Ladybird of Dongxiaokou and Milk Portraits showing at East and West

中文链接

I am delighted to be part of ‘East and West’ currently showing at Miaohuan Museum in Songzhuang. Although Songzhuang in recent years has significantly reduced in size, I believe it is still the largest community of artists on the planet.

This large exhibition of 79 artists is curated by Chen Lijun, directed by Liu Yilei and with Art Advisor Chen Qingqing.

The work I have showing here includes a 6 minute 40 sec video of a tree dance.

Ladybird of DongXiaokou – Tree Dance video 6 min 40 secs Music Ciorras, Dancer Zhang Yi , Artwork Niamh Cunningham Nov 2020.

Image above is screening at A4 Artist Residency festival CPI , Luxelakes Chengdu , Oct 2024

I met Zhang Yi Autumn 2020 at a contact improvisation performance and was thrilled when she agreed to come to my favourite woods to help make a tree dance video. The title emerged from the morning spent filming in Dongxiaokou park, at one point we were resting and Zhang Yi discovered a ladybird and she was entirely engrossed in this ladybird, studying it for several minutes. It seemed to me when she danced she was just as exotic a creature as the ladybird she was studying, fully present and engaged in the natural surroundings.

Special thanks also to Robert Harvey and Ciorras for permission to use the music ( Blue Frog) for this video.

I also have two rare portraits remaining from my early years in China . When I began the Transparent Milk Series I got to know these young learners either as individuals or from group workshops. I wanted to paint these children in cream colours instead of the strongly saturated colours I usually used .

Twin Song ( Sunny) Transparent Milk Series , Oil on Canvas , 50x 50 cm Niamh Cunningham 2013

Exhibition History:

2013 Baby Baby Irish Centre SH, Central Plaza, Huangpi Road March (Irish Wave 2013)

2014 Convergence 3C space, 798, Beijing March (Irish Wave 2014)

2014 An Eastward Calling (solo) Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing, September

2016 The Painted Thread ， Joy Pavillion , CBD , Beijing Sept

2019 Beyond the Form of Art Wick Art Centre Budapest Hungary April- May

Little Dancer Transparent Milk Series Oil on Canvas 50 x50 cm Niamh Cunningham 2015

Exhibition History：

2019 Beyond the Form of Art Wick Art Centre Budapest Hungary April- May

In November 2012 I read in the local paper about the death of dairy whistle blower Jiang Weisuo from X’ian who revealed the cover ups on melanine additives to baby milk in previous years. I wanted to pay tribute to him by painting these young people different to my other portraits.

These are the last of the portraits available for sale.

A huge thank you to curator Chen Lijun and artist Chen Qingqing for organising such a huge scale exhibition in these times of economic challenge.

links on the other artworks and other artists