Rüdiger Schöttle

Chen Wei

23 Mar - 05 May 2012

© Chen Wei
A Kind Of Mensuration, 2007
Archival InkJet Print
120 x 160 cm
CHEN WEI
Rain In Some Areas
23 March - 5 May, 2012

The Rüdiger Schöttle Gallery is pleased to announce the forthcoming first-ever comprehensive exhibition of the works of the Chinese artist Chen Wei in Germany.

Chen Wei is a story teller. Through his photographs he stages fantastic worlds of images, creates dark, isolated scenes and situations, such as a derelict well or a man sitting in a cloud of smoke from his own cigarette. Whatever the scene, Chen Wei shows the human being – or makes us sense his presence – in relation to his environment.

Chen Wei’s photographs are complex compositions of individual interacting elements that open up a multitude of possible interpretations. Their titles, too, are part and parcel of the narrative web woven by Chen Wei, often underscoring life’s complexity with more than a slight touch of black humour. Rain In Some Areas is both the title of one of Chen Wei’s photographs and – very much in the vein of a manifesto – the title of the entire exhibition. The photograph shows a room with a sofa, a stool, a plant and a shelf. Stretched from the shelf across the room is a clothes line from which several wet garments are hanging: a pair of trousers, a shirt, a beige trenchcoat. An electric fan blows air onto a wet floor. It is a complex composition of symbols, often contradictory, that awaken memories and associations in the viewer.

Chen Wei was born in Zhejiang Province, China, in 1980. He lives and works in Beijing. His works already enjoy international renown, having been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, and the Seoul Museum of Art. A solo exhibition took place at the Creativecity Center, Yokohama, in 2011.
 

Tags: Po-i Chen, Chen Wei