Tang Contemporary Art is delighted to announce that Wu Wei's new solo exhibition, "Fur & Golden," will launch on August 12th at Beijing 2nd Space. This exhibition will showcase Wu Wei's latest series of works over the past two years. It not only features the classic "Pelage" series, including Disjointed Pelage, Blended Pelage, and Gold Pelage, but also introduces new pieces exploring various mediums and creative methods, such as Study on Touch, Body Reading, and Skin and Texture. In addition, the exhibition will mark the debut of Wu Wei's small-scale paintings, including the captivating piece entitled Bigfoot.
The exhibition title "Fur & Golden" is derived from the artist's ongoing use of anthropomorphized and organized forms of paper fur language. It also resonates with the large-scale fur works presented in the exhibition, predominantly in shades of yellow, while being influenced by the primitivism of world art and culture. Ultimately, both mediums of expression persistently interact and merge, unbounded by time and space.
Wu Wei's "Pelage" series is an assortment of ever-evolving and dynamic works created using the classic language of fur. These pieces exhibit abstract forms with concise expressions, at times solemn and others pure, showcasing an elegant sense of repetition in their craftsmanship. The series captures the subtle expressions and emotions of animal pelage. Upon close inspection, it retains all the physical characteristics of paper as the fundamental material. Within this context, "pelage" represents not only sociological aspects but also the essence of artistry and craftsmanship, signifying the self-awareness and acquiescence of the paper medium itself.
Study on Touch delves into the conceptual connection between humanity and the history of suffering and the interplay between phenomenology and the ontology of art. Wu Wei's artistic approach moves beyond a basic representation of the original image. Instead, it emphasizes the intrinsic strength of underlying structures. Brass elements encased within paper create an elusive presence in the composition. At the same time, sharp quadrilaterals evoke fissures, offering a refracted glimpse into the connection between the observer and the present reality.
Body Reading represents Wu Wei's artistic re-creation of semantic expression and existential reflection, attained by borrowing the bodies of characters from classical statues or paintings—more precisely, various parts of the human anatomy. Through a dynamic combination of techniques, including painting, drawing, cutting, slicing, collage, sculpting, and collaborative use of paper fur, he breathes new life into ancient classical images, infusing them with contemporary significance.
Skin and Texture represents an entirely new genre of work where he utilizes dripping wax to melt and combine with the surface of animal skin. The process involves the convergence of materials, actions, time, meditation, and physical labor—all encapsulated within the act of dripping wax. By skillfully merging elements of ancient patterns with modern human sentiments, he ignites a yearning for harmony between the tumultuous inner self and the external world.
Wu Wei's works often evoke a psychological "sense of ritual" with concise and defined language. His creative process adheres to a rigorous set of artistic concepts and compositions to activate the authentic (corporeal) significance of past images and materials. Throughout this exhibition, this "sense of ritual" plays a vital role in the artist's minimalistic approach.
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About the Artist
Wu Wei was born in 1981, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. In 2012, Wu Wei graduated from the Experimental Art Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with a master's degree and now lives in Beijing.
He won the 6th Anniversary Award for the New Artists Space Award in 2015, and won the 3rd New Star Art Festival Art Award in 2012. He participated in international art residency in Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany. His works have been exhibited in Tang Contemporary Art (Beijin,Bangkok), Ipswich Museum(England), Ichihara Lakeside Museum(Japan), Power Station of Art (Shanghai), Zhejiang Art Museum, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Art, Whitebox Art Center (Beijing), Blue Top Art Gallery(Chengdu), MOCA Yinchuan, Host Cloud Art Museum, The Shouter(Shanghai), Leonard Pearlstein Gallery (Philadelphia, U.S.A), Asian Library of University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada), HuA Gallery (Berlin, Germany), Migrant Bird Space (Berlin, Germany), GlogauAIR(Berlin, Germany), FLUC Art Space (Vienna, Austria), Gallery SP(South Korea,Seoul) and many other art institutions; public collections includes Minsheng Modern Art Museum, The Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Whitebox Art Center, Today Art Museum, , Being3 Art Foundation, White Rabbit Gallery (Australia) and other institutions.
About the Curator
Zhang Yingying is a research based curator and writer currently lives in Beijing. She graduated from the painting department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. She was a researcher of the Kassel Documenta and an award winning curator of the Emerging Curators Project 2019. She was nominated for the scholarship program of the 2022 Documenta, and was a special guest for the 14th Documenta media group in 2017. In 2023, Zhang opened her “Studio Curatorial Program” based on artist studios.
As an operator of art-oriented we-media, Zhang Yingying strives to investigate the visual manifestations and philosophical connotations of Information Age artistic language, tools and methods. Her curatorial projects and exhibition design works include: “About Herself - Hinges”, performance art project, MG space; “Lexicon - Word of the Future”, Stephen Gleadow studio exhibition program, Beijing Longtang Art Zone; “Various Diversions: Different, Potential, Flowing”, Arch Gallery; “A Spring Breeze”, Shanghai Power Station of Art (PSA); “Hu Yinping: Weaving Realities”, Ming Contemporary Art Museum (exhibition design); “J. Yang”, Magician Space; “The Process of Art: Tools at Work”, PSA, etc.
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