Overview
Running parallel to Art Basel Hong Kong, this online viewing room features new and recent evocative figurative paintings by two contemporary Asian artists, Shen Wei and Wu Sibo.
Explore the viewing room also on ArtBasel.com
Shen Wei
The practice of New York-based Chinese-American artist Shen Wei (b 1977) includes reflections on notions of self, gender, form, desire and nature,
In my latest series of paintings, I explore the tender and delicate relationship between oneself and nature, extending the narrative of my photographic self-portrait onto the canvas. Drawing inspiration from nature as both metaphor and muse, with a sense of nostalgia and longing, these paintings explore the magical convergence of memory and fantasy, as well as the intricate boundary between the real and the imagined blur.
Wu Sibo
Shifting between urban and rural environments, Wu Sibo (b 1976, China) has witnessed two decades of economic and social transformation in southern China. Inspired by the sentiment and history in his hometown, Wu continuously narrates the mundane routine of daily life through atmospheric paintings devoid of colour. Clouds, smoke, water and fire, in ritualistic practice combined with ambiguous figures immersed by a nocturnal setting, allude to a lasting sensibility and contemplation of a changing habitat.
Wu explains, “Our daily life consists of small scenes and ordinary people. But the changes in our era are reflected through these small things. By observing the transformation around me, I paint.”
