Li Wei, born 1970
1993 Admitted to Oil Painting Department of Beijing East Culture Art Academy.
Story of my Life
by Li Wei
I grew up in the countryside in Jingzhou, Hubei province, along the Yangtze River.
I remember during the busy seasons in my elementary school days, the school will let us transplant rice seedlings. We sometimes just cook the crops we get and eat them. The nature nurtures my childhood. For having fun, I also stand on the shoulder of my friend who is taller than me. In 1980, I went to middle school. I remembered there was a big flood when the school started. The houses in the village were all drowned, so we lived on the trees beside the houses! Children play with the doors in the flood every day, the nature leaves me many unforgettable memories.
Soon, I transferred to another military school in Yichang in 1982. That is a very big military institution, which investigates bombs, submarines, torpedos, and all of the naval weapons. At that time, I tried the real military helicopter, submarine and weapons. Half of the teachers are the staff from the institution, and that was the first time I felt knowledge and imagination are powerful. In 1989 after I graduated I started to learn oil painting in Yueyang and Changsha. I felt very happy and satisfied to paint in the mountain area among orange trees. In 1993, I went to Beijing to study painting in a college and from 1996 onwards I started to work on my artistic direction on performance art.
I worked with a film crew for one month in Wuxi and knew that each scene can be created. I even began to wonder if the city Wuxi itself is fake after leaving the city….
In 1999, I started to do image creation. I worked for a photo studio and knew my photographer teacher Jiangzi at that time. Then I quit at the second half of the year and began to create freely on my own. All in all, my life experiences have a great influence on my art creation and is the core of my artistic theme.
Solo Exhibitions:
2015
“Beyond Gravity”, Galerie Richard, NYC, Oct.9-Nov.14,
The exhibition “Vision” is presented at Paris photo at the grand palais from the 11-15th, Nov
Awards
2005
“Macau Art Museum Overseas Communicate The Prize”-Macau Art Museum, 2005
2006
“31 Photographers With The Most Creative World”-American Getty, 2006
2014
“Fly over Amsterdam, Rotterdam” Holland”
“Fly over Milan,” Italiy
“Fly at The Grand Palace Paris” France
“LiWei-High Place” Pairs-Beijing Gallery ,France
LiWei,the flying chineseman “Happiness Theory” GRID2014,Amsterdam.
“LiWei-High Place” Pairs-Beijing Gallery ,Brussels，
“Fly over the Ringling museum of art” USA, Florida
2013
“Autostadt”, Wolfsburg, Germany
“Flying of Dreams”, ZAT Montpellier, France
“Anti Gravity”ShangHai
2012
“Li Wei”, Dock Sud gallery, France.
“Li Wei”, Parc de la Villette, Paris.
“The High Life Of Liwei”, Kunst.Licht Photo Art Gallery,Shanghai.
2011
“Li Wei_Lucca Photo Fest”, Lucca, Italy.
2010
“Photo Phnom Penh”, Cambodia.
“Beyond Gravity” 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong.
“Li Wei Performance ‘Take Away’ ” Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong.
2009
“Li Wei” Galeria Tribeca, Madrid, Spain.
“The Amazing Mirror Maze Of The Self” Michael Schultz Gallery Beijing.
“Besides Gravity”, Mogadishni Cph Gallery, Denmark.
2008
“Li Wei ”Solo Exhibition, Ye Rong Jia Culture & Art Foundation, Taiwan.
2007
“Li Wei Falls To …”,Espace Cultural Ample Gallery,Spain.
2006
“Li Wei”Exhibition,Pyo Gallery,Seoul,
“Transcendence:A Mirror Of China”, The:Artist:Network New York, New York.
“Li Wei”Exhibition,10 Chancery Lane Gallery,Central Hong Kong.
“Li Wei” Exhibition, Grleria Espacio Minimo,Madrid,Spain.
2005
“Illusory Reality” Exhibition, Marella Gallery,Beijing.
2004
“Li Wei” Exhibition, Marella Gallery, Italy.
Group Exhibitions
2015
“Chinese Sculpture Exhibition”Biennal Montreux2015 Montreux Switzerland 2015 Agu.-Nov.
