Expand the section navigation mobile menu

Oakland University
Art and Art History

310 Wilson Hall
Rochester , MI 48309
(location map)
phone: (248) 370-3375
fax: (248) 370-3377

Oakland University
Art and Art History

310 Wilson Hall
Rochester , MI 48309
(location map)
phone: (248) 370-3375
fax: (248) 370-3377

Yu-chuan Chen

headshot of Yu-chuan Chen

Assistant Professor of Art History
307 Wilson Hall
248-370-2541
[email protected]

Yu-chuan Chen, assistant professor of art history, received his Ph.D. in art history from Stanford University. He specializes in eco-art history in East Asia, East Asian religious art and visual culture, and Chinese painting and calligraphy. His research and curatorial projects explore the intersection of art, nature, and organisms. Exhibitions such as “A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography” and “Earthly Hollows: Caves and Kiln Transformations” investigate the representations of landscape topographies, natural organisms, and spirituality in East Asian art and culture. He is currently working on a monograph titled “Activating the Sacred Landscape: The Visual Culture of the Wuyi Mountains.”

Promoting a global perspective, Chen’s teaching covers various topics and periods. He strives to articulate the interconnectedness of Eurasian cultures. He offers a general education introductory survey on visual culture in Asia and advanced courses, including eco-art history in East Asia and art of the Silk Road.

Education
Ph.D. Art History, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. 2019.
M.A. Chinese Art History, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan. 2009.
B.A. Foreign Languages and Literature, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan. 2005.

Additional Training
Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, Yokohama, Japan. Summer 2015.

“Andrew W. Mellon Chinese Object Study Workshop: Writing and Chinese Art Workshops,” the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Summer 2013.

Research and Teaching Interests
Eco-art history, East Asian religious art and visual culture, Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Grants Received from Oakland University
URC Faculty Research Fellowship, Oakland University. 2021.

Faculty Research Grant, Oakland University. 2020.


Grants Received from Stanford University
Student Projects for Intellectual Community Enhancement, Office of the Vice Provost for Education. 2017–2018.

Dissertation Write-up Fellowship, Center for East Asian Studies. Summer 2017.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Curatorial Research Assistantship, Cantor Arts Center. 2016–2017.

Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Stanford Center at Peking University. Winter 2016.

Summer Language Fund, Center for East Asian Studies. Summer 2015.

Graduate Research Opportunity, Dissertation Research Grant. Fall 2014.

Andrew M. Mellon Fellowship for Curatorial Research, Cantor Arts Center. Summer 2014.

Pre-doctoral Research Fund, Center for East Asian Studies. Summer 2013.

Cantor Summer Graduate Fellowship, Cantor Arts Center. Summer 2012.


Publications

Articles
[In Progress] “Human Ecology: Yu Peng’s Ink Landscape and Quest for Spiritual Transcendence.”

[Submitted to Monumenta Serica for Peer-review] “Through the Lens of Fengshui: Zhu Xi’s Cultural Production in the Wuyi Mountains.”

[Reviewed by the editors] “Divine Mushrooms and Sacred Landscape: Fang Congyi’s Topographic Painting of the Wuyi Mountains,” in Memorial Landscapes: World Images Eat and West ed. Uwe Fleckner, et al (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021), 255–74.  

[Peer-Reviewed] “Visualizing Paradise: Lu Zhi’s Jade Grotto in the Mountains of the Immortals” 咫尺見蓬萊:陸治的〈仙山玉洞圖〉, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art 428 (2018): 62–71.

“East Asian View of Nature, from a Mushroom Perspective” 靈芝視角下的自然觀, New Arts: Journal of the National Academy of Art 新美術:中國美術學院學報39.6 (2018): 106–18.

[Reviewed by the editors]“Cultural Memory Relived: Wu Guanzhong’s Timeless Landscape,” in The Art of Description: Writing on the Cantor Collections (Stanford: Cantor Arts Center, 2014), 46–53.

“The Great Synthesis of Wang Yuanqi: The Autumn Mountains in Huang Gongwang’s Style” 設色及用筆:王原祁仿黃公望秋山圖系列作品, in Shan shui zheng zong: Wang Shimin, Wang Yuanqi ji Lou dong pai hui hua xue shu yan tao hui lun wen ji 山水正宗:王時敏・王原祁及婁東派繪畫學術研討會論文集, edited by Macao Museum of Art (Macao: Macao Museum of Art, 2014), 176–95.

[Peer-Reviewed] “A Study on Wang Yuanqi’s The Autumn Mountains in Huang Gongwang’s Style” 王原祁仿黃公望秋山圖, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art 341 (2011): 104–15.

[Peer-Reviewed] “On the style, date, and production context of Dong Yuan’s Mountain Hall” 傳董源洞天山堂的畫風、成畫時代與製作脈絡, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art 339 (2011): 78–91.

[Peer-Reviewed] “On Chao Chang and His Flower Paintings” 傳趙昌歲朝圖與鋪殿花, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art 337 (2011): 48–57.


Catalogues
A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography (Stanford: Cantor Arts Center, 2017).

Newly Edited Calligraphy Volumes from the NPM Collection, Vol. 8: Cai Xiang Moji
故宮法書新編:蔡襄墨跡 (Taipei: National Palace Museum, 2012).

[co-authored] Landscape Reunited: Huang Gongwang and Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains山水合璧:黃公望富春山居圖特展. (Taipei: National Palace Museum, 2011).

Newly Edited Calligraphy Volumes from the NPM Collection, Vol. 6: Tang Xuanzong Shu Jiling Song and Tang Xuhou Zhu Juchuan Gaosheng故宮法書新編:唐太宗書鶺鴒頌・唐徐浩書朱巨川告身 (Taipei: National Palace Museum, 2011).

Newly Edited Calligraphy Volumes from the NPM Collection, Vol. 7: Huaisu Zhixutie故宮法書新編:懷素自敘帖 (Taipei: National Palace Museum, 2011).


Curatorial Experience

Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University
Collection and Exhibition Art Associate (part time). Spring 2019.

  • Research the permanent and relevant collections on campus for an upcoming exhibition on contemporary Indian art and performances.

Curatorial Research Fellow (part time).  Summer 2017.

  • Co-curated Earthly Hollows: Cave and Kiln Transformations.
  • Assisted with Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Paintings from Yamazaki/Yang Collection: Contacted lenders and artists for image rights.

Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Assistant. 2016–2017.

  • Curated A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography:

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Curatorial Research. Summer 2014.

  • Conceptualized and designed the exhibition Chinatowns in the Bay Area.

Curatorial Research Fellow (part time). 2012–2013.

  • Assisted in Highlights from the 20th-Century Chinese Collection.
  • Assisted in Mapping Edo: Social and Political Geography of Early Modern Japan.

Curatorial Research Fellow. Summer 2012.

  • Co-curated Border-crossings: From Imperial to Popular Life.

The National Palace Museum, Taiwan
Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Calligraphy. 2010–2011.

  • Co-curated Landscape Reunited: Huang Gongwang and “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains”山水合璧:黃公望富春山居圖特展

Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Calligraphy. 2009–2010.

  • Participated in the digitization and cataloging of the museum’s Chinese calligraphy and painting collections.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Curatorial Intern, Department of Asian Art. Summer 2008.

  • Participated in the digitization and cataloging of the museum’s Chinese calligraphy and painting collections.