About Me

Cheng Yen Yu, born in 1998 in Taiwan and currently based in London, UK, is a contemporary painter with a Master’s degree in Painting from the Royal College of Art. He specializes in mixed media, watercolor, and acrylic painting on substrates such as linen and paper, integrating architectural materials like plaster, clay, concrete, sand, soil, wire, and colored nails. Best known for his rocky surfaces, Cheng explores intuitive human emotions intertwined with social dynamics, highlighting the cyclical nature of emotional “deconstruction and reconstruction”to  achieve a sense of wholeness.

His works delve deeply into fragility, sensitivity, and the duality of destruction and restoration, reflecting the inner conflicts and anxieties of human experience. By skillfully blending the fluidity of Eastern ink art with the tension of Western Abstract Expressionism, his creations imbue profound philosophical and emotional dimensions, expanding into the relationships between time, emotion, energy, and the universe. His paintings convey the irreversibility of the past, the intuition of the present, and the uncertainty of the future, often drawing inspiration from Eastern religions, cultural fusion, and personal experiences, as he continuously seeks to understand life.

His artworks are like a recreation of the wonders of nature, employing the brilliance of gold, the fervor of red, the depth of green hues, and the calmness of black, gray, and white to express a profound contemplation of the universe and life. These pieces are not only explorations of energy and existence but also modern interpretations of Eastern philosophy. Through color and symbolism, he leads viewers into a realm that is both real and illusory, facilitating profound inner dialogues and inspiring reflections on the universe, life, and time.

He has exhibited his work internationally, including the solo exhibition The Observer’s Eyes at Kaohsiung Cultural Centre, Taiwan (2020), Tutussie Artfair “A Part of US” in Mayfair London(2024), and group exhibitions such as Transitional Traces at MP Birla Millennium Art Gallery, London (2024), Material Voices at ST.ART Gallery, London, About Time at Swanfall Art Gallery, London (2024), The National Art Exhibition ROC at The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and Arts Center (2019/2018), and Colors of The Rainbow Nation at Art Curator Gallery in South Africa (2019). 

Cheng’s awards include the National Art Exhibition Merit Award (Taiwan, 2019, 2018), International Watermedia Festival, Finalist (South Africa, 2019), The 23rd National award of Chiayi City, Finalist (Taiwan, 2019), The 17th Taoyuan Contemporary Art Award (2019), The DADUN National Fine Arts Exhibition, Finalist(Taiwan, 2018), New Taipei City Fine Arts national award, Finalist(Taiwan, 2018), and Hualien City Fine Arts national award, Finalist(Taiwan, 2018).