As one of the most intriguing young generation artists working in China today, Liu Wei (b. Beijing 1972) questions conventions and modern life with his manipulated landscapes constructed in a multitude of media within sculpture, photography, video installation, and painting. What makes Liu Wei interesting is that he incessantly reinvents his work, often using previous works as raw materials.
This methodology is manifested in his ambitious sculptural installation project Merely a Mistake which began at “Long March Project- Ho Chi Minh Trail”, where the artist attempted to resolve sequential ‘mistakes’ – both the imperfections of the space as well as artistic experiments and deconstructed found objects from his studio – resulting in a six-meter high labyrinthine construction that embeds itself two meters into the ground. The work’s second manifestation consists of seven-meter tall intricate structures made primarily from junked doors and door frames that have undergone perpetual reconstruction, compression, and addition over the course of three large-scale exhibitions.
His important exhibitions to date include Liu Wei (2013) at Lehmann Maupin, New York; Myriad Beings (2011) at the Today Art Museum, Beijing; Trilogy (2011), at the Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai; early solo shows: Yes, That’s All (2009) and Love It, Bite It (2007) at Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing; group shows: Sharjah Biennial 11 (2013), Sharjah, The United Arab Emirates; Rehearsal (2010), the 8th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai; DREAMLANDS (2010) at the Centre Pompidou; Farewell to Post-colonialism (2008), the 3rd Guangzhou Triennial, China; and The History of a Decade That Has Not Yet Been Named (2007), the 9th Lyon Biennale, Lyon; China Power Station Part II (2007) at the Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo; and the 51th La Biennale di Venezia, Venice.
Liu Wei Currently Lives and works in Beijing,
