Yunhao Chen

PhD Candidate

Areas of interest: Buddhist art and material culture in medieval China; art in the contact zone; place and space; mural paintings; materiality and crafting.

Yunhao Chen studies Buddhist art and material culture in medieval China. His dissertation will explore the cave-making praxis for Mogao, Dunhuang from the late sixth to the early ninth centuries. It aims to examine the caves’ and murals’ form and function from the viewpoint of their grounds —their material foundations and the ecological and social grounds of Dunhuang. His side interest includes the issue of body as medium and subject in Buddhist art. He holds a BA in art history with honors and a BA in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and a M.A. from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU.