Chinese Contemporary Art

This unique collection includes work by artists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the wider diaspora/artists of Chinese heritage. It has been developed mainly since 2013, when the University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) in Manchester. Through working initially with CFCCA, and increasingly commissioning new work with wider partners such as Open Eye Gallery, LOOK International Photography Festival, and Photofair Shanghai, as well as independent curators such as Ying Kwok, the collection has grown to include work by 29 emerging and established artists (as of August 2020, with several further commissions underway).

Recognising global shifts in power from West to East, and wanting to ensure that the Collection is international in focus, this strand also connects to the work of the School of Arts and Media across China (at Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Dailan, China Academy of Arts in Shanghai, and Chengdu University).

Artworks vary from painting, photography, sculpture, video and installation. What links these works is the artists’ connection with Northwest England and how, in different ways, they each reflect the changing world that we live in.

Artists include:
AAAJIAO, Li Binyuan, Suki Chan, Chou-Yu Cheng, Gordon Cheung, Luke Ching, Cao Fei, Han Feng, Chen Hangfeng, Kong Chun Hei, Owen Leong, susan pui san lok, Wang Ningde, Ma Qiusha, Cheng Ran, Tian Taiquan, Wu Chi-Tsung, Annie Lai Kuen Wan, Yan Xing, Lu Xinjian, Sun Xun, Lu Yang, Samson Young, Miao Ying, Yang Yongliang, Chen Ching-Yuan, Liang Yue, He Xiangyu, Shen Xin

Exhibitions:
In 2018, the Collection of Chinese contemporary art was exhibited in its’ entirety in Liverpool at PRESENCE: A Window into Chinese Contemporary Art , part of the city’s 2018 China Dream season. In early 2019 a selection of work was exhibited at the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery.

In late 2019, a selection of work from the wider Collection was exhibited at Photofair Shanghai, curated by Ying Kwok. In the same year, University of Salford Curator Lindsay Taylor curated Peer to Peer, a group exhibition of photographers from the UK and China both in Liverpool (at St George’s Hall and Open Eye Gallery) and in Shanghai (Shanghai Centre of Photography).

In 2020, Lindsay is also part of the North West Collective (CFCCA, Open Eye Gallery, and the University of Salford) leading an Arts Council funded cultural exchange programme for Visual Arts in the UK and Hong Kong.

Resources:
PRESENCE: A Window into Chinese Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue. 

All images (c) the artists and/or their estates and representatives.