Introduction

Chen Wei, born in 1980 in Zhejiang Province, currently lives and works in Beijing. His artistic practice started in Hangzhou, where he initially engaged in the performance of experimental music and sound art before transitioning to the creation of photography, video and installation. As a mid-career artist active on the international art scene today, Chen Wei's works are widely recognized for their conceptual shooting, meticulous stage setting, and theatrical construction. Through this unique dimension that lies between reality and fiction, world and dream, Chen presents the complex realities and psychological states of contemporary society. In recent years, he has increasingly extended his practice to the exhibition site, continuously employing various media such as video, sound, and installation to reshape the possibilities of narrative images through scenario re-enacting. Recent solo exhibitions include: Make Me Illusory, West Bund Museum, Shanghai (2021); Good Night, HOW Art Museum, Shanghai (2021); Where Are You Going Tonight, chi K11 art space, Guangzhou (2018); The Club, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia (2017); Noon Club, programmed by Francesco Bonami, JNBY Art Space, Hangzhou (2016); In The Waves, chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai (2015), etc. Group exhibitions include: Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2023); White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia (2023); He Art Museum, Foshan (2022); Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, Chengdu (2022); Public Art Fund, U.S.A. (2022); Wuhan Art Museum, Wuhan (2021); 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan (2020); Times Museum, Guangzhou (2019); Daegu Photo Biennale, South Korea (2018); Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2018); Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany (2018); Casa Cavazzini,Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Udine, Italy (2017); Asia Society, Houston, U.S.A. (2016); Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland (2016); Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2016); San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, U.S.A (2015); Stavanger Art Museum, Norway (2014); Tampa Museum of Art, Florida, U.S.A (2014); San Jose Museum of Art, California, U.S.A (2013); UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2013); Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea (2006), etc. Chen Wei was awarded the Asia Pacific Photography Prize in 2011 and received the Golden Panda Photography Art Award in 2023.