Movana Chen (; born 1974) is a multidisciplinary, Hong Kong–based, female artist, and curator. Her works combine elements of fashion, performance, and sculpture. She is known for her practice of knitting shredded and printed pages into wearable pieces and her artworks have been presented in exhibitions and events in Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, London and Paris.
Early life and education Chen was born in 1974 in Chaozhou, China. She moved to Shenzhen with her family in the mid-1980s and then later to Hong Kong. In the run-up to the handover in 1997, Chen and her family moved to Singapore, where she started pursuing her interest in art and developed an interest in fashion design. She pursued fashion design at the London College of Fashion for a year and later returned to Hong Kong, where she studied accountancy.Performer happy that she decided to follow her art, South China Morning Post, by David Phair, 3 May 2008 http://www.movanachen.com/img/reviews/2008/R2_May08_SCMP.jpg
In 2005, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Hong Kong. In 2007, she received certification in Exhibition Studies and Art Curatorship at the Hong Kong Art School.
Career She worked as an accountant from 1997 to 2004.織織復織織 明報 by Joanne Cheng, 16 August 2007 http://www.movanachen.com/img/reviews/2007/R4-Aug07_mingpao.jpg After quitting her job as an accountant, she worked as the curator of Hong Kong's YY9 gallery and is currently an independent curator.Avant guardians, South China Morning Post, by Dora Chan, 14 August 2007 http://www.movanachen.com/img/reviews/2007/R3_Aug07_scmp.jpg
Artworks, style and technique Chen uses shredded magazine paper as material and weaves them into art pieces using conventional knitting needles. She uses magazines published in different languages, which she believes is a way to appreciate different cultures, by turning books and literature into an artistic form.Saatchi Art. Movana Chen. Retrieved from http://www.saatchiart.com/movanachen
Her work examines the relationship between clothes, the media, and the use of disposable commodities, while aiming to reduce the distance between individuals and encourage social interaction.Wong, S.Y. (17 July 2014) ARTIST STUDIO: 陳麗雲. Retrieved from http://altermodernists.com/2014/07/17/studio-movanachen/ Her philosophy is that shredding is a process of transformation, and knitting is a process of creating and communicating.Nuga, Haruka. (15 October 2013). KNITERATURE: THE ART OF MOVANA CHEN. Retrieved from http://onlinejournalism.jmsc.hku.hk/2013fall/team_b/?p=99
Her exhibition KNITERATURE, held in 2013, took two-years and 400 books.KAPT. (15 February 2015). KNITTING STORIES – Movana Chen. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzwc7LmSWwI Knitting Conversations, one of the artworks in the exhibition, is a 15-meter collaborative piece made from books and magazines by 150 participants from the ages of five to ninety from across the globe.
Chen is most known for a style of art called "Body Container", which is magazine paper woven into wearable artwork.loveyourtrash. (24 April 2011). Movana Chen knits paper. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXTVS9AKz1U One "body container" knitted from shredded Tintin comic books (French version) is estimated to be valued around 150,000 to 200,000 Hong Kong Dollars by Christie's.Christie's. (10 March 2015). Movana Chen: Weaving people’s stories. Retrieved from
Solo exhibitions In 2005, White Tube, Hong Kong Art Centre, first solo exhibition, Play with ArtbooksPlay with Artbooks – Works by Movana Chen. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.aaa.org.hk/WorldEvents/Details/3157Movana chen. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.movanachen.com/pj_05_1.htm The exhibition explored rationality & sensibility between Chen and the art book. She made magazines into stripes and a wearable dress, which she treated as a communication tool, transformed into an installation, photography, painting and sculpture. In 2006, Wear Me Out, The Fringe Club Hong KongMovana chen. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.movanachen.com/pj_06_2.htm In 2007, two exhibitions – Play with Artbooks-II, The Fringe Club Hong Kong,香港視覺藝術年鑑 Hong Kong Visual Arts Yearbook. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.hkvisualartsyearbook.org/exhibitions_details.php?post_id=3909 and Wear Me Out-II, The 10th Seoul Fringe Festival, HUT Gallery Seoul Korea(n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://finearts.hku.hk/hkaa/revamp2011/work.php?id=3265 in which magazines from Hong and Korea were used to create the artworks. They include camisole, pants, bikinis, etc. The audience was encouraged to wear the artwork in the street. In 2008, two exhibitions – Two-way Communication, Beijing, and Pekin Fine Arts Beijing, ChinaPEKIN FINE ARTS. (2008). Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.artlinkart.com/en/space/exh_tp/be1atC/ed1asyri and Two-way Communication, IFC Mall Hong Kong.L. (2008). Movana @ IFC. Retrieved 30 March 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXfGGsbk8QM In 2009, Travelling into my Bookshelf, Shin Hwa Gallery, Hong Kong.HONG KONG ARTISANS. (n.d.). Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://onlinejournalism.jmsc.hku.hk/2013fall/team_b/?p=99 Chen used books from her friends as knitting material. It is different from her previous project which used easily disposable magazines, this project emphasized books that contain memories of their owners and the communication with her friends' memories during the knitting process. In 2011, Travelling into your bookshelf – Paris, Chinart LaGalerie, Paris.Studio Visit: Movana Chen. