Born in the late 1960s, Wei Dong grew up in a traditional and conservative living environment, which makes his works have a strong rebellious spirit. Wei Dong’s works, which often feature women, combine absurdity with the sense of detachment of shuttling between the ancient and the modern in the context of economic oppression and cross-cultural globalization. In Wei Dong’s early works, a sense of intimacy of the language of painting is revealed in anachronistic scenes where the elements of the painting are at odds with the protagonist.
“My Trouble with Gentleman”, shows the corner of an interior decorated in ancient Chinese style, and a naked woman standing in front of an old man who perhaps belongs to dynastic China. Seen from behind, only the woman’s full-grown body and porcelaneous skin are visible, it is as if her identity has been erased or solely decided by her naked flesh. Despite how powerless and vulnerable as the woman may appear to be, it is subverted by a pair of scissors clenched behind her back. The contrast between the tightly secured scissors and the skeptical expression of the old man not only creates a sense of tension in the picture but also a warning from a seemingly defenseless woman.
Wei Dong graduated with a BFA from Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. His oil paintings have received widespread attention from both the Chinese and Western art worlds, and have been exhibited in numerous major international and domestic exhibitions. He has held numerous solo exhibitions in New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong and Beijing. His works have been included in the collections of selected public institutions and foundations, including the Queensland Art Gallery, the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney, the Trammell Crow Museum in the United States, the DeYoung Museum of Art in San Francisco, the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, and the Museo de la Carmeb Thyssen-Bornemisza in Spain, among others. His work has been exhibited at the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in the United States, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Kunst Museum in Switzerland, Akureyi Art Museum in Iceland, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea, Today Art Museum and Shenzhen Art Museum in China, as well as in numerous galleries in China, Hong Kong (China) and the United States.
Selected Exhibitions
2023 – Night Shining White, Soul Art Centre, Beijing, China
2023 – Art Jakarta 2023, Redbase, Jakarta, Indonesia
2023 – Sydney Contemporary 2023, Redbase, Sydney, Australia
2023 – She & Her: On Women and Their Art, EAC ARTIN SPACE, Hong Kong
2021 – Winter Vista, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
2016 – Observer, Eli Klein Gallery, New York, USA
2014 – Contemporary Gongbi Painting Six Artists Exhibition, Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
2013 – Hot Pot: Contemporary Chinese Art, Brattleboro Museum, Vermont, USA
2012 – Wind Dust Three Idlers, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
