︎

DONGLAI
MENG

孟 东来



index
-“Ha-ha”/“哈哈” 2025
-Broodje Aap-Urban Legend/猴子面包与都市传说 2024-ongoing
-Nobody Cares/无人问津 2023-24
-Big Big hairy-legs/超大毛腿人 2023
-MONSTER/怪物 2023
-Oh!My dog!/狗狗于怀 2022 -Making shit, c’est la vie/屁珍 2022
-Rehearsal/预演 2022
-The Baron in the Trees/树上的男爵 2022
-A Porn Writer/色情小说家 2021
-A Murder Case/湖畔谋杀案 2021
-Moon hides behind the shadow/月亮藏在影子后 2021
-Hairy-Legs in quarantine/毛腿隔离中 2020-The travels of Marta Polo/马塔波罗游记 2020
-Ephemeral-In the house/须臾之间 2019
-Hairy Legs Shrine/毛腿神社 2019
-Moonlit night/月光夜 2019 -WHITE BOOK/白书 2018-19
-When we close our eyes, what do we see?/当我们闭上眼睛，我们看到了什么？2019
-We are light, we are night/我们是光，我们是夜 2018
 -50 ID photos/50张证件照 2018-MASK/面膜 2017



About
Contact


孟东来
Donglai Meng
B.1994, Dalian, China
Painter, Multimedia artist
Currently living and working in the Netherlands and China




STATEMENT(CURRENT)

My research focuses on the mental states of ordinary people. Taking the psychological phenomenon of immersive daydreaming as a starting point, I explore why people daydream, how these imaginings are shaped by everyday life, and how they become a way of understanding and responding to the conditions we live in. I am also curious about how social, cultural, and technological developments influence this process.

My work develops through a series of projects. Using painting alongside other media, I construct fictional situations and depict the psychological states within them. A recurring figure in my work is the Hairy-Legs People, who have no fixed identity and are not specific characters, but a collective symbol that wanders between worlds. Rather than offering a fixed interpretation, I invite viewers to enter these situations and reflect on the relationship between individuals and the realities they inhabit.


我的研究关注普通人的精神状态。以“沉浸式白日梦”（immersive daydreaming）这一心理现象为出发点，我探索人们为何会做白日梦，这些想象如何被现实生活塑造，并成为理解和回应所处环境的一种方式。我也好奇社会、文化和技术的发展如何影响这一过程。

我的创作以系列的形式展开，通过绘画和其他媒介，我构建一个个虚构的情境，捕捉并描绘其中流动的心理状态。一个名为“毛腿人”的形象反复出现在我的作品中。他们没有固定的身份，也不是特定的角色，而是一个在不同世界之间游走的群体性符号。我的作品不提供固定的解读，而是邀请观者进入这些情境，思考个体与现实处境之间的关系。



EDUCATION
2017-2019    MA  Fine Art, Master Institute of Visual Cultures AKV St.Joost, Den Bosch, the Netherlands
2013-2017    BA   Oil Painting, Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, Rome, Italy


SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Solo
2026   Untitled, KennaXu Gallery, Shenzhen, China (upcoming)
2026   Tiger’s Not Home, AN-Gallerie, Ningbo, China
2025   “Ha-ha”, Lychee One, London, the UK
2024   What A Windy Day!, KennaXu Gallery, Shenzhen, China
2024   The Moon Slides Over the Sea,  Willem Twee Kunstruimte, Den Bosch,  the Netherlands 
2022   Oh! My Dog!, Cha x Art, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2022   The Baron In The Trees, Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2021    A Porn Writer, OAZO AIR, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2021    Make Lemonade, AAIE Center, Rome, Italy
2021    A Murder Case, Nieuw en Meer, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2020   Four States, Funspace Gallery OnlineRoom, Rome, Italy (Online)
2020   Midday Dreaming, WitteRook, Breda, the Netherlands
2019    Hairy Legs Shrine, Studio Kura, Fukuoka, Japan
2017    Poetic Game, Palazzo Velli Expo, Rome, Italy 

