The view from The House of Roosevelt, 27 the Bund where China – Europe International Contemporary Art Global Tour.Shanghai was launched.

 

The opening ceremony was a grand elegant affair attracting support and endorsements from a range of cultural entities. The reception was hosted by Yu Tinting, founder of Qiyi culture. Speeches were delivered by Victor King founder of Global Investor Hub,  Li Jiashan, Executive Vice President of National Institute of Cultural Development, Mr POLO (chairman) and Mr. Ignasi Guardans i Cambo (a former MEP) and curators Ma Yiying and Longjing Li .

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I am thrilled to be showing in Inner Mongolia at the moment. 

On Paper Supreme 2018  is currently showing in Ordos Culture and Art Centre, the exhibition is curated by Chang Feng. 

Some of the work I am showing is part of the Sucrose Series which refers to the fragility of nature and ecological settings.

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In celebration of  Yeats day June 13th , the Hamilton Gallery opens this exhibition of more than 100 small sized works in the town of Sligo , the place the poet WB Yeats called his childhood and spiritual home. 

To mark the 100^th Anniversary of the end of 1^st World War Hamilton Gallery has chosen W B Yeats poem ‘An Irish Airman Foresees His Death’ as the catalyst for its Invited Artists Exhibition 2018.  The poem addresses the dichotomy that existed and still exists around the Irish response to The Great War 1914 -1918.  And of course it is relevant to many families whose loved ones have served or are serving other nations which is more likely now in our globalized world. 

 

Opening reception at the Hamilton Gallery Sligo  , Yeats Day June 13th 2018  Continue reading →

The art of feminism

This post is an overview of the exhibition at the Mezzi bookstore art space in Changsha which opened on May 20th. The exhibition focusses on various aspects of feminist art culture. “We hope that this high quality art collective by sixteen artists will reveal some of the challenges and struggles for women in present day societies ” said curator Zhen Guo who is also a practitioner artist based in New York . “We also hope to unite women of diverse nationalities and ethnicities , promoting the status of women in their respective communities.”

 

“Just as we think the art of feminism is about to be a thing of the past” said academic advisor Yaxi Guo ” the tragedies women experience are universal as highlighted by Women in the Dark program  presented by the installation by Franziska Greber. ”

 

Cautions are highlighted by the academic host Leier Ai in the exhibition catalogue, “Many exhibitions by all female artist have the danger of being secular and commoditized” she said “But in terms of language form and concept of feminist art this exhibition has a more progressive exploration of narratives . For example the Pillar of Time  utilizes  concepts of time and symbols and soft materials to construct female narratives. Material  form and techniques are perfectly unified in the Mother  establishing an impressive monument to female existence.” 

Gallery Manager Peng Junyao commented on visitors reactions. ” Many visitors wanted to talk more about the various stories that are taking place in this exhibition whether they are personal or not , whether it is happy or depressing it gives visitors a chance to recall and discuss with their friends. ”

 

Participating Artists: 

Laetitia Deschemps

Franzisika Greber

Guo Zhen

Xinmo Li 

Yuan Gao

Hayoon Jay lee 

Linlin Li 

Hung Liu 

Monika Lin 

Denise Keele- Bedford 

Tian Tang 

Baoju Wang 

Yinhong Yan 

Qiongfei Zhang 

Radka Hrabovska 

Niamh Cunningham 

Each artist talks about their work………

 

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When I was young I remember hearing the first tangible reference to feminism, my mother told me “your great grandparents were feminists” They divided the  farm equally between their three children: one son and two daughters. This was a very unusual in conservative rural Ireland in 1930’s. And so my first understanding of the term was equal resources. 

 

‘Existence – An International Feminist Art Exhibition’ opened on May 20th curated by Zhen Guo.  A huge thank you to some other wonderful women,  Zhang Haixia (chairperson of Bu Gao group) for supporting this landmark exhibition ,  to Wu Xiaobin (head of culture and art BBK Group). The opening coincided with a launch of another BBK project which is local art program for female artists called Cloud Water(Yun Shui project) . Also would like to thank the people of Mezzi book complex especially local curator Peng JunYao and manager Yang li Hui for all your help during installation and to translator ZhangShen for his help during the forum.  

The afternoon began with a forum discussing the expansive subject  ‘Feminist Art: Present and Future’ with curator Zhen Guo moderating Wu Xiaobin manager of culture BBK group,with other panel members artists Franziska Greber, Li Xinmo, and myself, and supporting academicians Tsao Xingyuan, Guo Yaxi and Ai Leier. 

 

This post will look at my works: the Hair Skull and the Pillar of Time which is exhibiting in this venue .

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