The work of Chen Ruo Bing has an enormous impact. Whether in large or small format, we immediately recognize an idiosyncratic, poetic imagery, great mastery of painting and an original contribution to the universal development of painting. In order to interpret his work and introduce it to a wider audience, a brief characterization of development, image production and content of Chen Ruo Bing’s work is given here. First, his development as an artist is discussed after which his work is briefly placed against the tradition of American colorfield painters, European monochrome painters and an understanding of essential elements of China’s rich visual culture that still influences Chen’s work. This contributes  to a possible interpretation of the meaning of Chen Ruo Bing’s work, which is given at the end. But let one thing be clear: the works of Chen Ruo Bing speak for themselves and to everyone in a different, personal way.