BIOGRAPHY & CV
Fion Gunn graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, in Ireland and spent a post-graduate year at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Supérieure de Nancy, France, where she lived for four years, she now lives and works in London. She was the first Artist in Residence at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool (2022-23) where she was an associate at Tate Exchange. Gunn is the first Irish artist to have a public sculpture commission in China for the city of Zhangjiakou, in 2012. Her 2022 solo show at Victoria Gallery & Museum was awarded funding by Arts Council England, as was Boundless: Transitions Exhibition at A.P.T. Gallery, London in 2023 for which she was lead artist. She is represented in the UK by RiseArt Gallery in the UK.
Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China - many of her projects pre COVID were 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).
She 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.
She has a been a contributor to one and has co-written two academic papers and participated in two others, on Artists moving into Immersive technologies which have been presented at the EVA (Electronic Visualisation in the Arts) Annual Conferences in London 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023.
Her work features in private & corporate and institutional collections in UK, France, Poland, Ireland & China including University of Liverpool, Atkins Chambers, CBX - UK, Ministry of Justice - Ireland, Bayt Al Sinneri Art & Cultural Centre - Cairo, Shelter Art Space - Alexandria, Egypt, Baltic Contemporary Gallery, Poland, Rosewood Residencies - Guangzhou, MAHA Beijing, Art W Foundation & CAPA (Center for Asian Pacific Affairs) - USA the Embassies of Ireland in China and Egypt and the Embassy of China in Ireland and UK.
ARTIST’S RESIDENCIES:
Museum of Childhood Ireland 2020- ongoing; Institute of Irish Studies Liverpool 2022-23: Tate Exchange Liverpool, UK 2019, Baltic Art Center, Slupsk/Ustka Poland 2014; City of Zhangjiakou residency at Quyang Sculpture Town, China 2012; RedGate Gallery Residency Programme Beijing, China 2005.
Gunn was granted access to the archives of the Museum Historyczyne Miasta Gdansk for an ongoing series of work ‘Displaced’ informed by the post WW2 images of Gdansk.
EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS
2024 -2025 RECENT EXHIBITIONS
-Invited artist 'Unite' collaborative exhibition by Irish Lebanese Cultural Foundation & Shandon Studios, Quay Co-Op, Cork City March-April 2025
- Selected artist 'The Path' exhibition at Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, curated by Amy Jackson during the Venice Biennale, 3 Sept - 3 November
- Featured artist ‘Dimensions of Space’ curated by Chang Feng, Hongmei Cultural Art Center, Shenyang, China, 20 May – 5 July
- Selected artist: 'Emotions' online exhibition with Cista Arts www.cistaarts.com
- Featured artist at Beijing Contemporary Art Fair, Dangdai, Beijing, May 2024
-'Timelines' two person show, Bayt Al Sinnari Art & Culture Centre, Cairo, Egypt, March 2024
- Featured artist 'Colour Code: Red' Shelter Art Space, Alexandria, Egypt Feb-March 2024
2023
- Boundless: Transitions Exhibition by A-Maze Artists Collective (lead artist) APT Gallery, Deptford London funded by Arts Council England with additional sponsorship from Green Wings Project
2022
- Virtual artist in Residence at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool: March 2022-23
- Solo Show, Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool June-October 2022 funded by Arts Council England)
- Invited participant at the Beijing International Art Fair showing digital work – Roller Coaster
2021
- Virtual artist in Residence at Museum of Childhood Ireland project: January 2021-22
- Boundless - Worlds in Flux, Lead artist for an international collaborative project funded by Arts Council England
2020
- Sheltering World – a collaborative project funded by Arts Council England
- Aurelia Arts Festival, (online), September 2020
-Local Midsummer Arts Trail, 21 June, Stanthorpe Triangle, London
- Micro Solo Show ‘One Day at a Time’, 5-18 May in my front garden, Streatham, London
- ‘Tip Off’, On Paper Supreme touring exhibition 2020, curated by Chang Feng, Qingdao & Shenyang China
2019
- Solo Show at Candid Arts Trust, Angel, London
- Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey showcased at Tate Liverpool and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool funded by Arts Council England
- Odyssey: Explorations Interactive Exhibition in Tate Exchange Liverpool funded by Arts Council England
- Odyssey: The Return, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland and Dublin City Council
2018
- Odyssey: Expedition - ASC Studios Space, London
- Artnight 2018: Odyssey-The Journey Home, group show, The Workshop, London (featured artist and curator)
