Statement

These two works (Charro Suit 3 and Charro Suit 5) extended from my series entitled invisible Atlas. I am combining photographic images with minimalistic drawing elements.

It is my visual interpretation of how internal and external energy forms around and through the objects, surroundings, and bodies. Inspired by the philosophy of “qi,” I want to bring viewers to a poetic, surrealistic, and seductive multidimensional world.

Biography

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Shen Wei is based in New York City. He is known for his intimate portraits of others and himself, as well as his poetic landscape and still-life photography. His work has been exhibited internationally, with venues including 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 Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Financial Times, Aperture, ARTnews, Paris Review, Le Figaro, and American Photo. 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 Morgan Library & Museum, CAFA Art Museum, and the Ringling Museum of Art, among others.

Shen Wei is a recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Arts Residency, the Asian Cultural Council Arts & Religion Fellowship, the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Arts Grant. He holds an MFA in photography, video, and related media from the School of Visual Arts, New York; and a BFA in photography from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Curriculum Vitæ

Education

2006 School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, MFA, Photography, Video and Related Media.
2003 Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN BFA, Photography

Solo Exhibitions

2020 Flowers Gallery, Hong Kong
2019 Flowers Gallery Kingsland Road, London, UK
2018 Xie Zilong Photography Museum, Shen Wei: Blossoms, Changsha, China
2018 ON/Gallery, Undefined Time of Intuition, Beijing, China
2017 Flowers Gallery, Between Blossoms, New York, NY
2017 Signum Foundation Gallery, Between Blossoms, New York, NY
2017 Visionairs Gallery, Invisible Atlas, Singapore
2017 SinArts Gallery, Between Blossoms, The Hague, Netherlands
2016 Galerie Christophe Tailleur, Dusk of the Harmonious Garden, Strasbourg, France 2015 Flowers Gallery, Invisible Atlas, New York, NY
2014 H Gallery, I Miss You Already, Bangkok, Thailand
2013 LA. Galerie Lothar Albrecht, Chinese Sentiment, Frankfurt, Germany
2012 Daniel Cooney Fine Art, I Miss You Already, New York, NY
2012 Light Work, I Miss You Already, New York, NY
2012 Epson Imaging Gallery, Chinese Sentiment, Shanghai, China
2012 Monika Olko Gallery, Chinese Sentiment, Sag Harbor, NY
2011 Daniel Cooney Fine Art, Chinese Sentiment, New York, NY
2011 Art Institute of Boston, Chinese Sentiment, Boston, MA
2011 Chinese American Arts Council, Almost Naked, New York, NY
2011 Lumenvisum Gallery, Chinese Sentiment, Hong Kong, China
2009 Randall Scott Gallery, Almost Naked, New York, NY
2008 Kunst Licht Gallery, Almost Naked, Shanghai, China
2008 Chinese American Arts Council, Concubines of New York, New York, NY
2006 Elkins Gallery at Temple University, Almost Naked, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Chinese American Arts Council, Concubines of NY, New York
2003 TIXE Gallery, Behind the Persona, New York, NY

Select Group Exhibitions

2017 Group show, Galerie Youn, Montréal QC

Art Fairs

2017 Art Fair, Galerie Youn, Montréal QC

Awards & Residencies

2016 New York Foundation for the Arts, Photography Fellowship
2015 The Studios of Key West, Artist in Residency
2014 Hong Kong Design Institute, Visiting Fellow
2012 Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2012 Photography Portfolio Competition Winner
2012 Asian Cultural Council, Asian Art and Religion Fellowship
2010 Light Work, Artist-in-Residency, Syracuse University, NY
2009 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Creative Artist Residency, Italy
2008 Urban Artist Initiative / New York City Fellowship
2008 Photo District News, PDN30
2008 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Manhattan Arts Fund
2007 The Griffin Museum of Photography, The Griffin Award
2007 American Photo, Top 15 Artist of the Year
2007 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Manhattan Arts Fund
2007 Magenta Foundation, Flash Forward 2007 Winner
2007 Chinese American Arts Council, Most Outstanding Young Asian Artist Award

