Greater Donghua Fashion Week｜Chen Wen Art and Fashion Exhibition Held in DHU
On April 18, “As Squarely as A Circle: Chen Wen Art and Fashion Solo Exhibition” was held at Shanghai Museum of Textile and Costume at the Yan’an Road campus of DHU. Vice President Liu Chunhong, Yuan Menghong, General Branch Secretary of Party of College of Textile, Zhang Qinghui, Vice President & Secretary General of China Fashion Association and Zhang Zhaoda, Vice President of China Fashion Association attended the opening ceremony, which was presided over by Bian Xiangyang, Curator of Shanghai Museum of Textile and Costume. Other attendees include officials from Fashion • Art Design Institute of DHU, Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, municipal governments of Shandong Province as well as Shandong Tianyan Fashion Co., Ltd.
Vice President Liu Chunhong delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to alumnus Chen Wen for his return to hold the art and fashion exhibition and his support for the alma mater’s education. She indicated, as an honored fashion designer, Chen Wen shared his years’ costume, oil-painting and fashion portfolio with us through various forms such as physical objects, paintings, videos, dynamic show and lecture, which expressed his unique and innovative design and art philosophy, setting an outstanding example of innovation and entrepreneurship for youth. She also highlighted that the exhibition organized by the museum of DHU, which serves as the transmitter of traditional culture and watchman of contemporary art, not only represents the recognition of Chen Wen’s efforts and achievements in the pursuit of new standards of art and fashion from the university, industry and society, but witnesses the important initiatives made by DHU to play the role of education and cultural inheritance, promote the development of shanghai cultural and fashion creative industries and strengthen the building of characteristic disciplines.
Zhang Qinghui fully affirmed the unremitting efforts and fruitful results made by Chen Wen in costume design, fashion education and art creation. He hoped that the exhibition would spur more ambitious young people interested in design and fashion to join in this cause.
There are more than 200 works of art on display, which covers clothing, oil paintings and fashion paintings, including the works that won the China Fashion Design Top Prize “Jinding Award.” The exhibition witnesses the evolution of Chen’s design styles, among which the combination of art and jean elements is the most representative. He incorporated his years’ experience of travelling in Europe into abstract paintings, which were then converted into patterns printed on jean fabrics, thus creating a new jean style with fashion and art characteristics. Besides, both the landscape/character oil paintings themed with customs of South France and fashion paintings deserve careful appreciation. The exhibition will last till May 28 and is free and open to teachers, students and citizens.
On the opening ceremony, Chen Wen was also appointed as a Member of the Arts Committee of Shanghai Museum of Textile and Costume and was pleased to donate his works awarded 2015 China Fashion Design “Jinding Award” to the museum.
Chen Wen also shared his experiences and thoughts of “Fashion and Art Tour” with more than 60 college student entrepreneurs in cultural creative field in the newly built innovative business incubator base of Donghua University. The students consider that the perfect combination of art and design in Mr. Chen Wen’s works enable them not only to feel the designer’s mastery of materials and fabrics, but also to learn the new idea of integrative development of art and fashion, design and business under the new economic underground, which are of great inspirational significance to the growth of young design talents.
During the fashion week, furthermore, Chen Wen brought a fashion show named “Bonjour! Provence” for the alma mater, showing over 50 sets of his latest design works and continuing to interpret his distinctive jean art style.
