Born and raised in Shanghai, Shen Wei is a fine art photographer currently based in New York City. Shen’s work have been exhibited nationally and internationally, with venues including the Museum of the City of New York, Griffin Museum of Photography, Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, the Harn Museum of Art and the Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. His photographs have been featured in various publications, including The New Yorker, Aperture, American Photo, Chinese Photography, PDN and Life Magazine China.
Shen's work is featured in many private and public collections including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, Library of Congress, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Museum of Chinese in America, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Kinsey Institute.
Shen is a recipient of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Creative Artist Residency, the 2007 Griffin Award from the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Excellent Photographer Award from 2008 China Pingyao International Photography Festival and the 2008 Urban Artist Initiative New York City Fellowship. Shen was named one of the top fifteen emerging photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine in 2007, and was also part of PDN’s annual PDN30 list in 2008.
Shen holds an MFA in photography, video, and related media from the School of Visual Arts, New York; a BFA in photography from Minneapolis College of Art and Design; and a BA in decorative arts from Shanghai Light Industry College.
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Born 1977, Shanghai, China.
Lives and works in New York City.
Solo Exhibition:
2012
epSITE Epson Imaging Gallery, Chinese Sentiment, Shanghai, China
2011
Daniel Cooney Fine Art, Chinese Sentiment, New York, NY
The Art Institute of Boston, Chinese Sentiment, Boston, MA
Lumenvisum Gallery, Chinese Sentiment, Hong Kong, China
Gallery 456 / Chinese American Arts Council, Almost Naked, New York, NY
2009
Randall Scott Gallery, Almost Naked, New York, NY
2008
Kunst.Licht Gallery, Almost Naked, Shanghai, China
Gallery 456 / Chinese American Arts Council, Concubines of New York, New York, NY
2006
Elkins Gallery at Temple University, Almost Naked, Philadelphia, PA
2003
TIXE Gallery, Portraits by Shen Wei, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2011
Museum of the City of New York, Movable Feast, New York, NY
Harn Museum of Art, Highlights from the Asian Collection, Gainesville, Florida
Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery at Haverford College, Through the Plain Camera, Haverford, PA
Noorderlicht Photofestival 2011, Metropolis: City Life in the Urban Age, Groningen, The Netherlands
White Space Gallery, Kunst.Licht Photo Art Gallery in Beijing, Beijing, China
Stacion Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, I have also other favorites, Prishtina, Kosova
SH Contemporary 2011, Chinese Sentiment/Almost Naked for Kunst.Licht, Shanghai, China
Australia Center for Photography, 100 Portraits, Sydney, Australia
epSITE Gallery, Faces of Life, Shanghai, China
DOB Hualamphong Gallery, Human/Time/Space, Bangkok, Thailand
2010
Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Faces of Life, Beijing, China
Flauders Art Gallery, Open Season, Raleigh, NC
The Kinsey Institute Gallery, Nature & Nurture, Bloomington, IN
Daniel Cooney Fine Art, Self Exposure, New York, NY
Corcoran Gallery of Art,100 Portraits at, Washington D.C.
The Arts Council of Wilson, From The Collection of Allen Thomas, Jr., NC
Gallery at the Gershwin, Longing alive and well, New York, NY
Galleria Contemporaneo, Global Photography, Venice, Italy.
2009
Savignano Immagini La Fotografia, Global Photography, Savignano, Italy
J&Z Gallery, Portraits of the Youth, Shenzhen, China
Phil. Gallery, Inside of Me, Los Angeles, CA
T&P Fine Art, Focus, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Michael Mazzeo Gallery, Bare, New York, NY
Pingyao International Photography Festival, Gazing China, Pingyao, Shanxi Province, China
The University of Arts. Best of Show. Philadelphia, PA
Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Lianzhou, Almost Naked, Guangdong Province, China
Australian Centre for Photography, Hijacked, Sydney, Australia.
Shanghai International Photo Exhibition, SongJiang Art Museum, Almost Naked, Shanghai, China
Katzen Art Center, The Washington Project for the Arts, Washington DC
Deutsche Bank Gallery, Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win, New York, NY
Foto Freo, Hijacked, Fremantle, WA, Australia
Fluctuating Images, Hijacked, Stuttgart, Germany
Randall Scott Gallery, Eight, Washington D.C.
Silver Eye Center for Photography, Almost Naked, Pittsburgh, PA
2007
Randall Scott Gallery for the Aqua Art Miami, Miami, FL
Saatchi Gallery for the Zoo Art Fair, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
Griffin Museum of Photography, 13th Annual Exhibition, Winchester, MA
ZONE: Chelsea Center for the Arts, U Can't Touch Dis, New York, NY
Jen Bekman Gallery, A New American Portrait, New York, NY
Gallery 456, China on Paper: Eroticsim, New York, NY
2006
Jen Bekman Gallery, Hey Hot Shot, New York, NY
Center on Contemporary Art, 2006 CoCA Annual, Seattle, WA
Contemporary Project Space, Variety, New York, NY
Dougherty Art Center, TPS15, Austin, TX
3rdWard Gallery, Strange Instrument, Brooklyn, NY
Visual Arts Gallery, Early Work, New York, NY
2005-2000
Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, Obsession, New York, NY
Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, Mainlanded, New York, NY
SoHo Photo, Double Exposure, New York, NY
Minnesota Center for Photography, ASMP Personal Work Show, Minneapolis
Intermedia Arts, Flaming Film Festival, Minneapolis, MN
Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Photo Exhibition 2001, Wayzata, MN
Calhoun Gallery, Visual Language, Minneapolis, MN
Education:
2006 School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
MFA, Photography, Video and Related Media.
