Shen Wei
Shen Wei is a Chinese-American artist based in New York City. He is known for his intimate self-portraiture and contemplative images of people and nature, highlighting the understated beauty of his surroundings. He also works in painting, sculpture, and video.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Museum of the City of New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, China, the Hasselblad Foundation in Göteborg, Sweden, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Aperture, ARTnews, Paris Review, ArtReview, Financial Times, and The Burlington Magazine.
Shen Wei’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, 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 Morgan Library & Museum, the CAFA Art Museum, and the Ringling Museum of Art, among others.
He holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I Miss You Already is a decade-long (2009-2019) self-portrait project that reveals the process of self-reflection and self-discovery. It is a provocative way to explore my sense of security through understanding the tension between freedom and boundaries. Each image from this series is at once a moment of introspection and rebellion. Memory, fantasy, anxiety, seduction, and emptiness often lead to these moments. Making these self-portraits is an experience of emotional release, a way to express my desire for openness and possibility, as well as a step towards learning acceptance. While this project is my awakening response to liberation and hope, it also represents a universal search for our place in nature and society.
Broken Sleeve is a series (2016-2020) inspired by the legendary story of an ancient Chinese emperor whose lover fell asleep on his sleeve. Rather than wake him, the Emperor cut off his own sleeve. These pieces works are ,ore than a love story. I am fascinated how power and submission, how harmony and danger co-exist in the same space. The series also explores how myth, magic and romance become intertwined and blur together in the real world.
Between Blossoms is inspired by my dreams of the unknown and by the mysteries that fascinate me. And I find these fantasies hinted at in the reality that surrounds me; a touch of melodrama here, a hint of seduction there, that enhance the everyday with an elusive, enchanting beauty. My choice of these subjects reflects my passion for the unfamiliar and the fantastical, balanced with my preference for the natural and an optimistic perspective. The blossoms in these pictures may be at the beginning or end of their life, but either way they are about the mysterious magic of Life that exists in between.
Chinese Sentiment is a personal journey for me to reconnect with the authentic Chinese life, both in the private and public space. My goal is to appreciate the real China without its political and economic influence, to reveal China from an internal and intimate perspective.
Works
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Doorway (Cone)
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
13.34 x 20 in / 33.88 x 50.8 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2017 -
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Doorway RedCyan
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) +2 AP
46.5 x 70 in / x 118.11 x 177.8 cm (ed of 3) 2 AP
2016 -
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Doorway (Moon)
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2AP
46.5 x 70 in / x 118.11 x 177.8 cm (ed of 3) 2 AP
2016 -
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Doorway Blue
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) +2 AP
46.5 x 70 in / x 118.11 x 177.8 cm (ed of 3) +2 AP
2016 -
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Blue Bridge
From Series Between Blossoms
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
2014 -
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Lotus
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2012 -
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Villefranche
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2018 -
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Self-portrait (Earthly)
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in /76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2012 -
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Bagua
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5)
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3)
2011 -
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Golden Box
From Series Between Blossom
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
2014 -
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Bonsai
From Series Between Blossoms
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
2014 -
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Toes
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2011 -
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Bridge
From Series Between Blossoms
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
2015 -
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Ripples
From Series Between Blossoms
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
2015 -
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Swan, Xi'an, Shanxi Province
From Series Chinese Sentiment
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
16 x 20 in / 40.6 x 50.8 cm (ed of 8) + 2 AP
24 x 30 in / 61 x 76.2 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2016 -
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Charro Suit 5 (Sold)
Ink on Giclee Print on Canvas, Acrylic Varnish
6 x 8 in / 15.24 x 20.32 cm
2022 -
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Charro Suit 3 (Sold)
Ink on Giclee Print on Canvas, Acrylic Varnish
9 x 11 in / 22.86 x 27.94 cm
2022 -
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Fountain
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) +2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2AP
40 x 60 in / 101.6 x 152.4 cm (ed of 1) + 2AP
2015 -
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Pavillion
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
13.34 x 20 in / 33.34 x 50.8 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2017 -
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Self Portrait (Red Book)
From Series I Miss You Already
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
20 x 30 in / 50.8 x 76.2 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
40 x 60 in / 101.6 x 152.4 cm (ed of 1) + 1AP
2019 -
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Stage
From Series Broken Sleeve
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
13.34 x 20 in / 33.34 x 50.8 cm (ed of 5) + 2 AP
30 x 45 in / 76.2 x 114.3 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2017 -
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Mah-Jongg Players, Chongqing
From Series Chinese Sentiment
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
16 x 20 in / 40.6 x 50.8 cm (ed of 8) + 2 AP
24 x 30 in / 61 x 76.2 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2009
*Collection of MoMA -
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Love Boat, Guiyang, Guizhou Province
From Series Chinese Sentiment
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
16 x 20 in / 40.64 x 50.8 cm (ed of 8) + 2 AP
24 x 30 in / 60.96 x 76.2 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2008 -
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Foam Collector, Shaoxing Zhejiang...
From Series Chinese Sentiment
C-Print on Fuji Professional Crystal Archive Paper
16 x 20 in / 40.6 x 50.8 cm (ed of 8) + 2 AP
24 x 30 in / 61 x 76.2 cm (ed of 3) + 2 AP
2008
*Collection of MoMA