Group
2026   HALLELUJAH GOD IS A WOMAN VOL.2, Valerius Gallery, Luxembourg
2026   Rolling Snowball 19, ARS LONGA Contemporary Art Museum, Djupivogur, Iceland
2025   Rolling Snowball 18, Powerlong Art Center, Xiamen, China
2025   Summer School Show, Turps Gallery, London, the UK
2025   Three Thresholds, IM Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2024   Zomer salon, Westerkadekunst, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2024   Just tell me a story, Migrant bird space, Berlin, Germany
2024   Magnifica, AAIE Center, Rome, Italy
2024   A Touch, A Glance, Hexagon Gallery, K11 MUSEA, HongKong, China
2024   Abstracte Narratieve Vormen, Galerie Ecker, Breda, the Netherlands
2024   FLYFLYFLY, KennaXu Gallery, Shenzhen, China
2024   ‘2024’, Moosey Gallery, London, the UK
2023   Koortsdroom (Fever Dream), FRANS HALS Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands
2023   A piece of angel cake, What Art Can Do project space, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2023   DIONYSUS, DAKE Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2023   One day I’ll fly away, Galerie SANAA, Utrecht, the Netherlands
2023   Atari, No Man’s Art Gallery, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2023   Venti Sussurranti,  AAIE Center, Rome, Italy
2023   Spring Musings & Muddy Feet, Galerie SANAA, Utrecht, the Netherlands 
2023   Launch show of Curated By, Huis Vasari, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2022   Draw the Line Ⅱ- The Female Gaze, Wobby.club, Kunstpodium T, Tilburg, the Netherlands
2022   Pets and Animals, Kollection Kitsch, WORM, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2022   Abitudine Artistica Ideologia Eccellente, AAIE Center, Rome, Italy
2022   In a pig’s whisper, De Vishal, Haarlem, the Netherlands
2022   The Shadow Of The Void, AAIE Center, Rome, Italy 
2022   Crisis Kunst, Niffo Galerie, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2022   Prospects 10th, by Mondriaan Fonds, Art Rotterdam,  Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2022   We are all guests#8, Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2022   Biennale di Todi, Tower Gallery by AAIE Center , Todi, Italy
2021   Needles in the hay, The curators room, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2021   With permission from the officer, PuntWG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2019   Graduation Exhibition - POSTCOMPOST, Master Institute of Visual Cultures AKV St.Joost, Den Bosch, the Netherlands
2019   Dream Power, Theater Vascello, Rome, Italy 
2019   Percorso d'Arte a Castiglione III edizione, Palombara Sabina, Italy 
2018   Transition, Eye Research Lab, Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands   
2018   What Do We Dance For? Gallery Nectar, Tbilisi, Georgia 
2017   TRACCE 2017, San Domenico, Italy 


ARTIST RESIDENCY
2026   EKWC, Oisterwijk, The Netherlands (upcoming)
2026   KennaXu Gallery residency program, Shenzhen, China
2026   Chemin Art Space, Chengdu, China
2025   Summer School, Turps Art School, London, the UK
2022   Foundation B.A.D, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
2021    OAZO AIR, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2021    Nieuw en Meer AIR, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2020   WitteRook, Breda, the Netherlands
2019    Studio Kura, Fukuoka, Japan


AWARDS/GRANTS
2026   Seed grant, Stichting Stokroos
2025   Artist Project grant, Mondriaan Fonds
2024   Seed grant, Stichting Stokroos
2023   Artists Start 2023-24, Mondriaan Fonds
2021    Artist Project grant, Mondriaan Fonds
2020   Stipendium Emerging Artists, Mondriaan Fonds


ART FAIR/ AUCTION/ EVENT
2025   Art Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China (with KennaXu Gallery)
2025   Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (with Kalashnikovv Gallery)
2024   Art Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China (with KennaXu Gallery)
2024   Moordn Art Fair, Shenzhen, China (with KennaXu Gallery)
2024   West Bund Art&Design, Shanghai, China (with KennaXu Gallery)
2024   Swab Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain (with Cha x Art)
2024   Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong, China (with AAIE Center)
2023   Big Art, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2023   Springboard Art Fair, Utrecht, the Netherlands
2022   Dead Darlings, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2022   THIS Art Fair, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2021   THIS Art Fair, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2021   CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2020 - ITSLIQUID International Art Fair, Venice, Italy