. As we look on, the sky seems to hold its breath.

Anthea Mentzalis
September, 2024

\ Exhibition featured works

Jun Chen

Blue Bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 100cm

Jun Chen

Blue Wild Flowers

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 102cm

Jun Chen

Cloud

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 128 x 134cm

Jun Chen

Distant Red Mountain

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100x101cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Dried Bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 130 x 130cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Grey Sky and Red Mountain

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Grey Sky and Red Mountain 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 101.5 x 100cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Gum Tree Bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 102 x 100cm

Jun Chen

Gum Trees 1

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136.7 x 200cm

Jun Chen

Gum Trees 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

Jun Chen

Near Mount Magnet

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100x101cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Near Mount Magnet 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100x101cm

Jun Chen

Near Winton

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136 x 160cm

Jun Chen

Near Winton 3

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100x102cm

Jun Chen

Noon in Bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 101 x 101cm

Jun Chen

Noon in the Farm

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101.5cm

Jun Chen

Peaceful Bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Pink Hill

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136.8 x 160cm

Jun Chen

Pink Wild Flowers and Trees

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 102cm

Jun Chen

Pink and Blue

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 102 x 100cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Red Mountain 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 153 x 269cm

HOLD

Jun Chen

Red Rocks

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 143 x 154cm

Jun Chen

Red and Grey Sky

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101.5cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Red and White

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136 x 160cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Red land and bush

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 102cm

Jun Chen

Trees and Red Land 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101.5cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Trees and Red land

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 101.5 x 100cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Water & Lillies

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

White Mountain and Trees

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

Jun Chen

White Sky

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101.5cm

Jun Chen

Wild Bush

2023 \ Oil on canvas \ 136.8 x 160cm

Jun Chen

Wild Bush 3

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

Jun Chen

Wild Field 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 116.7 x 136cm

Jun Chen

Wild Flower and Red Land

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136.7 x 160cm

Jun Chen

Wild Flower and Red Land 2

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 136.7 x 160cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Wild Flowers and Grey Trees

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 116 x 136cm

SOLD

Jun Chen

Yellow Wild Flower Hill

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 137 x 160cm

Jun Chen

Yellow Wild Flowers and Mountain

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101.5cm

Jun Chen

Yellow and Green

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 101 x 100cm

Jun Chen

Yellow and Pink Wild Flowers

2024 \ Oil on canvas \ 100 x 101cm

\ News

Media

Jun Chen painting sells at double the estimate, Shapiro Auctioneers 24 Sep

26 September 2024

The AFR's Salesroom has reported that a painting by Jun Chen sold for $18,750 at Shapiro's sale of Art and Objects from the Estate of Ray Hughes on Tuesday 24 September against estimates of $8000 to $10,000. It's the second highest price recorded at auction for Chen and is 25% higher than the current gallery price for a work of a similar size.

Read more

\ Other exhibitions

OTHER WORLDS

Group Exhibition

3 September — 21 September 2024

Suzanne Archer

Winds of change and sands of time

12 August — 31 August 2024

Brooklyn Whelan

Weekly Spotlight: Brooklyn Whelan

30 July — 6 August 2024

Contact Us

to find out more about RED LAND.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)