Clio Art Fair Spotlight: A review by YI-CHIAO CHEN

Tsering Dicky
1 day ago
3 min read

Artist Yi-Chiao Chen alongside her painting

"In my artistic practice, I explore the interwoven forces of motherhood, nature, emotion, and abstraction. I believe art has the power to capture the invisible yet omnipresent energies—the rhythms of nature, the resonance of emotion, the memory of the body. Through colors, flowing lines, and layered textures, I translate these unseen forces into a visual language that transforms canvas and space into sites of reflection and spirituality. My work spans painting, photography, installation, video, and digital media, continuously seeking new forms that bridge inner experience and the external world. Together, these explorations converge into a larger vision: the “Cosmic Mother.”The Cosmic Mother is not a singular figure, but a field of energy. It connects the flourishing of nature, the power of femininity, the symbols of culture, and the pulse of the cosmos. Each of my series—Mother Flora’s union of plants and motherhood, Curve Line Conversion’s resonance of curves and metallic powders, and Blue-Gold Chaos’s cycles of rebirth—represents a facet of this maternal cosmos, woven into what I call a “cosmic history of motherhood.” Within this constellation, the 21st-Century Madonna & Child series holds a special significance. I aim to create Madonna and Child in an Asian style, reimagining the gaze and background to examine the mother–child relationship. Through the concepts of “transformation” and “hybridization,” I explore race, gender, and cultural identity, reflecting the layered complexity of the image in the 21st-century world. In doing so, I not only revisit motherhood as an archetype but also confront the complexities of contemporary womanhood, searching for strength and identity within the tensions of cross-cultural dialogue.In parallel, the Emotion Series raises a central question: can art enable audiences to achieve an emotional or spiritual connection? As a mother, through the experiences of pregnancy and raising two children, I became profoundly aware of the fragility and preciousness of life. By portraying the mother–child relationship, I transform this intimate experience into an artistic language, inviting viewers to enter a space of resonance and spiritual reflection. In these works, curves embody the flow of energy, gold evokes the sacred and the hopeful, and flowers and maternal forms stand as enduring symbols of regeneration. My art is an ongoing invocation: within motherhood, we are bound to nature, in communion with culture, and vibrating in harmony with the universe. My works also reflect my life—intertwining personal history, perspective flow, and the circulation of energy. The circle, as a recurring motif, embodies balance, generation, and the interconnected influence people exert on one another. Everything originates from the past, while the future unfolds within the present."

-YI-CHIAO CHEN

YI-CHIAO CHEN exhibited her work in the past at the 20th edition of Clio Art Fair, held from September 4–7, 2025. Here is a short interview with the artist and a review of her experience at Clio Art Fair.

YI-CHIAO, can you please describe your art in four words?

Cosmic • Maternal • Energetic • Abstract

What inspires your art?

The intertwined energies of motherhood and nature.

How would you describe your experience at Clio Art Fair?

My experience at Clio Art Fair was both impactful and profoundly enriching. Throughout the exhibition, I engaged in meaningful conversations with viewers, collectors, and fellow artists from around the world, many of whom responded deeply to the themes of motherhood, nature, and energy in my work. Clio’s professional and diverse environment provided a platform where my practice could be encountered within a truly international context. This experience became an inspiring milestone in my artistic journey, allowing my work to be seen, discussed, and appreciated through multiple cultural perspectives.