Phillip Chen

Tri-State Artists (IA/NE/SD) and Upper Midwestern Artists | Born 1953 | Chicago, Illinois

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.