F I O N G U N N
Fion Gunn graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, Ireland in and spent a post-graduate year at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Supérieure de Nancy, France, she now lives and works in London.
She is an associate of Tate Exchange Liverpool and has won an award from Arts Council England for the creation of a ‘pathway’ artwork 'Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey', in collaboration with Tate and the Museum of Liverpool in 2019 . The artwork was showcased in August on Slavery Remembrance Day in Liverpool.
She is the first Irish artist to have a public art commission in China for the city of Zhangjiakou, in 2012 and is represented by Peking Art Associates in Beijing. Gunn’s diverse practice comprises 2D, 3D, sculpture, installation and multimedia projects. Her work features in private & corporate and state collections in UK, France, Poland, Ireland, USA & China, including most recently the Rosewood Residencies Guangzhou.
She has won multiple awards for her work from Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Culture Ireland, Dublin, Cork & Belfast City Councils. She has been awarded Artist Residencies at RedGate Programme Beijing, Baltic Art Center Poland and Tate Exchange Liverpool. Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China, including the A.P.T Gallery & Leyden Gallery in London, Au Médicis, Paris, WhiteBox , New York, Enjoy Museum & Inter Gallery 798, Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Crafts, Beijing among others.
Gunn was guest editor for the 2015 Spring Edition of ArtZip Contemporary Art Magazine (bilingual English/Chinese) writing on the theme of the artist as curator. She works with a wide network of international artists and has led panel discussions with high profile practitioners such as Shirin Neshat at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center, Oct 2015.
Her solo show 'Young Gunn' in November 2019, curated by Emily de Wolfe Pettit featured her 'Age of Exploration' artworks, this extensive series reflects her ongoing preoccupations and passions.
Gunn has won multiple awards for her work from Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Culture Ireland, City Councils of London, Dublin, Cork & Belfast, Irish Literature Exchange, Walcot Foundation. She founded Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, was chair from 2009-15, working collaboratively as lead artist. The Group comprised women from the Somali & Horn of Africa Community in Streatham as well as Asian, North African, Refugee and low-income communities, its purpose was to reskill, promote inclusion and to promote well-being through arts & crafts.
Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China - many of her projects are based in Beijing and Shanghai where she has also curated major collaborative exhibitions of Irish & Chinese contemporary art in an annual project called IRISH WAVE (2009-2016). https://www.facebook.com/pages/IRISH-WAVE/
ARTIST’S RESIDENCIES:
Tate Exchange Liverpool, UK 2019, Baltic Art Center, Slupsk/Ustka Poland 2014, RedGate Gallery Residency Programme Beijing, China 2005
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2006 - 2020
2019
- Solo Show, Young Gunn curated by Emily de Wolfe Pettit, Candid Arts Trust, Angel, London
- Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey showcased at Tate Liverpool and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool
- Odyssey: Explorations, Interactive Exhibition at Tate Exchange Liverpool
- Odyssey: The Return curated by Huang Du, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing
2018
- Odyssey: Expedition - ASC Studios Space, London
- Artnight 2018: Odyssey:The Journey Home, curator/featured artist The Workshop, London
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition curated by Chang Fang, Shenyang & Qingdao, China
- Excavations, group show, curator/featured artist, Enjoy Museum, 798, Beijing
- Solo Show Age of Exploration, He Gallery, Beijing
2017
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition, Center for Contemporary Art, Guangzhou, Ordos Center for Art & Culture, Ordos, Inner Mongolia
- Views from Distant Shores 3 person show, curator/featured artist, South London Refugee Centre, London
2016
- Female Artists Nominations, group exhibition, Da Yun Tang Art Museum, Beijing
- The Painted Thread, Yue Pavilion, 3 person show, Beijing
- Intimate Transgressions, international touring exhibition, (2015-16), lead curator/featured artist,
Whitebox, New York City, InterArt Gallery, 798, Beijing, Hangzhou Library, Hangzhou, China and Chiang
Kai Shek Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- IRISH WAVE 2016, director/lead curator/featured artist, Birth of a Nation, Ning Gallery 798, Identity,
EARC Space 798, Beijing, Struggle, Sanwei Art Center, Shanghai
2015
- Hohhot Biennial, Mongolia
- IRISH WAVE 2015: POETIC VISION, director/lead curator/featured artist, Sanwei Art Center, (M50) Shanghai, InterArt Gallery 798 & Dong Yue Art Museum Beijing
- Memoire Traumatique 4 person show, curated by Phillipe Frydman, Au Medicis Gallery, Paris
2014
-The Dress My Mother Wore, lead artist collaborating with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, funded by Art Council England, installation at Museum of Childhood London, Southbank Centre, Horniman Museum and other London venues
