In River of Time, Canal Cheong Jagerroos captures a poignant meditation on movement and memory. This evocative triptych, developed over the course of her travels through Shanghai, Tokyo, Helsinki, Berlin, and beyond, becomes a visual diary—one layered with fragmented sketches, emotional impulses, and abstract gestures.
Each canvas in the series is imbued with the distinct rhythm of a place once visited, a fleeting emotion once felt. But rather than anchoring the viewer to a specific locale, the work transcends geography. It invites us instead to contemplate the delicate dance between chaos and calm, movement and stillness. This is not a map of destinations—it is an exploration of how experience transforms into insight.
Rendered in rich layers of form and color, River of Time exists as a lyrical interplay of transience and transformation. Through it, Jagerroos suggests that the true journey is not external but internal, unfolding in quiet realizations, restless wanderings, and the willingness to embrace the unpredictable.
A Life Shaped by Global Experience
Born in 1968 and raised in Macau, Canal Cheong Jagerroos grew up in an artistic family that nurtured her creative instincts from an early age. Over the last 30 years, she has lived and worked in cities across Asia, Africa, and Europe, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dakar, Zurich, Trieste, Strasbourg, Helsinki, and Berlin.
This nomadic existence has not only shaped her worldview—it has become the foundation of her artistic language. With nearly 100 exhibitions across the globe, she has established herself as one of the foremost Chinese contemporary artists bridging East and West. Her work merges cultural iconography with poetic abstraction, layering calligraphy, symbolism, and visual fragments from her diverse surroundings.
“Walking the line between East and West, facing different cultures, can be both constructive and destructive, but always inspirational,” she reflects. “I work with all perspectives and float with all possibilities along the creative process. I become part of my artwork, and the world around me becomes an assembling canvas.”
The Language of Layers
What defines Jagerroos’ visual voice is her mastery of layering—of both materials and meaning. Her compositions often intertwine Chinese calligraphy with contemporary abstraction, poems with spontaneous brushwork, refined structure with ephemeral movement. This approach creates a unique visual tension: her pieces feel at once deeply personal and culturally expansive.
Each work functions as a tapestry—threaded with memories, symbols, and textures from across continents. Her artistic practice becomes an act of reconstruction: collecting fragments from different places, times, and emotions, and weaving them into a singular, expressive whole.
Floating Islands and Blue & Red: Conceptual Projects
Beyond her studio practice, Cheong Jagerroos is the founder of Floating Island, an ongoing conceptual project that explores utopian space and personal identity through mixed media installations. Since its inception, Floating Island has been exhibited at major art institutions, including Jyväskylä Art Museum and Salo Art Museum in Finland.
She is also the co-founder of Blue and Red, an art initiative that reflects on coexistence, cultural duality, and emotional landscapes. The project debuted in several prestigious venues, such as the Xi’an Art Museum in China and Korundi Art Museum in Finland, further cementing her role as a cross-cultural visionary.
International Recognition and Exhibitions
Cheong Jagerroos’ extensive exhibition history reads like a travelogue of global art capitals. In recent years, her solo shows have included Neither Here Nor There at Art Miami (2024), Fragmented Harmony with Chaos Reflection in Finland (2023), and Floating Island – Drifting at the Saimaan Taideluola Art Centre (2020). Her participation in major art fairs—from LA Art Show and Art Context Miami to Basel Paper Position—demonstrates her international reach and critical acclaim.
Highlights from her decades-long career include appearances at the Venice Biennale (2013), solo shows in cities like Shanghai, Berlin, and Zurich, and multiple collaborations with BlinkGroup Gallery and Tranter Sinni Gallery. With each new series, she redefines how we experience cultural memory and abstract visual language.
A Practice Rooted in Transition
At the core of Cheong Jagerroos’ artistic ethos is a deep embrace of change. Her work, much like her life, is in constant motion—evolving with each new location, each shift in perspective, and each nuanced layer of experience. Whether through painting, installation, or collaborative projects, she invites viewers to reflect on the impermanence of the world around them and the enduring impressions it leaves behind.
In River of Time, as in her broader oeuvre, the artist constructs a quiet but resonant space where stillness and motion converge. In doing so, Canal Cheong Jagerroos offers not just a visual experience, but an invitation—to observe more deeply, to move more freely, and to remember that transformation is always in progress.