“He come from China”MAG11th (Montreux Art Gallery) 2015 11.4-11.8
“Chinese Men” Vevey Switzerland,by Ferrari Art Gallery & The CROSS YinnaYang Art Centrr 2015.11.12-12.12
2014
“Photography and Video Art in China Now”,The Ringling Museum of Art,USA
“Itinerary” Gidang Museum, Korea
“Liquid Times” Seoul Museum of Art
“Bin He 1996-2004”Song Zhuang Museum of Art
2013
“The 55th Venice Biennale ”Venice Biennale Kenya Pavilion, Italy
“Norev-Over” , colle ctive photography and video exhibition, Beijing
“The Rapture of Romantic Illusions”，Fudi Aromatic Villa，Shanghai
“IncarnatIons ”Photographie-Performan de chine ，France Angers
“The change — the second Hunan young artists nominated Exhibition”ChangSha
“See But Not Now” ShangHai
“ Roots Of Relations”Songzhuang Art Center Bejjing
“2013 Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival”France
2012
“Standing At The Water’s Edge”,M97 Gallery, Shanghai.
“Dream City Tunisia 2012”, Tunis
“A History of Chinese Contemporary Photography”, Paris-Beijing Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
“Daydreaming With…”,HK.
“Research Exhibition On ‘Post-70s Generation’Artists Jianghan Star Plan 2012 Rejoice In Dissensus”,WuHan Art Museum.
“Monzza Shunde Biennale”, Italy
“L’Art De La Radiance-30th Anniversary Celebration Presented By Cle De Peau Beaute”.HK.
“Contemporary Chinese Photography”, Katonah Museum Of Art,US.
“Now!China!Korea!2012!-Contemporary Korean And Chinese Art Exhibition” Beijing
2011.
“Lucca Photo Fest”, Lucca, Italy.
“I believe that…-Chinese contemporary art exhibition”,Songzhuang Museum,Beijing .
“Divided by The Curtains”, Beijing Times Art Museum
“Chinese Visual Festival 2011-lost In Transformation”,Londom.
“Li Wei & aleiandro miranda”,Galerie Daniel tanner gmbh,Zurich, Switaerland.
“St.Moritz masters”, St.Moritz,Switaerland.
“box(e)” ,Jerome Zodo Contemporary, Milan, Italy.
“Remaking Vision” Travelling Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Photography.
2010
“Daegu Photo Biennale 2010”, Daegu, Korea.
“Passing China” Gallery Sanstorium, Istanbul, Turkey.
“Fuck Ups, Fables And Fiascos”, Galerie Caprice Horn, Berlin.
“Foundation Vevey, Ville D’images”, Festival Images, Switzerland.
“China Photographs Madrid”,Madrid Pavilion Of The EXPO 2010,Shanghai.
“Mostra Sesc De Artes 2010”, St. Paul, In Brazil.
“China Welcomes You Begegnungen 2010”,Stadtmuseum Oldenburg.
“Photo Phnom Penh”, Cambodia.
2009
“Width”,Museum Of Contemporary Art Beijing, China.
“Beijing Time”, Matadero Madrid ,Madrid ,Spain.
“China: The Contemporary Rebirth”, Palazzo Reale Museum, Milan, Italy.
Mouvement d’Art Public/Make Art Public (MAP), Canada.
“The View From Elsewhere” Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) In Partnership With Queensland Art Gallery Present; Gallery Of Modern Art/Australian Cinematheque.
“China Now: The Edge Of Desire”,Maxlang And Lillian Heidenberg Fine Art Presents,US.
“Action-Camera: Beijing Performance Photography”, Morris And Helen Belkin Art Gallery,Vancouver.
“Incarnations”, Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery,Beijing 798.
2008
“Fabricating Images From History”,Chinablue Gallery,Beijing.
“Consumption Of History”, East Asia Contemporary,Shanghai,China.
“Out Of Place”,Robischon Gallery, Denver, USA.
“Beijing 2008”, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland
“Supernatural: China’s Contemporary Photography”,Artgate Gallery,NY.
