Faye Wei Wei, February 13th, 2018, Oil on canvas, 1820 x 1370 mm
b. London. Lives and works in London.
British painter Faye Wei Wei's bold, poetic works quiver with a lively, lyrical motion, combining classical poise with vibrant immediacy. Working on a large scale, Wei Wei conceives of the painting process as an intimate choreography between actual and pictorial space. Often revolving around spiritual iconography and classical myth, love rituals and the theatricality of gender, her works sometimes suggest the themes of particular mythic narratives, and at other moments seem to depart into a more ambiguous, interior space of incongruity and uncertainty. Stateliness coincides with brute force and pastel softness; symbols seem to shake free of their moorings and float, surrealistically, on the liquid expanse of dream. The scenes might be imagined, but the energetic, bold brushstrokes, executed in thin layers, suggest something actually witnessed, balanced on the edge of reality.
Solo exhibitions include: Bird Blowing Love, Alkinois, Athens, Greece (2023); Tiny Melody Chamber, Situations, New York, USA (2023); The Moon Balloon of New York City, Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria, (2022); Sun, Isetan Shinjuku, Toyko, Japan, (2021); Moon, Galerie Kanlhofer, Vienna, Austria, (2021); If You Sat Long Enough You Could See A Flower Bloom, Project Room, Galerie Kanlhofer, Vienna, Austria, (2020); I’ve Always Been A Weeper At The Cinema, Cob Gallery, London, UK (2019); Sweet Bitter, Valentine, SADE Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2018); CFCCA Presents: Faye Wei Wei, Centre For Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester (2018); and Anemones and Lovers, Cob Gallery, London (2017).
Wei Wei has featured in group shows including; A Plant Has Been One Of My Best Friends For A Long Time Now, Situations, NY, USA (2022), Topian Gardens, ltd los angeles at Gallery Vacancy part of Condo Shanghai, China (2019), Shifts in Time, curated by McNamara Art Projects, Over the Influence, LA, USA (2019), “and I'll have a pepper-shaker in my cave, so laugh." Curated with Kate Eringer, ltd los angeles, LA, USA, (2019), The Picture Is A Forest, organised by James English Leary, Galerie Lisa Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria (2019), Dreamin' Wild, Keteleer Gallery, Antwerp (2018); NEW WORK PART III: SUBJECT, Cob Gallery, London (2018); Rhapsodies, PingPong, Brussels, Belgium (2018); Asthenia No. 06, Hot Wheels, Athens (2018); The Clarkory Show, Museum Gallery, Brooklyn (2018); Into Rapture, Barbara Feinman Gallery, Los Angeles (2018); Marzanna, Yours Again, Hot Wheels, Athens (2018); To a God Unknown, Mrs. Gallery, Queens (2017). Faye Wei Wei graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2016.
Wei Wei curated a group exhibition Paintings for The Temple of Love at Cob Gallery (2019), and was awarded a commission to create an artwork in neon by the British Council Hong Kong, in collaboration with Phillips Auction House, as part of the SPARK programme (2019).
EDUCATION
2016 BA (Hons)Fine Art (1st Class) Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Bird Blowing Love, Alkinois, Athens, Greece
2023 Tiny Melody Chamber, Situations, New York, USA
2022 The Moon Balloon of New York City, Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria
2021 Sun, Isetan Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
2021 Moon, Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria
2020 If You Sat Long Enough You Could See A Flower Bloom, Project Room, Galerie Kanlhofer, Vienna, Austria
2019 I’ve Always Been A Weeper At The Cinema, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2019 Frail Silver Of The Climbing Stars, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong,
(a neon piece commissioned by the British Council Hong Kong, in collaboration with Phillips Auction House)
(a neon piece commissioned by the British Council Hong Kong, in collaboration with Phillips Auction House)
2018 Sweet Bitter, Valentine, SADE, Los Angeles, USA
2017 Faye Wei Wei, Centre For Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, UK
2017 Aristotle’s Lantern, Clerkenwell Green, London, UK
2017 Anemones and Lovers, Cob Gallery, London, UK
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Nada New York, Situations, NY, USA
2022 A Plant Has Been One Of My Best Friends For A Long Time Now, Situations, NY, USA
2021 A COUPLE OF, Hive Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
2019 Paintings For The Temple Of Love, curated by Faye Wei Wei, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2019 The Picture Is A Forest, curated by James English Leary, Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria
2019 Topian Gardens, ltd Los Angeles at Gallery Vacancy, Condo Shanghai, China
2019 Shifts In Time, curated by McNamara Art Projects, Over the Influence, Los Angeles, USA
2019 And I’ll have a pepper-shaker in my cave, so laugh, ltd Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
2018 Dreamin’ Wild, Keteleer Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2018 NEW WORK PART III: SUBJECT, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2018 Rhapsodies, PingPong, Brussels, Belgium
2018 Asthenia No. 06, Hot Wheels, Athens, Greece
2018 Into Rapture, Barbara Feinman Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2018 The Clarkory Show, Museum Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA
2018 Marzanna, Yours Again, Hot Wheels, Athens
2017 To a God Unknown, Mrs. Gallery, Queens, USA
2016 Eclectic Dreamers, Siegfried Contemporary, London, UK
2016 Summer Blue, Lychee One Gallery, London, UK
2016 Winter In America, Moms Favorite Space, Los Angeles, USA
2016 FBA Futures, Mall Galleries, London, UK
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2019 Paintings For The Temple Of Love, curated by Faye Wei Wei, Cob Gallery, London, UK
RESIDENCIES
2016 HOY HOY Residency, New York, USA
2018 Pat’s House Residency, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
PRIZES
2019 British Council Hong Kong x Phillips Commission
2016 Cass Art Painting Prize for Final Year Slade Graduates