Netherland Pavilion

130  X 194 cm     ac     2010/8/28

The Netherlands Pavilion, known as “Happy Street,” is constructed in a figure eight – a lucky number that suggests fortune in Chinese culture. It is mainly composed of a 800-meter pedestrian street that curves in a figure of eight and 26 small houses along the street. Built completely on stilts, the street looks like a suspended roller coaster.

In this painting, Dr. Chen pays tribute to some Dutch master artists, and Netherlands, a small country having great artists, and invites visitors to look into the small houses and see beautiful masterpieces such as Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, Sunflowers. On the street, we see Van Gogh, armed with painting materials, seems coming back from Tarascon and a portrait of Rembrandt, and a painting of Mondrian’s. Chen also includes some Dutch elements into the painting, such as some flags of Dutch companies, street music stand, windmills, the Queen’s crown, “Miffy” the Rabbit, etc. alongside the curved ”Happy Street.”