Open Studio: Han Mengyun, September artist in residence

Visit artist in residence Han Mengyun in her studio, set in CFCCA’s main gallery space, to learn more about her research and current works in progress, ranging from painting and installation to video and the written word.

During the artist’s residency at CFCCA, Han Mengyun will continue her research and experimentation on the tradition of woodblock printing which purportedly originated in China and later developed in India. Visitors will also a chance to observe and try out the woodblock printing process themselves.

Mengyun recent art practice pays particular attention to the importance of craft as a facilitator of cultural exchange, to the “little” traditions that have been neglected in the normative Chinese art history, and to the ways in which this craft can be combined in her contemporary art practice, both in her painting and installation.

For those unable to join in person, the artist will also deliver a virtual talk via Zoom in which she will discuss recent projects and research alongside curator Roisin Inglesby and art historian Vivek Gupta.

Visit our website to learn more: https://cfcca.org.uk/artist-in-residence-han-mengyun-september-2022/

About the artist

Han Mengyun (b.1989 in Wuhan, China) is a multimedia artist currently based in London. Initially trained in the tradition of Western oil painting, Mengyun sought alterity in the histories of Chinese, Indian and Islamic art via dedicated study of their intertwined religious, cultural and linguistic discourses. Her work manifests a high degree of transculturalism, through which she seeks to establish a wholeness of self in the wake of fragmentations caused by modernity, globalisation, postcoloniality and diaspora. Mengyun’s current practice looks closely at the art of the book across cultures, from Indian and Persian manuscripts to woodblock-printed books in China and Japan. She received her MFA from the University of Oxford in 2018 after specialising in Classical Indology and Indian aesthetic theories. Prior to this, she completed a BA in Studio Art at Bard College in 2012 and has also pursued Sanskrit studies at Kyoto University.

Recent exhibitions include Night (IS A Gallery, Shanghai, 2022); The Glass Bead Game (ShanghArt Gallery, Art Basel, Basel, 2022); The Pavilion of Three Mirrors (Ad-Diriyah Biennale: Feeling the Stones, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2021); A Place for Concealment (Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, 2022); The Dwelling Place of the Other in Me (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2021); Splinters of Jade (A Thousand Plateaus Art Space, Chengdu (2019); and In Between Islands (Today Art Museum, Beijing, 2013), among others.

About Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art

The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) is a non-profit art institution specialising in presenting and supporting contemporary art practices with a focus on those of Chinese, East Asian and Southeast Asian (CEASA) heritage.

Situated in an award-winning building in the heart of Manchester, CFCCA has delivered diverse and vibrant public programmes, including exhibitions, events, residencies, research, and other forms of community engagement and partnership projects for over 36 years.

CFCCA strives to foster cross-cultural exchanges between Manchester, the UK and the world through forward-thinking visual arts programmes that increase the visibility of underrepresented artistic practices from the diasporic CEASA community and enrich the lives and cultures of local and global audiences. The values that underpin this working vision and mission are creativity, compassion, interconnectedness and collectivity.

Learn more at cfcca.org.uk

Photo credit: Rebecca Tutthill & Constantin Brosteanu

Host or Publisher Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art