An Asian original
In his life, Chen spent time in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Beijing and his work has been translated into Thai, German, English and Korean; negotiations for Italian and French editions are also under way.
In 1990 Chen was invited to serialize his work in Weekly Morning. He was the first non-Japanese to become a staple on the Japanese manga market and in 1991 became the first non-Japanese to be awarded an Excellence Award by the Japan Cartoonists Association, for his series Heroes of the East Chou Dynasty.
Chen’s work is also well known in Hong Kong, where he worked with Wong Yuk-long to create Dapili (“Thunderbolt”), based on the famous Pili puppet drama from Taiwan, and where Ma Wing-shing invited Chen to create a spin-off of Fung Wan (aka Storm Riders). Wong once asked Fung Chi-ming, author of Dagger, Sword, Laugh, “What’s your favorite thing about Chen’s work?” “Before Chen,” Fung replied, “I didn’t realize that comics could be made like this.”
Chen’s reputation has also expanded beyond the world of comics. He is quite famous among gamers as well. In 2001 he became art director for videogame maker Game Arts and oversaw production of the PS2 game Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which included more than 200 characters from the famous historical novel, all rendered by his own hand.
In the marvelous final product, characters’ personalities are instantly recognizable from their expressions and appearance, and Chen’s art vividly captures all of their majesty, dignity and depth. In 2003, he moved to China to work as the art director for an online PC game that was likewise based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. At the time the studio became known as a talent incubator, and many of China’s well known videogame designers got their start there.
This summer, Chen Uen will become the first cartoonist ever to be honored with an exhibition at the National Palace Museum. “His painting tested the human limits of art,” says Zhong Meng-shun. “That’s why he is admired by so many people.”
The exhibit “The Legacy of Chen Uen: Art, Life & Philosophy,”curated by Zhong, is slated to open in the busy vacation month of June and will feature 250 examples of Chen’s original page art. Zhong hopes that visitors will come away with a deeper understanding of this remarkable artist.
Zhong has arranged for visitors to be able to get close to the original artwork, to see, for example, the thumbnail-sized characters that Chen drew using a magnifying glass, and the effects produced by the many strange tools he used to paint. Visitors will be able to discover the many hidden surprises in his work and see how he extended the boundaries of painting.
“As a reader I feel remarkably fortunate to have lived at the time he was working,” writes novelist Wu Ming-yi. Authors Chen Ko Hua and Ruan Guang-min have also recorded their memories of Chen. Ashin, vocalist for the Taiwanese band Mayday, has written a song for the exhibit, and there will be performances of traditional Pili glove puppetry. The exhibition poster was created by well-known designer Feng Yu. Wang Shi and Wang Wan-jo of Activator Marketing have produced a documentary film about Chen’s life. It seems that all of the arts community want to pay their respects to this unique talent. “This is not just an exhibition about Chen but also a celebration of Pili, Ashin and the National Palace Museum,” says Zhong. “It is the most important gathering of Taiwan’s cultural circles.” This is a rare opportunity to showcase the power and growing confidence of local culture.
Chen was famously unsociable in person. “All I have to say is in my paintings,” he once said. All that Zhong Meng-shun wants to say about Chen Uen can likewise be found in the exhibit. He hopes that visitors will come to understand the life trajectory of this trailblazing graphic novelist.
Innovative in his methods, Chen Uen employed sand, plastic bags, and other unusual tools in his work. (courtesy of Chen Uen Studio)
Chen Uen’s pioneering depiction of bronze ornaments on a warrior’s armor influenced the aesthetic sensibility of the videogame industry. (courtesy of Chen Uen Studio)
Chen Uen included many “Easter eggs”—hidden surprises—in his work, as in this scene in which Bai Bingwei (the major character in Magical Super Asia) emerges from a trash pile in the likeness of an F1 racecar driver. (courtesy of Dala Publishing)
Chen Uen’s work has been translated into Thai, German, English, and Korean.
Chen Uen’s work has been translated into Thai, German, English, and Korean.
Aho Huang, editor in chief at Dala Publishing, once edited Chen Uen’s work and has been instrumental in promoting foreign distribution.
In Chen Uen’s videogame designs, he captured the personalities of the characters by focusing on their expressions and bearing.
Above all Chen Uen prized composition. Even without first sketching scenes, he could achieve the same effects as today’s 3D computer modeling using only his imagination, as is evident in this depiction of a scene from the Battle of Changban in the videogame Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (courtesy of Chen Uen Studio)
Stephen Chow drew inspiration for an image of a myriad of hands punching through a traffic light in his film Kung Fu Hustle from Chen Uen’s Abi-Sword. (courtesy of Dala Publishing)
Chen Uen is the first graphic novelist to have his work exhibited at the National Palace Museum. The exhibit runs from June 16 to September 17, 2018. (courtesy of Chen Uen Studio)