Shen Wei
Facts
- Biography
- *1977 in Shanghai, China
- Lives in
- New York City, USA
Shen Wei is known for his intimate self-portraits and portraits of others, as well as his poetic landscapes. His series Between Blossoms was inspired by old Chinese painting and its tradition of treating emptiness as solid space, as well as the concept of “qi” or chi — the life force that, according to ancient Chinese philosophy, runs through all natural phenomena. Altered images of doorways and pavilions in his series Broken Sleeve reflect the complex social significance of doors and entrances in China as indicators of status and identity.
Shen Wei’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Library of Congress, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Museum of Chinese in America, CAFA Art Museum, and the Ringling Museum of Art, among others.
