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: 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).