Liu Wei

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“If my work in reality has meaning, then it has to do with how it is related to the occurrence of this reality. This relationship isn’t necessarily intrinsic or particularly profound, but it is more like me placing my hand against a wall. It is good to have a relationship that is not necessarily profound, sometimes all you need is to place a hand against a wall, this relationship can already speak for itself, it is more powerful than what I could say about it. “

–Liu Wei

Liu Wei (b.1972) was born and presently resides in Beijing, China. He was trained as a painter at the China Academy of Art in 1996. He is heavily influenced by the instability and  fluctuation peculiar to twenty-first century China, in particular with respect to its physical and intellectual landscape. Initially Liu belongs to the generation of artists known as the Post-Sensibility group; in the years since, with his paintings, videos and large-scale installations Liu has become a singular presence on the global art stage.

Liu Wei’s recent solo exhibitions include “Invisible Cities” (moCa Cleveland and the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 2019); “Shadows” (Long March Space, Beijing, 2018); “Panorama” (PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2016); “Colors” (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2015); “Sensory Space 4” (Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2014); “Density” (White Cube, London, 2014); “Liu Wei” (Long March Space, Beijing, 2012); “Trilogy” (Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, 2011). “Myriad Beings” (Today Art Museum, Beijing, 2011), among others.

Recent group exhibitions include “Steadfastly Revise for the Standards in Nonproductive Construction (Part I: Solid Molds)” (Long March Space, Beijing, 2022); “Trilogy of Contemporary Art in China: The Scar” (Busan Museum of Art, Busan, 2020); “Entropy” (Faurschou Foundation, Beijing, 2018); “Art and China after 1989 Theater of the World” (Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2017); “L’emozione dei COLORI nell’arte” (Castle of Rivoli, Turin, 2017); “The M+ Sigg Collection: Chinese Art from the 1970s to Now” (ArtisTree, Hong Kong, 2016); “Panorama” (PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2016); “Adventures of the Black Square – Abstract Art and Society 1915-2015” (Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2015); “Shanshui” (Lucerne Museum of Art, Lucerne, 2011); “DREAMLANDS” (Centre National d’art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2010); “The Big World: Recent Art From China” (Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, 2009); “China Power Station: Part III” (Mudam Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 2008); “China Power Station: Part II” (Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo, 2007); “China Now” (MoMA, New York, 2004), among others.

Liu Wei has participated in the 58th and 51st Venice Biennale (2019, 2005); the 11th, 8th and 5th Shanghai Biennale(2016, 2010, 2004); the 3rd Aichi Triennial (2016); the 13th and 9th Biennale de Lyon (2015, 2007); Sharjah Biennale 11, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2013); the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Guangzhou Triennial (2012, 2008, 2005, 2002); the 6th Busan Biennale (2008), among others.

He was nominated for the Award of Art China 2015 and received the Award in 2016; He was the Artnet Artist of the Year and the Ambassador of Sino-Australia Cultural Exchange in 2016; the GQ China Artist of the Year 2015; the Martell Artist of the Year in 2012; he was nominated for the Credit Suisse Today Art Award of the year 2011; He was nominated for the Chinese Contemporary Art Award for Best Artist 2006 and received the Award in 2008.