Phillip Chen was born in Chicago and became a widely recognized artist there before moving to Des Moines in 1995 to serve as Professor of Printmaking and Drawing at Drake University. For many years, he has worked on a series titled Origins and Destinations. He combines photography of objects in his personal collection with diagrammatic drawings to re-evaluate the roles that his family’s history has on his current experiences. Unlike traditional etching, in which the lines on a print come from ink transferred from etched lines on a metal plate, Chen’s prints are defined by the color of the paper, with the rest of the paper covered in rich black ink.
Phillip Chen
American (Midwestern Artist)
born 1953
Fiji Mermaid, 2005
relief etching
Sioux City Art Center Permanent Collection; 2012.42
Legacy Collection purchase with private funds from the Blockbuster II Partners, the Margaret Heffernan Permanent Collection Fund, the M.A. Martin Everist Foundation, and the Gilchrist Foundation.