He Chengyao
He Chengyao (Chinese: 何成瑤; born 1964) is a Chinese artist residing in Beijing, China. Her artwork explores nudity, mental illness, memory, and mother-daughter relationships through performance, photography, and video.[1] He's work has been widely exhibited in China, Italy, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States.
He Chengyao | |
---|---|
何成瑤 | |
Born | 1964 Sichuan, China |
Alma mater | Central Academy of Fine Arts |
Known for | Performance artist |
Biography
He was born in 1964 in the Sichuan province in China. He's parents worked in a pottery factory in Rongchang (present-day Chongqing) and, when He was conceived, the factory ordered He's parents to have an abortion because they were unmarried. However, they decided to keep her and as a result He's parents were both fired. He's mother was nineteen when she gave birth to He and the couple subsequently had two more children.[1]
During He's childhood, the Cultural Revolution gained momentum and He's father was imprisoned for his political views. This left He's mother to raise the children on her own. Having faced years of humiliation from giving birth out of wedlock, He's mother was left with no job and a jailed husband and began suffering from considerable mental distress. He's mother started to strip in public, causing her children discomfort and shame. He speculates that her mother was predisposed to mental illness as her grandfather also suffered from similar mental distress.[1]
He taught mathematics at an elementary school for three years before attending the Sichaun Fine Art University in 1989.[2] In 2001, He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.[3]
Art work
Although He initially specialized in oil paintings, she is now predominantly focused on performance art. He states that her artistic shift was abrupt and occurred during a visit to the Great Wall of China: she spontaneously enacted a performance by taking off her top and walking partially nude among German artist H.A. Schult's installations of myriad terracotta sculptures. [4]
He's work consciously highlights the role mental illness has played in her life and her family's history.[5] Although her performances are frequently considered transgressive and are frowned upon by many including He's friends and teachers, this only reaffirms He's belief in the necessity of her work as both an intensely powerful form of self-expression and a challenge against social stigmas surrounding mental illness.[1] Critics have also stressed how He's performance work engages with feminism, body politics, and nationalist and transnational issues.[2][6]
Solo exhibitions[3]
- "The Extension of Limbs" - Juhua Gallery, Shanghai (2007)
- He Chengyao Performance Photo Exhibition - Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore (2004)
- "Performance Art He Chengyao" - One World Art Center, Beijing (2003)
- "He Chengyao Oil Painting" - Qinhao Gallery, Beijing (2000)
Group exhibitions[3]
- "WOMEN我們" - Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco (2012)
- "Negotiable Values" - Chinese Art Centre, Manchester (2010)[7]
- "Chain" - Chinese Art Centre, Manchester (2007)[8]
- "Global Feminisms" - Brooklyn Museum, New York (2007)
- "Out from XiNan" - Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou (2007)
- Performance Art Documentations from China - SUMU Titanik Gallery, Turku (2006)
- International Exhibitionist - Curzon Soho Cinema, London (2006)
- Cruel/Loving Bodies - Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong (2006)
- "Vital", International Chinese Live Art Festival - Chinese Art Centre, Manchester (2006)[9]
- "Loft of Language" - ThreeQuarters Art Gallery, Beijing (2005)
- "China Live" UK touring exhibition, (2005)[10]
- "The Magic Lantern" - Galway Arts Center, Ireland (2005)
- Changing Faces - Taipei Artist Village (2005)
- "Transborder Language" - Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, Beijing (2005)
- "The Wall" - Millennium Art Museum, Beijing / University of Buffalo Art Galleries, New York (2005)
- "Making Relationships" - Taipei Art Museum & Gaoxiong Art Museum, Taipei (2005)
- Asian Women's Art - Tokyo Joshibi University's Art Museum, Tokyo (2004)
- Spellbound Auro-The New Vision of Chinese Photography - Taipei Modern Art Museum, Taipei (2004)
- 14th Recontre Internationale Art Performance Quebec - Le Lieu Centre Art, Quebec City / Clark Gallery, Montreal (2004)
- 798 Photographic Memory Exhibition - 798 Art Zone, Beijing (2004)
- The Future of Imagination 2: International Performance Art Event, Singapore (2004)
- Listen to Men's Story From Women - 798 Art Zone, Beijing (2003)
- 5th International Performance Art Festival - Bangkok (2003)
- "The Limits of Bodies" - Shangrila Culture and Art Center, Beijing (2002)
- "Dream02" - OXO Gallery and Barge House, UK (2002)
- "Dialogue Puzzle" - Padua Youth Museum, Padua (2001)
External Links
References
- Tatlow, Didi Kirsten. "'She. Herself. Naked.': The Art of He Chengyao". Sinosphere Blog. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- "Brooklyn Museum: Chengyao He". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- He, Chengyao. "He Chengyao CV" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- Chan, Shing-Kwan (September 2019). "Up Against the Wall: Contemporary Chinese Performance Art and the Great Wall". Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art. 18 (5): 45.
- culturebase.net. "Cheng Yao He artist portrait - culturebase.net". www.culturebase.net. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- "Perspective Project". www.perspectiveproject.ro. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
- "'Negotiable Values' touring exhibition, various artists, 22 January - 3 April 2010". Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
- "'Chain' exhibition, various artists, 13 April - 17 June 2007". Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
- "'Vital Festival 06', various artists, 2 November - 5 November 2006". Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
- "'China Live' touring exhibition, various, artists, 13 October 2005". Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2018-09-07.