Haoyun Erin Zhao opens exhibit in downtown Morgan Hill

CURA Contemporary in downtown Morgan Hill on May 3 opened a new exhibit, “Cloud Inscriptions,” a solo show by San Francisco-based artist Haoyun Erin Zhao. The exhibit features paintings “that explore movement and impermanence evoking the ethereal, transient nature of existence,” said Nicole Czapinski, CURA Communications Director.

Zhao applies acrylic to canvas alternating between the smoothness of airbrush, the texture of paint brush and the tactility of the original fabric surface. The transparency of paint, color gradients and overlapping forms create an interplay of layers that seem to weave through one another where positive sometimes becomes negative and vice versa. 

Interacting with the edge of the painting, script-like remnants are sometimes contained and other times seem to erupt beyond the picture plane. 

“It means a lot to me to be able to share this art with you,” Haoyun Erin Zhao said at the May 3 opening reception. “I see this work as a continuation of a series that I started in 2023. My first language is Chinese—Mandarin—so as a kid I had the opportunity to practice calligraphy and I felt like that experience really opened up an interesting world to me—the world that exists between painting and drawings and that experience also got me interested in ancient writings.”

She explained that nature is a “great source of inspiration” for her work and that she hopes to create a feeling, something that has movement and rhythm through her artwork.

The solo show features 12 acrylic on canvas paintings and runs through June 29. CURA Contemporary is located at 17350 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill.