Solo exhibition of Tian Wei
0ctober Gallery, 2014
Born in Xi’an, Tian Wei left China for Hawaii, in 1986, to pursue a career in the arts and completed an MFA in Hawaii, he has been based in Beijing since 2011.
Tian Wei’s work frequently references Classic texts such as the I Ching (The Book of Changes) and Tao Te Ching which appear on his large scale bright paintings as quotations in minute script patterning the background upon which larger semi-abstract cursive impasto shapes are painted. The flowing shapes resemble Chinese characters yet on closer inspection the meaning can only be resolved in English. The characters spell out English nouns, adjectives and phrases such as Myth, Red and Money Makes the World Go Round. These carefully chosen words give the viewer access to the artist’s lived experience of both Eastern and Western spheres.
Tian Wei’s artistic vision is not one that divides or separates the East from the West but one that integrates both, and for this reason it is both timely – and timeless.