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition curated by Chang Fang, Shenyang & Qingdao, China
- Excavations, group show, Enjoy Museum, 798, Beijing (featured artist and curator)
- 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, South London Refugee Centre, London (featured artist and curator)
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) Whitebox, NYC, InterArt Gallery, 798 Beijing, Hangzhou Library, Hangzhou, China and Chiang Kai Shek Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (featured artist and lead curator)
- Birth of a Nation, Ning Gallery 798 and Identity, EARC Space 798, Beijing (featured artist and lead curator)
- Struggle, Sanwei Art Center, Shanghai (featured artist and lead curator)
2009-16
IRISH WAVE, featured artist/lead curator for annual series of Irish/Chinese collaborative group exhibitions in Beijing & Shanghai at 798, M50, National Center for the Performing Arts and a wide variety of other public venues (total of 33 shows)
2015
- Intimate Transgressions, international touring exhibition highlighting war and genocide rape, Whitebox, NY and Inter Gallery, 798,Beijing (featured artist and lead curator)
- Hohhot Biennial, University of Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia
-‘Sailing to Byzantium’, artist/curator, Leyden Gallery, London
-‘Memoire Traumatique’ curated by Philippe Frydman at ‘Au Medicis’ Gallery, Paris, France
2014-15
-‘The Dress My Mother Wore’ installation, Lead artist in collaboration with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, at Streatham Festival, Museum of Childhood, Southbank Centre and Horniman Museum, London (ACE)
-‘Timeline Tourist’, Solo Show at Baltic Arts Center – Witches’ Tower, Slupsk, Poland
Websites: http://www.fiongunn.org/ http://worldsinflux.com http://www.odysseyexplorations.com
FILMS & Digital Artworks on YouTube:
Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/FionGunn
2021 Get Wisdom https://youtu.be/XvPOD_PzH74
2021 We Breathe https://youtu.be/fgitOnZYO_E
2021 My dreams are mine alone - A Tribute to Mary Wollstonecraft' https://youtu.be/INQZyCtsRrE
2021 Roller Coaster https://youtu.be/uzljx-yItPs
2021 Age of Uncertainty https://youtu.be/bYd0sNK-xb4
2020 One Day at a Time, micro exhibition https://youtu.be/030X2yQI--k
2020 Plant More Trees! https://youtu.be/Zf1OoTkoaMs
2020 Child of our Time https://youtu.be/qyY_08RH3Ig
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
2014 The Dress My Mother Wore https://youtu.be/kr4W6IhL3oc
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
PUBLICLY FUNDED PROJECTS/EXHIBITIONS SINCE 2009:
- Boundless: Transitions Exhibition, A.P.T. Gallery, Deptford, London funded by Arts Council England 2023
- Arrivals/Departures Solo Exhibition for which the Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool received an award from Arts Council England 2022
- Boundless- Worlds in Flux, (digital project) funded by Arts Council England 2021
- Sheltering World, (digital project) funded by Arts Council England 2020-21
- Odyssey: Explorations (interactive exhibition & Digital Journey) Liverpool 2019 funded by Arts Council England, supported by Tate Exchange Liverpool
- Odyssey: The Return (exhibition & collateral events), Beijing 2019 funded by Culture Ireland, Asia Pacific Fund and Dublin City Council
- Excavations (exhibition & collateral events), Beijing 2018, funded by Culture Ireland and Dublin City Council
2019 - Odyssey: The Return curated by Huang Du, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland, Dublin City Council, Asia Pacific Fund supported by Embassy of Ireland, Beijing
2018 - Artnight 2018 curated by Ralph Rugoff, Odyssey: The Journey Home, The Workshop, London funded by Lambeth Council
2016 - The Painted Thread, Joy Pavilion, Beijing curated by Liu Peng Sheng supported by Embassy of Ireland, Beijing & Culture Ireland
2015 – ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ Exhibition, Leyden Gallery, London funded by Embassy of Ireland, London
2012 - The City & The City, APT Gallery London for the Cultural Olympiad, funded by Culture Ireland
2010 - Africa Art & Design Fair (director), Portico Gallery, West Norwood funded by Lambeth Council
2010 - Art Cubes & Knitted Landscape art installations for Streatham Festival, funded by Arts Council England
2009 - BIGsmall: Intimate Histories, Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts Trust, London, lead artist & curator funded by Arts Council England
2007 - Through Irish Eyes Exhibition, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland and Arts Council of Ireland
Between 2009 - 2016 Gunn was featured artist, lead curator and director of IRISH WAVE in China - a total of 30 collaborative Irish & Chinese contemporary art exhibitions. Over the years the project was funded by Culture Ireland, Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council N. Ireland, British Council, Dublin, Cork and Belfast City Councils.
