Zona Chen is a Taiwanese photographer, illustrator and director who lives in NYC. Her work is influenced by expressionism, the British photographer Platon, and performance artist Marina Abramovic.
She began her career as a professional portrait and wedding photographer in Taiwan before moving to NYC. Since 2016 she has amassed a large following for her daily comic drawings of the hedgehog character Jonathan.
Chen is a graduate of the Taipei Shih Chien University in Taiwan, where she majored in Fashion Design, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Digital Photography at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City.
I’ve always had a passion for drawing and when I got a hedgehog pet during my gap year in college, I was inspired to create a comic strip about him. Hedgehogs are fascinating animals. They’re naturally timid, curious, gentle and have a good heart. They will show their soft belly to people they trust, and roll themselves into a cute ball when sleeping or in danger. They seem to care about family and friends as much as I do.
I created Johnny comic strips, and emojis on the popular communication app LINE. My Facebook fan page has over 22,000 followers. In 2022 I met NYC filmmaker and XR / NFT creative, David Bates Jr., who convinced me to bring Johnny to life in an NFT art series that would show off his cuteness, good heart, energy, and positive energy to the world.
Johnny Jolt is an energetic, courageous character who’s down to try anything! This NFT series has been created by Taiwanese illustrator Zona Chen from her Jonathan comic strip that has garnered a large following in social media since 2016.
Group Exhibition:
2022, SVA Artist Residency Program, New York City
2022, Salon Business ART FAIR, Paris
Zona Chen專注於肖像攝影、複合媒材及NFT創作，畢業於台北實踐大學服裝設計系，目前居住紐約攻讀School of Visual Arts(SVA) 攝影碩士。
多從人與人間微妙的互動及個人生命經驗汲取靈感，作品受行為藝術家Marina Abramovic、表現主義、肖像攝影師Palton等影響。
2022年參與紐約視覺藝術學院 School of Visual Arts (SVA) 當代藝術家駐村計畫，於計劃尾聲的公開展覽中展出了令人耳目一新且備受歡迎的當代藝術作品：The Food Series(2022)、The Fish Series (2022)、Not Only Garbage (2022)、35 Meals in New York City (2022)、$0.75/$1.75/$2.75 (2022)，2022年10月以台灣藝術家身份參與法國巴黎商業藝術沙龍(2022 Salon Business ART FAIR)，同19位台灣藝術家在法國原皇室宅邸展出。
聯展
2022, 紐約 , SVA Artist Residency Program
2022, 法國 , Salon Business ART FAIR