Empty Mountain. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chen views the tradition as a waste of money and a source of air pollution.

"People waste lots of money on it, and it makes no sense. They still believe in it. It's very sad," the 37-year-old says.

Critic Huang Du says Chen finds his own style in the fertile soil and folk art of his hometown, combining plants, animals, wildness and simplicity into his paintings.

"It's difficult to define what kind of artist he is. He uses various elements in his works, such as tea stains, bed sheets, neon lights and wood," says Zhao Mengyuan, executive director of Hongkun Museum of Fine Art, a private museum focusing on works by modern and contemporary Chinese artists.

Zhao is a longtime friend of Chen. She says he's a man of few words. But Chen expresses himself in his works. Most of Chen's pieces are accompanied by essay-like poems, either displayed separately or incorporated into his works.

He often writes prose that pops to his head. Sometimes the words read like modern poetry. Sometimes they're nonsense, he explains.

This also goes for the titles of his works, such as Beyond a Relationship With You and Spring Follows Winter.

"What I paint and what I write is not important. It's the audiences' interpretations that matter," he says.