- Solo Show, Timeline Tourist, Baltic Arts Center – Witches’ Tower, Slupsk, Poland
-IRISH WAVE 2014: Director/lead curator/featured artist, Loftoo Gallery, (M50) Shanghai, 3C Creative Mall (798) Beijing and China Central Mall, Beijing
- Legacy, curator/featured artist – collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibition, Cork City Hall, Ireland
2013
- Spice Tent lead artist collaborating with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, installation at 4 public festivals in South London funded by the Mayor’s Outer London Fund
- IRISH WAVE 2013, director/lead curator/featured artist,
- Altered Landscapes, Europe House, Smith’s Square, London
-Out of the Blue, Morley Gallery, London
- Feast for the Mind, Irish cultural Centre Hammersmith, London
2012
-The City & The City, curator/ featured artist), APT Gallery, Cultural Olympiad, London
- IRISH WAVE 2012, director/lead curator/featured artist, 6 collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibitions, Beijing
& Shanghai
2011
- Hair Routes, lead artist, collaborative artwork with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC Carnegie Library, BHM, Lambeth
- IRISH WAVE 2011, director/lead curator/featured artist, 4 Irish/Chinese collaborative exhibitions in Beijing
- From Here To There exhibition: Curator/ featured artist, Cork School of Music, Ireland
2010
- Africa Art & Design Fair, curator, Portico Gallery, W. Norwood, London
- Somali Feast, lead artist, collaborative artwork with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, Morley Gallery & W. Norwood Library, (Black History Month in Lambeth)
- Art Cubes & Knitted Landscape art installations for Streatham Festival
- IRISH WAVE 2010 – 4 collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibitions, Beijing
2009
- BIGsmall: Intimate Histories , Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts Trust, London
(first UK Irish/Chinese collaborative exhibition)
-Green Bike, interactive installation for ‘Car Free-Day’ Islington, London
-The Knitted Stream, Flower Grotto and Somali House of Beads, three interactive installations – Streatham
Festival, London
- Caravan of Flowers, interactive installation– Traveller Movement Event, Irish Cultural Centre, London
- Our Books, Our Lives and City, two exhibitions held at Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Crafts and SiNordic
Arts Center, Beijing
2006-2008
- Garden of the Táin project, lead artist, Beijing
2007
- Through Irish Eyes, Curator/ featured artist, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communications, Beijing
- Solo Show Landscapes of the Táin, The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
- The Affordable Art Fair, with The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
2006
- Solo Show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, Tsinghua University, Beijing
- Meditations, 3 person show, Airfield Gardens Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
- Solo show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, The Waterloo Gallery, London
- Spring Show, The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
-Solo Show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, Ireland
EDUCATION:
1976-1980 Crawford College of Art & Design, Ireland - Graduated with honours
1981-1982 Post-graduate year as auditeur libre at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, France
WEBSITES: http://www.fiongunn.org/ http://www.odysseyexplorations.com
FILMS on YouTube:
2019 Odyssey: Explorations Documentary Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzQhj65YIP0&t=28s
2019 Odyssey: Explorations (The Installation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VNFGcp-Iw
2019 Odyssey: Explorations – sketch for the new artwork https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zn4cKu8SrE
2019 Shorelines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVvBJyi59p8
2019 Odyssey: The Return – Huang Du’s Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQmSc7trwk&t=24s
2018 Age of Explorations – solo exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byrPxGQz7h4&t=8s
2018 Excavations Exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJWtKMelca8&t=3s
2018 Age of Exploration: Spice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn-cqOih4ng&t=18s
2017 Writing in Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYox7h1YnHQ
2016 We're All in the Same Boat www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcCBzJoLScE
2015 INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS Project- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8q0bD1QxtU&t=349s
documentary film by filmmaker Jane Clegg
2015 Sinovision Coverage of INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2pebv7dfk
Film of the Panel Discussion hosted by the ELIZABETH A. SACKLER CENTER FOR FEMINIST ART
INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS: THE ACT OF DOING
Panel discussion moderated by Fion Gunn & Anita Glesta with panelists Shirin Neshat, Luisa Valenzuela, Eleanor Heartney https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/video/videos/intimate-transgressions-the-act-of-doing
Fion Gunn graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, Ireland in and spent a post-graduate year at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Supérieure de Nancy, France, she now lives and works in London.