Fion Gunn graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, in Ireland and spent a post-graduate year at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts Supérieure de Nancy, France, where she lived for four years, she now lives and works in London. She was the first Artist in Residence at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool (2022-23) where she was an associate at Tate Exchange. Gunn is the first Irish artist to have a public sculpture commission in China for the city of Zhangjiakou, in 2012. Her 2022 solo show at Victoria Gallery & Museum was awarded funding by Arts Council England, as was Boundless: Transitions Exhibition at A.P.T. Gallery, London in 2023 for which she was lead artist. She is represented in the UK by RiseArt Gallery in the UK.
Gunn has exhibited at numerous galleries in Europe and China - many of her projects pre COVID were 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).
She 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.
She has a been a contributor to one and has co-written two academic papers and participated in two others, on Artists moving into Immersive technologies which have been presented at the EVA (Electronic Visualisation in the Arts) Annual Conferences in London 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023.
Her work features in private & corporate and institutional collections in UK, France, Poland, Ireland & China including University of Liverpool, Atkins Chambers, CBX - UK, Ministry of Justice - Ireland, Bayt Al Sinneri Art & Cultural Centre - Cairo, Shelter Art Space - Alexandria, Egypt, Baltic Contemporary Gallery, Poland, Rosewood Residencies - Guangzhou, MAHA Beijing, Art W Foundation & CAPA (Center for Asian Pacific Affairs) - USA the Embassies of Ireland in China and Egypt and the Embassy of China in Ireland and UK.
ARTIST’S RESIDENCIES:
Museum of Childhood Ireland 2020- ongoing; Institute of Irish Studies Liverpool 2022-23: Tate Exchange Liverpool, UK 2019, Baltic Art Center, Slupsk/Ustka Poland 2014; City of Zhangjiakou residency at Quyang Sculpture Town, China 2012; RedGate Gallery Residency Programme Beijing, China 2005.
Gunn was granted access to the archives of the Museum Historyczyne Miasta Gdansk for an ongoing series of work ‘Displaced’ informed by the post WW2 images of Gdansk.
EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS
2024 -2025 RECENT EXHIBITIONS
-Invited artist 'Unite' collaborative exhibition by Irish Lebanese Cultural Foundation & Shandon Studios, Quay Co-Op, Cork City March-April 2025
- Selected artist 'The Path' exhibition at Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, curated by Amy Jackson during the Venice Biennale, 3 Sept - 3 November
- Featured artist ‘Dimensions of Space’ curated by Chang Feng, Hongmei Cultural Art Center, Shenyang, China, 20 May – 5 July
- Selected artist: 'Emotions' online exhibition with Cista Arts www.cistaarts.com
- Featured artist at Beijing Contemporary Art Fair, Dangdai, Beijing, May 2024
-'Timelines' two person show, Bayt Al Sinnari Art & Culture Centre, Cairo, Egypt, March 2024
- Featured artist 'Colour Code: Red' Shelter Art Space, Alexandria, Egypt Feb-March 2024
2023
- Boundless: Transitions Exhibition by A-Maze Artists Collective (lead artist) APT Gallery, Deptford London funded by Arts Council England with additional sponsorship from Green Wings Project
2022
- Virtual artist in Residence at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool: March 2022-23
- Solo Show, Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool June-October 2022 funded by Arts Council England)
- Invited participant at the Beijing International Art Fair showing digital work – Roller Coaster
2021
- Virtual artist in Residence at Museum of Childhood Ireland project: January 2021-22
- Boundless - Worlds in Flux, Lead artist for an international collaborative project funded by Arts Council England
2020
- Sheltering World – a collaborative project funded by Arts Council England
- Aurelia Arts Festival, (online), September 2020
-Local Midsummer Arts Trail, 21 June, Stanthorpe Triangle, London
- Micro Solo Show ‘One Day at a Time’, 5-18 May in my front garden, Streatham, London
- ‘Tip Off’, On Paper Supreme touring exhibition 2020, curated by Chang Feng, Qingdao & Shenyang China
2019
- Solo Show at Candid Arts Trust, Angel, London
- Odyssey: Explorations - The Digital Journey showcased at Tate Liverpool and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool funded by Arts Council England
- Odyssey: Explorations Interactive Exhibition in Tate Exchange Liverpool funded by Arts Council England
- Odyssey: The Return, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland and Dublin City Council
2018
- Odyssey: Expedition - ASC Studios Space, London
- Artnight 2018: Odyssey-The Journey Home, group show, The Workshop, London (featured artist and curator)
