Louise s’ebattant sous les tropiques, 1989

French artist Dominique Chan (1950) has a great fascination for Chinese culture. After studying at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, he undertook several trips, including to China. There, Chan learned a lot about local cultures, which he described in his diaries. The artworks he created as a result of his travels can also be seen as the representation of these diaries. In his paintings, he combines an expressive style of painting with elements borrowed from Eastern culture. Using form and colour, he expresses his feelings.

Chan’s artworks create a cheerful, sometimes even chaotic, impression even when the subject is less cheerful. The biggest reason for this is his cheerful use of colour. The artist smears the paint straight from the tube onto the canvas. People (especially women) and animals (he has a fondness for his own cat) often play the leading roles in the paintings. Besides paintings, Chan makes drawings, ceramics and sculptures. These feature the same subjects as his paintings.

Chan was born in Quimper to a French mother and Chinese father. He then grew up in Brittany and Paris. From 1968 to 1975, he travelled around Europe, learning the trade of street artists.

Chan eventually ends up in Amsterdam after his wanderings. There, he found work as a draftsman at the Rijksmuseum and studied at the Rietveld Academy from 1980 to 1985.

Dominique Chan has been working and living in the Netherlands since then and has a studio in Amsterdam.