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拍品专文
Born in 1972 in Beijing, Liu Wei graduated from the oil painting department of China Academy of Art in 1996. His works are concerned with the visual and cognitive disturbance caused by anxieties from the uncertainties in life. By crystalising these imageries of confusion into paintings, moving images, and installations, he is able to formulate a unique artistic language.
In the work Groundswell (Lot 165), the artist completely rationalised the composition. Through computer imaging techniques, he was able to analyse and reorganise the palette and reconstituted the result on the canvas. The work opens a visual monologue on the topic of spatiality with a broad landscape format and a symmetrical composition. Since the 1990s, Liu Wei had been investigating issues concerning the human body in his works. Later in his career, he stopped directly showing the effects of anxiety on the physical body. Instead, he demonstrates the body in the act of gazing as a means to convey a sense of existentialism in an empty space. The magnificent street lamps hua deng on the left side of the painting suggest a locale that is loaded with symbolic meaning - Chang'an Avenue in the capital, Beijing. Magnificent street lamps, or lanterns, hua deng is a direct allusion to Verses of Chu, an anthology of Chinese poetry from the Warring State period. Specifically, it references the poem The Summoning of Souls, 'Orchidscented candles burn brilliantly, Magificient lanterns are hung in a staggered fashion.' These street lamps have been in service since the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1959. Enormous waves crashes towards the street from the right side of the painting. A sense of incongruity is created by the juxtaposition between this imminent threat and the quotidian scene on the left. The hint of danger leads the viewers to follow the artist's train of thought: over the years, this street was confronted with numerous trials and tribulations. After the storm had subsided, calm returns and this street remains. Liu Wei explains, 'I don't consider art a creative process, because you can't really create anything. Everything already exists. It is more a matter of treatment.'
In the work Groundswell (Lot 165), the artist completely rationalised the composition. Through computer imaging techniques, he was able to analyse and reorganise the palette and reconstituted the result on the canvas. The work opens a visual monologue on the topic of spatiality with a broad landscape format and a symmetrical composition. Since the 1990s, Liu Wei had been investigating issues concerning the human body in his works. Later in his career, he stopped directly showing the effects of anxiety on the physical body. Instead, he demonstrates the body in the act of gazing as a means to convey a sense of existentialism in an empty space. The magnificent street lamps hua deng on the left side of the painting suggest a locale that is loaded with symbolic meaning - Chang'an Avenue in the capital, Beijing. Magnificent street lamps, or lanterns, hua deng is a direct allusion to Verses of Chu, an anthology of Chinese poetry from the Warring State period. Specifically, it references the poem The Summoning of Souls, 'Orchidscented candles burn brilliantly, Magificient lanterns are hung in a staggered fashion.' These street lamps have been in service since the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1959. Enormous waves crashes towards the street from the right side of the painting. A sense of incongruity is created by the juxtaposition between this imminent threat and the quotidian scene on the left. The hint of danger leads the viewers to follow the artist's train of thought: over the years, this street was confronted with numerous trials and tribulations. After the storm had subsided, calm returns and this street remains. Liu Wei explains, 'I don't consider art a creative process, because you can't really create anything. Everything already exists. It is more a matter of treatment.'