She is an associate of Tate Exchange Liverpool and has won an award from Arts Council England for the creation of a ‘pathway’ artwork 'Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey', in collaboration with Tate and the Museum of Liverpool in 2019 . The artwork was showcased in August on Slavery Remembrance Day in Liverpool.
She is the first Irish artist to have a public art commission in China for the city of Zhangjiakou, in 2012 and is represented by Peking Art Associates in Beijing. Gunn’s diverse practice comprises 2D, 3D, sculpture, installation and multimedia projects. Her work features in private & corporate and state collections in UK, France, Poland, Ireland, USA & China, including most recently the Rosewood Residencies Guangzhou.
She has won multiple awards for her work from Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Culture Ireland, Dublin, Cork & Belfast City Councils. She has been awarded Artist Residencies at RedGate Programme Beijing, Baltic Art Center Poland and Tate Exchange Liverpool. Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China, including the A.P.T Gallery & Leyden Gallery in London, Au Médicis, Paris, WhiteBox , New York, Enjoy Museum & Inter Gallery 798, Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Crafts, Beijing among others.
Gunn was guest editor for the 2015 Spring Edition of ArtZip Contemporary Art Magazine (bilingual English/Chinese) writing on the theme of the artist as curator. She works with a wide network of international artists and has led panel discussions with high profile practitioners such as Shirin Neshat at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center, Oct 2015.
Her solo show 'Young Gunn' in November 2019, curated by Emily de Wolfe Pettit featured her 'Age of Exploration' artworks, this extensive series reflects her ongoing preoccupations and passions.
Gunn has won multiple awards for her work from Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Culture Ireland, City Councils of London, Dublin, Cork & Belfast, Irish Literature Exchange, Walcot Foundation. She founded Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, was chair from 2009-15, working collaboratively as lead artist. The Group comprised women from the Somali & Horn of Africa Community in Streatham as well as Asian, North African, Refugee and low-income communities, its purpose was to reskill, promote inclusion and to promote well-being through arts & crafts.
Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China - many of her projects are based in Beijing and Shanghai where she has also curated major collaborative exhibitions of Irish & Chinese contemporary art in an annual project called IRISH WAVE (2009-2016). https://www.facebook.com/pages/IRISH-WAVE/
ARTIST’S RESIDENCIES:
Tate Exchange Liverpool, UK 2019, Baltic Art Center, Slupsk/Ustka Poland 2014, RedGate Gallery Residency Programme Beijing, China 2005
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2006 - 2020
2019
- Solo Show, Young Gunn curated by Emily de Wolfe Pettit, Candid Arts Trust, Angel, London
- Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey showcased at Tate Liverpool and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool
- Odyssey: Explorations, Interactive Exhibition at Tate Exchange Liverpool
- Odyssey: The Return curated by Huang Du, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing
2018
- Odyssey: Expedition - ASC Studios Space, London
- Artnight 2018: Odyssey:The Journey Home, curator/featured artist The Workshop, London
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition curated by Chang Fang, Shenyang & Qingdao, China
- Excavations, group show, curator/featured artist, Enjoy Museum, 798, Beijing
- Solo Show Age of Exploration, He Gallery, Beijing
2017
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition, Center for Contemporary Art, Guangzhou, Ordos Center for Art & Culture, Ordos, Inner Mongolia
- Views from Distant Shores 3 person show, curator/featured artist, South London Refugee Centre, London
2016
- Female Artists Nominations, group exhibition, Da Yun Tang Art Museum, Beijing
- The Painted Thread, Yue Pavilion, 3 person show, Beijing
- Intimate Transgressions, international touring exhibition, (2015-16), lead curator/featured artist,
Whitebox, New York City, InterArt Gallery, 798, Beijing, Hangzhou Library, Hangzhou, China and Chiang
Kai Shek Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- IRISH WAVE 2016, director/lead curator/featured artist, Birth of a Nation, Ning Gallery 798, Identity,
EARC Space 798, Beijing, Struggle, Sanwei Art Center, Shanghai
2015
- Hohhot Biennial, Mongolia
- IRISH WAVE 2015: POETIC VISION, director/lead curator/featured artist, Sanwei Art Center, (M50) Shanghai, InterArt Gallery 798 & Dong Yue Art Museum Beijing
- Memoire Traumatique 4 person show, curated by Phillipe Frydman, Au Medicis Gallery, Paris
2014
-The Dress My Mother Wore, lead artist collaborating with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, funded by Art Council England, installation at Museum of Childhood London, Southbank Centre, Horniman Museum and other London venues