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.randomartzine.com/studio-visit-movana-chen/Movana Chen’s Videos. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from https://vimeo.com/user11486176/videos Chen started the project "Traveling into your bookshelf" by using the collection in her bookshelf which included magazines and art books (139 books). She tried to study the relationship between herself and each book. People were invited to donate one book from their own bookshelf from around the world in different languages. She read the books and tried to understand what memories or story her friend wanted to share, to learn new cultures and also establish a new way of communication. In 2009, she traveled to London, Milan, Korea, Michigan, Philadelphia, Sicily, Paris, Melbourne, Hannover, and Turkey to gather the materials. In 2011, Body Containers come to life at, K11 art mall,Hong Kong Arts Administrators Association. (n.d.). Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.hkaaa.org.hk/doc/4950Leaving Traces: KNITerature- the art of Movana Chen, Fringe Club. (2014). Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.hkfringeclub.com/en/whatson/369-Leaving+traces%3A+KNITerature+-+the+art+of+Movana+Chen.html Hong Kong. It explored ways to experiment and perform with the "Body Container", expressing the concept of how the human form embodies ideas about our society, through "wearing" one’s identity. In 2013, KNITerature, ArtisTree, Hong Kong. Chen’s exhibition includes works of art from knitted paper. Raw materials such as paper, magazines, books and newspapers were used to create her artworks. The centrepiece of the exhibition, Knitted Conversations, is a two-year collaborative project that features knitted patchwork from more than 150 participants of different countries and ages.IDL Newsletter. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://www.indesignlive.hk/articles/in-review/kniterature-at-artistreeHONG KONG ARTISANS. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 March 2016, from http://onlinejournalism.jmsc.hku.hk/2013fall/team_b/?p=99
Selected group exhibitions 2005Beyond the SurfaceArtist CommuneHong KongCrossing PathYY9 GalleryHong KongMy fair LadyToo Art GalleryHong Kong2006Paradigm Shift BA (Fine Art) Graduation Show 2006Pao's GalleryHong KongNew Trend 2006Artist CommuneHong KongCrackers Hong KongHong Kong Visual Arts CentreHong Kong2007Art-To-WearGallery Benten 17Hong KongFashion x ArtLCX Shopping MallHong Kong2008ARTHK08, HK International Art Fair 2008Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreHong KongBeyond the BodyGalerie helene Lamarque MiamiParis, FranceTHE TABLEChater Garden Hong KongHong KongShanghai MoCA Envisage II – Butterfly DreamMoCA Shanghai MuseumShanghai, China2009"Fashion & Art Exhibition" A Global VOGUE Celebration of Fashion/Beijing, ChinaFashion Ethics "Wear Good" 2009 Cross Genre ExhibitionGyeonggi MoMAAnsan, South KoreaMixed Media and Body Containers on DisplayThe Opposite House, Swire HotelBeijing, China2010"War & Peace" The International Fashion Art Biennale in SeoulSeoul Arts CentreSeoul, South Korea"ECHO" Hong Kong Sculpture Biennial 2010The Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong".be Anti-Crisis" DETOUR-DESIGNR-rdv project/Hong Kong/Brussels, BelgiumARTHK10, HK International Art Fair 2010Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreHong Kong2011SHOW OFF Solo Show Art Fairport des Champs ElyseesParis, FranceEthical fashion ShowCarrousel de LouvreParis, France"Knit Together" Collaboration with Club Monaco & Lane CrawfordAtrium, ifc mallHong Kong2012Design FuturologyMoA Museum of Art Seoul National UniversitySeoul, South KoreaTHE ART OF DESSEspace Louis VuittonHong Kong/SingaporeARTHK12, HK International Art Fair 2012Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreHong KongThe Sovereign Asian Art Prize Finalists ExhibitionExchange Square (Hong Kong)/The Sands Expo and Convention Center (Singapore)Hong Kong and Singapore2013CODA Paper ArtCODA MuseumApeldoorn, the NetherlandsThe Sovereign Asian Art Prize Finalists ExhibitionExchange Square (Hong Kong)/Seoul Auction (Seoul)Hong Kong/Seoul, South Korea2014The Future of Fashion is NowMuseum Boijmans Van BeuningenRotterdam, the NetherlandsElephant Parade Hong KongPacific PlaceHong Kong2015Contemporary Istanbul Art FairIstanbul Congress Center (ICC) and Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICEC)Istanbul, TurkeyA Tale of CostumesEspace Louis VuittonVenice, ItalyThe Future of Fashion is NowOCT Contemporary Art Terminal (Shanghai)/OCT Art & Design Gallery (Shenzhen)Shanghai/Shenzhen, ChinaMitundohnepunktundkommathe Thönserstraße in GroßburgwedelHannover, GermanyMarco Polo in PinataCube 37, Frankston Arts CentreMelbourne, Australia
Award 2013: Selected one of the 30 Finalists for the 2012–13 Sovereign Asian Art PrizeThe Sovereign Art Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://www.sovereignartfoundation.com/art-prizes/asia/gallery/?year=2012
2012: Selected one of the 30 Finalists for the 2011 Sovereign Asian Art PrizeThe Sovereign Art Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://www.sovereignartfoundation.com/art-prizes/asia/gallery/?year=2011
2009: New York Festivals 2009 Film & Video Awards, Finalist Certificate "Close to Culture: Art Faces" – movana chen i-CABLE News Ltd., Hong Kong
2008: "40 under 40" Creative Talents Award, Perspective Magazine, Hong Kong
Publications KNITerature: The art of Movana Chen (September 2013), Two-Way Communication: The Art of Movana Chen (April 2008),
References
External links Official Website Movana Chen on Instagram Movana Chen on Vimeo