Sichen Grace Chen (she/they) is a painter and illustrator currently based in Langley. 

Symbolised by the pairing of her Chinese name, Sī Chén (思辰), and her English name, Grace, Chen explores the complex relationships between seemingly disparate ideas, objects, and identities, hoping to create space for new perspectives. Growing up in China for the first few years of her life and moving often between cities in British Columbia has led her to garner an appreciation for the sentimentality and physicality of material objects and natural landscapes. Chen paints notions of trauma, mending, and healing through the symbolism of nature, household items, and everyday scenes.

Pareidolia, a phenomenon in which the mind perceives meaningful patterns or images in random stimuli, is one of the ways Chen untangles truth and molds her unconscious childhood and recent memories into their most authentic presentations. Her emotions and thoughts manifest through dream-like abstraction and moody palettes, contrasted with real-world memorabilia and paraphernalia. Through her play of scale and reverie of trinkets, Chen paints an amalgamation of her interpersonal relationships and unwritten diary through the guise of allegory.

For commissions or resume, please contact sichengraceart@gmail.com

~ CV ~