Select Recent Press & Media Coverage

British Journal of Photography, “Broken Sleeve”. May 2, 2019. London, UK. Warner, Marigold
Le Figaro. “Les tribulations de la photo en Chine”. 26 March, 2019. Paris, France. Duponchelle, Valerie.
Transfuge Magazine. “Une génération chinoise à nu”. March, 2019. Paris, France. Guette, Henri.
EXIT Magazine. “Jardin / Garden.” Issue 71. September, 2018. Madrid, Spain. Photography is Art, “Spectators on the City’s Sideline.” Yao, Yao. Oct. 2018. Hong Kong. Dagblad van het Noorden, “Galerie-eilandjes werken samen,” Feb. 2018. Netherlands. The Paris Review, “Between Blossoms”April 12, 2017. Piepenbring, Dan.
Financial Times. “Snapshot: ‘Between Blossoms’ by Shen Wei.” March 3, 2017. Franklin, Alice.
CNN: “The dreamy, intimate portraits of Shen Wei.” October 27, 2016. Chan, Wilfred.
The Guardian. “In bloom: the erotic botanics of Shen Wei – in pictures.” September 23, 2017.
Rai News. "Punctum - Il mondo di Shen Wei." Feb. 25, 2015. Bolzani, Cristina.
Chinese Photography. “Shen Wei - I Miss You Already.” Feb. 2015. Hannah Frieser.
City Zine. “Shen Wei.” Feb. 2015. Fu, Joanna.
EXIT Magazine. “Desnudos: Nudes.” April, 2014. Madrid, Spain.
Tampa Bay Times. “Review: Gems to discover among Museum of Fine Arts’ recent acquisitions.” Jan. 13, 2014. Bennett, Lennie
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Fremde und vertraute chinesische Gefuhle.” Jan. 8, 2014. Schutte, Christoph.
Frankfurter Rundschau, “Unangetastetes China.” Dec. 23, 2013.
Frankfurter Neue Presse. “Momente zwischen Aufbruch und Abbruch.” Dec. 10, 2013. Derouiche, Gabriele.
Junhong Fortune. “Erotica and Innocence.” November, 2013. Zhang, Wenyi.
Time Out New York. “Under My Skin: Nudes in Contemporary Photography.” August 24, 2013
GQ China. “Feature: Shen Wei - Upright in the Fog.” April, 2013. Xiaosong, Tang.
ARTnews. “Review: Shen Wei.” December, 2012. Kley, Elisabeth.
The New Yorker. “Goings On About Town Art: Shen Wei.” September 10, 2012. Aletti, Vince.
Time Out New York. “Picture Imperfect.” September 13, 2012.
China Photo Press. “Chinese Sentiment.” August, 2012. Wei, Jiang.
ARTnews. “Double Exposure.” May, 2012. Landi, Ann.
Pipeline. “Liberating Gentle Tease - Interview with Shen Wei.” May, 2012. Kozyreva, Cristina.
Grand Design. "Chinese Sentiment". July, 2012. Liyun, Liu.
Cocao Magazine. "Beloved, Stranger." Special Issue: New York. Chao, Bruce.
Life Magazine China. "Table Sentiment." November, 2011. Ling, Huchong; Wei, Jiang.
ArtScope. "Shen Wei: Chinese Sentiment." September/Pctober, 2011. Liu, Franklin W.
The Outlook Magazine. “Creative 100.” August, 2011. Amos.
Ming Magazine. “Shen Wei - Chinese Sentiment” July, 2011. Wei, Jiang.
The New Yorker. “Goings On About Town Art: Shen Wei.” June 6, 2011. Aletti, Vince.
The New Yorker. “Critic’s Notebook: Food for Thought.” May 23, 2011. Aletti, Vince.
Wall Street Journal. “Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and NYC Green Cart Program.” May 7, 2011. Meyers, William.

Collections

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC LSU Museum of Art, Rouge, LA
He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa, FL Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA Southeast Museum of photography, Daytona, FL Museum of Chinese in America, New York, NY Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL
Lilley Museum of Art, Reno, NV
CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York, NY
C. V. Starr Foundation, New York, NY
Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany Sunpride Foundation, Hong Kong
Kinsey Institute, Indianapolis, IN
Light Work, Syracuse, NY
Agnes Gund Collection, New York, NY
John J. Studzinski Collection, New York / London
Allen G. Thomas Jr. Collection, Wilson, NC Jonathan F. Fanton, New York, NY
Credit Suisse, Zurich, Switzerland
Estee Lauder, New York, NY
United Airlines, Chicago, IL Target, Minneapolis, MN