“Assembling Under The Five Rings”, The Legend Luxury & Entertainment Center, Beijing.
“Body Art:New Photography From China”, Asian Art Coordinating Council, Denver, USA.
“Drawn In The Clouds: Contemporary Asian Art” Museum Of Contemporary Art KIASMA, Helsinki.
“Olhares Interiores-Inward Gazes”-Documentaries Of Performances Art-Museum Of Macao.
“Immoral Facts And Fables”, Galerie Caprice Horn,Berlin.
2007
“Red Hot – Asian Art Today From The Chaney Family Collection”， Museum Of Fine Arts，Houston，
“Floating”-New Generation Of Art In China, National Museum Of Contemporary Art, Korea.
“Made In China-China Art Now”, Louisiana Museum,Danmark.
“Liwei Weihong Huanyan”, Barbaradavisgallery, Houston，
“The 38th Recontres De Arles Photographie”,Arles,France.
“Chinese Photography”，Criterion Gallery，Australia.
“Dragon’s Evolution”, New York China-Square Art Center.
“Surge”, Beijing 798,
“The 7th Gana Photo Festival -CHINA Contemporary Photo & Vide,Gana Art Center,Seoul,
“Szene-Sommer’07”, Salzburg, Austria.
“Zhuyi”,Artium Museum,Spain.
“China Now: Lost In Transition”, Eli Klein Gallery,NY
“Surrealites”, Centrepasquart Art Center, Switzerland
2006
“China-Between Past And Future”,And Performances Art-Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt/House Of World Cultures,Berlin,Germany,
“Ruins”,Us.
“Cold Energy”,PYO,Beijing.
“Park In Progress”, France
“For All Audiences”,Sala Rekalde Art Museum,Bilbao,Spain
“Retours De Chine”,Toulouse Art Museum, France
2005
“Olhares Interiores-Inward Gazes”-Documentaries Of Performances Art-Museum Of Macao,
“The Second Reality” Photographs From China,”Piazza”Of The Berlaymont Building,European Commission.
“New Photographers 2006”, Cannes
“The Gesture-A Visual Library In Progress”, Macedonian Museum Of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece, Centro Produzione Arte, Florence, Italy
“Ruins`Flowers”, Ox Warehouse, Macau.
“Out Of The Red-2”, Marella Gallery, Italy
“70 Empress Arts”, Today Art Museum，Beijing.
2004
“Between Past And Future- New Photography And Video From China”, Icp,Asia Society, New York.Smart Museum Of Art, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
“Officina Asia”, Bologna, Galleriad’Arte Moderna Cesena,,Italy,
“Tiananmen” Exhibition.Paris. France
“Mmac” Exhibition. Japan
“Artificial Merriment”. Melbourne, Australia
“Follia” Exhibition. Italy
2003
“China Art Now — Out Of The Red”, Flashart Museum, Italy
“I Am China — Chinese Conceptual Photography”, SOHO, Beijing
“Manufactured Happiness” Shangri-La Art Space, Beijing
“The Peripheries Become The Center” . Prague Biennial
“DNA” Visual. Beijing
“Bare Androgyny”. Beijing
“Seoul-Asia Art Now” Exhibition. Seoul Museum
2002
“Flying –Performance, Photography, Video”, Beijing Red Square, Beijing
“The 2nd ‘Pingyao’ International Photography”, Pingyao, Shanxi, China
“Red Square – Contemporary Art” , Beijing Red Square, Beijing
“Mask Vs Face”, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing
“Bogus—Chinese Conceptual Photography” , Hall Of Capital Normal University, Beijing
“Mois De La Photo –Histoires De Chine”, Auxerre Museum, France
2001
“0℃” Art Exhibition, Beijing Bridge Art , Beijing
“Constructed Reality–Beijing/Hong Kong Conceptual Photography”, Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong
“Pawn·Com — Site Performance”, Happy Garden Bar, Beijing.
“Scar–Chinese Conceptual Photography”, Exhibition Hall Of Capital Normal University, Beijing
“Site Of City — Four Person Conceptual Photography”, Fun Gallery, Beijing.
2000
“Open Art Platform”, Performance Art Festival, Beijing.