PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY IN MONTRÉAL PRESENTS “IN TRANSITION” AN EXHIBITION OF NEW WORKS BY
CHUN HUA CATHERINE DONG
CHUN HUA CATHERINE DONG
IN TRANSITION
MONTRÉAL
SEPTEMBER 29 TO NOVEMBER 3, 2018
ARTIST RECEPTION:
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2018
2 P.M. TO 6 P.M.
The future is always present, as a promise, a lure and a temptation. - Karl Popper
PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY in Montréal is pleased to present IN TRANSITION, an exhibition of new work by Montréal performance and conceptual artist
CHUN HUA CATHERINE DONG. The exhibition is the artist’s first solo presentation with PMG and features new photography, video, and installation.
Following a successful exhibition of new works in June at Volta 14 in Basel, Switzerland during Art Basel week, Chun Hua Catherine Dong continues her exploration into the primary concerns of her artistic practice with a solo exhibition of new works. IN TRANSITION is a vision of the near future of human relations with robots, exploring how humans and robots co-exist and bind together with one destiny. While our society continues to struggle with modernity, questions of “Where are we?” and “Where are we going?” still have not been answered, and our co-existence/co-presence with robots demonstrates a fundamental transformation in human civilization. The exhibition draws from the tradition of performance, striving to provide a key for a better understanding of ourselves, our bodies, our emotions, and our relations with non-human others. IN TRANSITION also raises questions about how to challenge the boundaries of self/other, culture/nature, and human/machine, moving beyond traditional gender, feminism, and politics, creating a new social relation that expands and amplifies humanity.
Born in China and now living and working in Montreal, Chun Hua Catherine Dong is a visual artist working with performance, photography, and video. She received an MFA from Concordia University and a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Working within the gap between body as image and body as experienced reality, Chun Hua Catherine Dong uses the body—often her own—as a visual territory in her work and a primary material to activate social commentary on immigration, race and gender. By encapsulating these global issues in microcosm or magnifying personal predicaments until they become universally visible, she presents the body as an embodiment of dynamic human relations, locating herself at the nexus of author, artwork and audience. Her artistic practice is based in performance art, photography and video, in which she explores themes of “East/West” and “self/other” within the contemporary context of global feminism. Her work deals mainly with cultural intersections created by globalization and asks what it means to be a citizen of the world today.
Among many other awards and grants, she is the recipient of the 2014 Franklin Furnace Award for contemporary avant-garde art in New York. Her performances have been featured at the Marina Abramovic Institute. And she has been listed among the ‘‘Top Nine Political Art Projects of 2010’’ by Art Threat magazine. She has performed in multiple international venues across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Chun Hua Catherine Dong acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. The artist would also like to thank Bill Vorn for his generous support.