- On Paper Supreme touring exhibition curated by Chang Fang, Shenyang & Qingdao, China
- Excavations, group show, Enjoy Museum, 798, Beijing (featured artist and curator)
- 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, South London Refugee Centre, London (featured artist and curator)
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) Whitebox, NYC, InterArt Gallery, 798 Beijing, Hangzhou Library, Hangzhou, China and Chiang Kai Shek Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (featured artist and lead curator)
- Birth of a Nation, Ning Gallery 798 and Identity, EARC Space 798, Beijing (featured artist and lead curator)
- Struggle, Sanwei Art Center, Shanghai (featured artist and lead curator)
2009-16
IRISH WAVE, featured artist/lead curator for annual series of Irish/Chinese collaborative group exhibitions in Beijing & Shanghai at 798, M50, National Center for the Performing Arts and a wide variety of other public venues (total of 33 shows)
2015
- Intimate Transgressions, international touring exhibition highlighting war and genocide rape, Whitebox, NY and Inter Gallery, 798,Beijing (featured artist and lead curator)
- Hohhot Biennial, University of Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia
-‘Sailing to Byzantium’, artist/curator, Leyden Gallery, London
-‘Memoire Traumatique’ curated by Philippe Frydman at ‘Au Medicis’ Gallery, Paris, France
2014-15
-‘The Dress My Mother Wore’ installation, Lead artist in collaboration with Streatham Women’s Sewing Group CIC, at Streatham Festival, Museum of Childhood, Southbank Centre and Horniman Museum, London (ACE)
-‘Timeline Tourist’, Solo Show at Baltic Arts Center – Witches’ Tower, Slupsk, Poland
Websites: http://www.fiongunn.org/ http://worldsinflux.com http://www.odysseyexplorations.com
FILMS & Digital Artworks on YouTube:
Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/FionGunn
2021 Get Wisdom https://youtu.be/XvPOD_PzH74
2021 We Breathe https://youtu.be/fgitOnZYO_E
2021 My dreams are mine alone - A Tribute to Mary Wollstonecraft' https://youtu.be/INQZyCtsRrE
2021 Roller Coaster https://youtu.be/uzljx-yItPs
2021 Age of Uncertainty https://youtu.be/bYd0sNK-xb4
2020 One Day at a Time, micro exhibition https://youtu.be/030X2yQI--k
2020 Plant More Trees! https://youtu.be/Zf1OoTkoaMs
2020 Child of our Time https://youtu.be/qyY_08RH3Ig
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
2014 The Dress My Mother Wore https://youtu.be/kr4W6IhL3oc
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
PUBLICLY FUNDED PROJECTS/EXHIBITIONS SINCE 2009:
- Boundless: Transitions Exhibition, A.P.T. Gallery, Deptford, London funded by Arts Council England 2023
- Arrivals/Departures Solo Exhibition for which the Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool received an award from Arts Council England 2022
- Boundless- Worlds in Flux, (digital project) funded by Arts Council England 2021
- Sheltering World, (digital project) funded by Arts Council England 2020-21
- Odyssey: Explorations (interactive exhibition & Digital Journey) Liverpool 2019 funded by Arts Council England, supported by Tate Exchange Liverpool
- Odyssey: The Return (exhibition & collateral events), Beijing 2019 funded by Culture Ireland, Asia Pacific Fund and Dublin City Council
- Excavations (exhibition & collateral events), Beijing 2018, funded by Culture Ireland and Dublin City Council
2019 - Odyssey: The Return curated by Huang Du, Dong Yue Art Museum, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland, Dublin City Council, Asia Pacific Fund supported by Embassy of Ireland, Beijing
2018 - Artnight 2018 curated by Ralph Rugoff, Odyssey: The Journey Home, The Workshop, London funded by Lambeth Council
2016 - The Painted Thread, Joy Pavilion, Beijing curated by Liu Peng Sheng supported by Embassy of Ireland, Beijing & Culture Ireland
2015 – ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ Exhibition, Leyden Gallery, London funded by Embassy of Ireland, London
2012 - The City & The City, APT Gallery London for the Cultural Olympiad, funded by Culture Ireland
2010 - Africa Art & Design Fair (director), Portico Gallery, West Norwood funded by Lambeth Council
2010 - Art Cubes & Knitted Landscape art installations for Streatham Festival, funded by Arts Council England
2009 - BIGsmall: Intimate Histories, Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts Trust, London, lead artist & curator funded by Arts Council England
2007 - Through Irish Eyes Exhibition, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Beijing funded by Culture Ireland and Arts Council of Ireland
Between 2009 - 2016 Gunn was featured artist, lead curator and director of IRISH WAVE in China - a total of 30 collaborative Irish & Chinese contemporary art exhibitions. Over the years the project was funded by Culture Ireland, Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council N. Ireland, British Council, Dublin, Cork and Belfast City Councils.