Michael Chongyi Gao
高崇艺

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Michael Gao (b. 2002, Beijing, China) is a painter living and working in London. He explores social dynamics, estrangement, hostility, and desire, placing these themes in the ever-changing context of contemporary visual culture. Gao casts domesticated animals as a counterpoint to human tension — a figure of primal detachment amid socially coded behaviour. He uses fine airbrush techniques combined with loose brushstrokes to create realistic yet surreal compositions, flattening the space to evoke a sense of claustrophobia. With the subtle staging of dominance, threat, or exclusion, he subverts the expectation of violence and instead uses the animal as a strange mirror: instinctively present, yet curiously disconnected from the drama we choreograph around it.

Michael Gao completed an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art in 2025, following a BA at Edinburgh College of Art. Recent exhibitions include Mandy Zhang Gallery (London, UK), Tiderip Gallery (London, UK), TUESDAY to FRIDAY (Valencia, Spain), OHSH Projects (London, UK), and a solo exhibition with TUESDAY to FRIDAY (Valencia, Spain).

Seventh Day Daisy, 2026. Courtesy of “The Neighbourhood”, Moosey, Norwich, UK.