Tang Contemporary Art Center Seoul is delighted to present "The Shepherd's Touch”, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Wu Wei. Following the success of his previous shows "Variance" and "Freedom from Resistance" in 2020, "The Shepherd's Touch" marks Wu Wei's third solo exhibition at Tang Contemporary Art Center and his second in Korea.
Featuring over 40 new works created since 2022, the exhibition showcases Wu Wei's signature paper-fur series as well as his latest series, "Cut and Substitute," which offers a fresh perspective on the history of Western imagery. Wu Wei's thought-provoking pieces explore the relationship between humanity and bestiality, civilization and nature, and domestication and feralization.
In his paper-fur pieces, Wu Wei combines paper and animal fur to revisit the primitive thinking and violence of human ancestors, inviting viewers to contemplate the dawn of time before the advent of rationality. Meanwhile, in "Cut and Substitute," Wu Wei challenges the visual dictatorship in art history by mutilating classical works of Western painting into skin, transforming the sacredness of the image into the objectivity of the installation, and building an arena for vision and sense of touch.
"The Shepherd's Touch" aims to rethink the dialectics between skin and hair, and points to the basic theme of DISCIPLINE in Wu Wei's work. Once again, Wu Wei restores the spiritual battlefield of ancient times, when the saints did not yet exist.
 Stripes-11 Paper on board 90x90cm 2023 |  Disjointed Pelage-3 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 90x110cm 2022 |  Stripes-1 Paper on board 190x160cm 2022 |
|---|---|---|
 斑纹-3 120x120cm 木板上纸张 2022 |  Stripes-1 Paper on board 160x160cm 2022 |  Stripes-4 Paper on board 90x90cm 2022 |
 Stripes-6 Paper on board 90x110cm 2022 |  Stripes-5 Paper on board 110x90cm 2022 |  Disjointed Pelage-1 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 200x300cm 2022 |
 Disjointed Pelage-2 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 110x120cm 2022 |  斑纹-8 70x70cm 木板上纸张 2022 |  Stripes-7 Paper on board 70x70cm 2022 |
 Stripes-10 Paper on board 70x70cm 2022 |  Disjointed Pelage-4 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 95x95cm 2022 |  Disjointed Pelage-5 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 95x95cm 2022 |
 Disjointed Pelage-7 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 85x105cm 2022 |  Disjointed Pelage-8 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 85x105cm 2022 |  Disjointed Pelage-6 Acrylic, paper on canvas and board 85x105cm 2022 |
 Section and Substitute-1 Paper, metal 31x31x11cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-3 Paper, metal 40x40x9cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-4 Paper, metal 40x40x9cm 2023 |
 切面与替身-9 26x26x13cm 纸张、金属 2023 |  Section and Substitute-2 Paper, metal 31x31x11cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-20 Paper, metal 21x30x5cm 2023 |
 Section and Substitute-10 Paper, metal 21x30x5cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-11 Paper, metal 21x30x8cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-5 Paper, metal 35x35x8cm 2023 |
 Section and Substitute-14 Paper, metal 25x25x8cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-8 Paper, metal 39x39x9cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-12 Paper, metal 42x30x6cm 2023 |
 Section and Substitute-16 Paper, metal 35x35x8cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-13 Paper, metal 25x25x5cm 2023 |  切面与替身-17 26x26x14cm 纸张、金属 2023 |
 Section and Substitute-6 Paper, metal 21x30x4cm 2023 |  Protruding Forms-4 Paper on board 115x115cm 2021 |  Protruding Forms-3 Paper on board 115x115cm 2021 |
 Section and Substitute-19 Paper, metal 31x30x7cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-7 Paper, metal 18x18x3cm 2023 |  Section and Substitute-15 Paper, metal 26x26x9cm 2023 |
 Section and Substitute-18 Paper, metal 31x32x5cm 2023 |  Animal of Spirit-1 Paper 30x30x4.5cm 2014 |  Animal of Spirit-2 Paper 30x30x4.5cm 2014 |
 Animal of Spirit-3 Paper 30x30x4.5cm 2014 |  Tibetan Books-3 Book 50x20x13cm 2021 |  孟极 40cmX40cmX40cm 纸 2012Mengji Book 50x20x13cm 2021 |
Artist
Wu Wei
b. 1981, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
In 2012, Wu Wei graduated from the Experimental Art Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with a master's degree and now lives in Beijing. Wu's works are full of sensual desires, involving topics of civilization, barbarism, and mythology, looking for new feelings and possibilities in materials and space. The artist cuts and restructures the paper, presenting furry textures. The ‘beastly pattern’ and certain kind of ‘godly creature’ with a vivid colour appear in parts, or interchangeable forms, and present new meaning with the pure, abstract formal elements. The artist contemplates and investigates contemporary culture consistently, resulting in symbolism in his works.
He won the 6th Anniversary Award for the New Artists Space Award in 2015, and won the 3rd New Star Art Festival Art Award in 2012. He participated in an international art residency in Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany. His works have been exhibited in Tang Contemporary Art , Beijing, Bangkok; Whitebox Art Center, Beijing, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Art, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba, Japan, Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, U.S.A, Asian Library, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, XC. HuA Gallery, Berlin, Germany, Migrant Bird Space, Berlin, Germany, FLUC Art Space, Vienna, Austria and many other art institutions; public collections include Minsheng Modern Art Museum, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Whitebox Art Center, Today Art Museum, Being3 Art Foundation and other institutions.