Chen Ching-Yao (Taiwan, b. 1976) was born in Taipei, Taiwan, where he currently lives and works. He holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts. His works combine costume, performance, photography, and embroidery, with the final presentation in the form of images and installations. He explores political and cultural issues. Using humor and satire, he critiques the phenomenon of leader deification in Asian culture, projecting his own image onto political leader portraits, creating a sense of contradiction between replacement and being replaced. His works often appropriate symbols from Japanese and Korean pop culture and portraits of political figures, deconstructing symbols of power and creating an ironic contrast that elicits a knowing smile. In recent years, his work has focused on photography and painting, internalizing historical and cultural differences into personal experiences. His works profoundly interpret the dialectic between power and absurdity, inviting the audience to reconsider their relationship with society through humor. He has won the Taiwan Emerging Art Awards and the First Prize of Taipei Arts Awards, and in 2009, he received the Liu Guosong Creation Award from the Asian Cultural Council Taipei Office to further his studies in New York. His works are permanently collected by institutions such as White Rabbit Gallery (Australia).
Chen Ching-Yao’s work explores the intersection of pop culture and political ideology. His early creations draw on Taiwan’s infatuation with Japanese culture in the 1990s, using parody and exaggeration to reinterpret local cultural responses. In his “AK Girls” series, inspired by the idol group AKB48, he transforms uniformed schoolgirls into AK-47-wielding soldiers, exposing the absurd overlap between idol worship and military ritual. “Russian Salt Bae” continues his satirical approach, using self-portraits to embody Asian political strongmen. Through these depictions, he critiques the phenomenon of political deification and the illusion of power, crafting a surreal and contradictory visual narrative between self and authority.
Rising in Fire: Hantoo Art Group — The Making of Taiwan’s Art History
▪️ June 7 – August 31, 2025
Bluerider ART Taipei．Dunhua
1F, No. 77, Section 2, Dunhua South Rd., Da'an District, Taipei City
Opening Hours : Thu.-Sun.｜10:00 – 18:30
info@blueriderart.com
Bluerider ART London · Mayfair
▪️Opening Reception:
October 16, 2025 (Thu.) | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Open to public)
▪️ October 16, 2025 – January 4, 2026
Bluerider ART London · Mayfair
47 Albemarle St, London, W1S 4JW
Hours: Daily, 10:00 – 18:00
