Overview
Marking the publication of his new monograph, A Season Particular, and inclusion in the National Portrait Gallery's Taylor Wessing Photo Prize in London, this presentation highlights recent photographs and paintings by Shanghai-born, New York-based artist Shen Wei.
Exploring notions of identity, gender, form and desire reflect a seductive practice that Shen Wei describes as "finding the spiritual and abstract similarities between our bodies and nature and emphasising the harmony, fragility, and interconnectedness of both." Working in photography as well as painting, Wei's work generates an abstracted sensation of place and an inner delicate stillness.
I took this portrait during a discussion about paintings with my friend in his Paris studio. I found the chemistry and interaction between us as artists and subjects fascinating. My aim was to capture the essence of our conversation about art, queerness, and self-reflection. This is a part of my ongoing self-portrait series, where I explore beauty, identity, and sexuality, as well as my responses to the people and environment surrounding me.
- Shen Wei on Two Painters, 2023, included in the Taylor Wessing Photo Prize Exhibition
I’ve found that the older I get the more minimal I get, but the more minimal I get aesthetically, the more complex I get emotionally. The banal evokes more feeling – simplicity allows you to imagine.
A Season Particular
Shen Wei
In A Season Particular, Shen Wei invites us into a world where intimacy and spontaneity collide, yielding a series of photographic encounters that are as raw as they are tender. The artist's...