- Solo Show, Timeline Tourist, Baltic Arts Center – Witches’ Tower, Slupsk, Poland
-IRISH WAVE 2014: Director/lead curator/featured artist, Loftoo Gallery, (M50) Shanghai, 3C Creative Mall (798) Beijing and China Central Mall, Beijing
- Legacy, curator/featured artist – collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibition, Cork City Hall, Ireland
2013
- Spice Tent lead artist collaborating with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, installation at 4 public festivals in South London funded by the Mayor’s Outer London Fund
- IRISH WAVE 2013, director/lead curator/featured artist,
- Altered Landscapes, Europe House, Smith’s Square, London
-Out of the Blue, Morley Gallery, London
- Feast for the Mind, Irish cultural Centre Hammersmith, London
2012
-The City & The City, curator/ featured artist), APT Gallery, Cultural Olympiad, London
- IRISH WAVE 2012, director/lead curator/featured artist, 6 collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibitions, Beijing
& Shanghai
2011
- Hair Routes, lead artist, collaborative artwork with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC Carnegie Library, BHM, Lambeth
- IRISH WAVE 2011, director/lead curator/featured artist, 4 Irish/Chinese collaborative exhibitions in Beijing
- From Here To There exhibition: Curator/ featured artist, Cork School of Music, Ireland
2010
- Africa Art & Design Fair, curator, Portico Gallery, W. Norwood, London
- Somali Feast, lead artist, collaborative artwork with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, Morley Gallery & W. Norwood Library, (Black History Month in Lambeth)
- Art Cubes & Knitted Landscape art installations for Streatham Festival
- IRISH WAVE 2010 – 4 collaborative Irish/Chinese exhibitions, Beijing
2009
- BIGsmall: Intimate Histories , Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts Trust, London
(first UK Irish/Chinese collaborative exhibition)
-Green Bike, interactive installation for ‘Car Free-Day’ Islington, London
-The Knitted Stream, Flower Grotto and Somali House of Beads, three interactive installations – Streatham
Festival, London
- Caravan of Flowers, interactive installation– Traveller Movement Event, Irish Cultural Centre, London
- Our Books, Our Lives and City, two exhibitions held at Tsinghua Academy of Arts & Crafts and SiNordic
Arts Center, Beijing
2006-2008
- Garden of the Táin project, lead artist, Beijing
2007
- Through Irish Eyes, Curator/ featured artist, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communications, Beijing
- Solo Show Landscapes of the Táin, The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
- The Affordable Art Fair, with The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
2006
- Solo Show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, Tsinghua University, Beijing
- Meditations, 3 person show, Airfield Gardens Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
- Solo show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, The Waterloo Gallery, London
- Spring Show, The Barbara Stanley Gallery, London
-Solo Show Green Thought in an Urban Shade, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, Ireland
EDUCATION:
1976-1980 Crawford College of Art & Design, Ireland - Graduated with honours
1981-1982 Post-graduate year as auditeur libre at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, France
WEBSITES: http://www.fiongunn.org/ http://www.odysseyexplorations.com
FILMS on YouTube:
2019 Odyssey: Explorations Documentary Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzQhj65YIP0&t=28s
2019 Odyssey: Explorations (The Installation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VNFGcp-Iw
2019 Odyssey: Explorations – sketch for the new artwork https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zn4cKu8SrE
2019 Shorelines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVvBJyi59p8
2019 Odyssey: The Return – Huang Du’s Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQmSc7trwk&t=24s
2018 Age of Explorations – solo exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byrPxGQz7h4&t=8s
2018 Excavations Exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJWtKMelca8&t=3s
2018 Age of Exploration: Spice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn-cqOih4ng&t=18s
2017 Writing in Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYox7h1YnHQ
2016 We're All in the Same Boat www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcCBzJoLScE
2015 INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS Project- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8q0bD1QxtU&t=349s
documentary film by filmmaker Jane Clegg
2015 Sinovision Coverage of INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2pebv7dfk
Film of the Panel Discussion hosted by the ELIZABETH A. SACKLER CENTER FOR FEMINIST ART
INTIMATE TRANSGRESSIONS: THE ACT OF DOING
Panel discussion moderated by Fion Gunn & Anita Glesta with panelists Shirin Neshat, Luisa Valenzuela, Eleanor Heartney https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/video/videos/intimate-transgressions-the-act-of-doing