Yu-Tao Chen was born in 1918 in Gulangyu, Xiamen, (Fujian province of China), a picturesque islet with a poetic atmosphere. It was there that Chen was brought up and cultivated his aesthetic temperament.

A graduate of Academy of Fine Arts of Amoy, Chen’s Neo-traditional Imagerism is the outgrowth of fifty years of experimentation with ink-brush and oil. His art unites the traditional aesthetic elements of Chinese Literati, or hsieh-yi ink-brush painting, and essence of modern western abstraction. It is a dual matrimony of ancient and modern, Orient and occident.

His style ranges from semi-abstract to abstract improvisation and in keeping with Chinese philosophy which utilizes nature as the primary subject matter. His work demonstrates restraint in the use of color and line, and relies on the calligraphic rhythm of his strokes to carry his powerful and impulsive forms.

Chen’s works have been widely exhibited throughout the East Asia in the last two decades, and are collected by a number of museums as well as private patrons.