2003 Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
BFA, Photography
1998 Shanghai Light-Industry College, Shanghai, China
AA, Decorative Art and Design
Collection:
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Museum of Chinese in America, New York, NY
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa, FL
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
Southeast Museum of photography, Daytona, FL
Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York, NY
C. V. Starr Foundation, New York, NY
Kinsey Institute, Indianapolis, IN
Light Work, Syracuse, NY
London Economics Corporate Collection, Toronto, Canada
United Airlines Corporate Collection, Chicago, IL
Target Corporate Collection, Minneapolis, MN
Allen G. Thomas Jr. Collection, Wilson, NC
Jonathan F. Fanton Collection, New York, NY
William K. Zawadski Collection, Tampa, FL
Fellowship/Residency:
2010
Light Work, Artist-in-Residency, Syracuse, NY
2009
Rockfeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Creative Artist Residency, Italy
New York Photo Festival, Best Book Nominee
2008
Urban Artist Initiative / New York City Fellowship
Photo District News, PDN30
China Pingyao International Photography Festival, Excellent Photographer Award
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Manhattan Community Arts Fund
Santa Fe Photo Prize, Nominee
2007
The Griffin Museum of Photography, The Griffin Award
Magenta Foundation , Flash Forward 2007, Winner
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Manhattan Community Arts Fund
Photo District News (PDN) Annual
2006
Santa Fe Center for Photography, Review Santa Fe
Photo District News, Photo Annual
2003
Photographer’s Forum, Photo Annual
CMYK, Photo Annual
Books:
2011
Chinese Sentiment. Charles Lane Press. New York, NY.
The staged body: History of Nude Fine Art Photography.24 ORE Cultura. Italy. Peter Weiermair. 2011
2009
Almost Naked (Limited Edition). X/B Press. Shanghai, China.
Global Photography: Looking at / looking for. Pazzini Editore. Italy.
Energia: Umanita = Futuro: Ambiente. Terna. Italy.
2008
Hijacked: Australia and American Photography. Big City Press. Australia.
2007
Flash Forward. Magenta Foundation. Canada.
Teaching and Lecture:
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Parsons The New Schools for Design, New York, NY
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
The University of Memphis, memphis, TN
Kunst.licht, Shanghai, China
32HOW, Xiamen, China
M1NT, Shanghai, China
Bayero University Kano, Nigeria
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
OfPix Foundation, Beijing, China
Publication/Press:
Life Magazine China. "Table Sentiment." November, 2011. Ling, Huchong; Wei, Jiang.
ArtScope. "Shen Wei: Chinese Sentiment." September/Pctober, 2011. Liu, Franklin W.
The Outlook Magazine. “Creative 100.” August, 2011. Amos.
Ming Magazine. “Shen Wei - Chinese Sentiment” July, 2011. Wei, Jiang.
The New Yorker. “Goings On About Town Art: Shen Wei.” June 6, 2011. Aletti, Vince.
The New Yorker. “Critic’s Notebook: Food for Thought.” May 23, 2011. Aletti, Vince.
Wall Street Journal. “Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and NYC Green Cart Program.” May 7, 2011. Meyers, William.
Shanghai Photography, “Faces of Life – Contemporary Chinese Portraits.” May/June, 2011. Wei, Jiang.
Artinfo.com, “The Agenda: Chinese Sentiment - photographs by Shen Wei. ” April, 2011
Antiques and The Arts Weekly, “At Daniel Cooney, Solo Exhibit of Shen Wei’s Photographs.” April, 2011
Life Magazine (China) Special Edition, “Faces of Life.”. December, 2010. Jiang Wei.
Aperture, "The NYC Green Cart Photography Commission - Fresh Produce by Shen Wei." Winter, 2010.
The New Yorker, “Goings on About Town – Review: Sef Exposure”, July, 2010. Vince Aletti.
Life Magazine (China), “Shanghai Surprise.” June, 2010. Jiang Wei, Li Jingjing.
Photo World. “Making of the 1416 Workshop.” January 2010. Ren Yue.
Artforum. “Review: Portrait of the Youth”. June, 2009. Mathieu Borysevicz.
Art China. “Portrait of the Youth.” June, 2009. Azure Wu.
Life Magazine (China). "Almost Naked." June, 2009. Beibei Yin.
Travel+Leisure. "Modern Traveler: Shen Wei." March, 2009. Tao Zi.
Homeland. “Ten Minutes Interview: Shen Wei” February, 2009. Na Tsu.
Photo Art Asia. “Asian Artists in World Focuses: Shen Wei.” December, 2008. Joerg Colberg.
Photo Review. “The 2008 Photo Review Competition Winners.” December, 2008.
Zing Magazine. "Shen Wei Almost Naked." November 2008. Stella.
TimeOut Shanghai. “Shen Wei: The Bridge of Physical Nakedness.” October, 2008. Jay Hai.
NY Arts. “Shen Wei – Almost Naked.” March, 2008.
Vision. “Vision China: Almost Naked.” May, 2008. Chan Chan.
Life Element. “Almost Naked.” May, 2008. Meng Mate.
Photo District News. “30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2008.” March, 2008.
La Tempestad. "Almost Naked by Shen Wei." February, 2008.
Chinese Photography. "Atman, Introspection and Freedom, an interview with Shen Wei." February, 2008. Ren Yue.
Chinese Photography. "Behind Mask - About Shen Wei." February, 2008. Joreg Colberg.
China Photo Press. “Special Feature: Faces of 2007 in photography.” January 4, 2008.
Pics Magazine. "Shen Wei - Almost Naked." 2008
Art Times. "U Can't Touch Dis." September, 2007.
American Photo. "A New Generation of Photo Pioneers." November/December, 2007. Miki Johnson.
0086 Magazine. “Shen Wei Near Bareness.” DPecember, 2007. Jeuce Huang.
China Photo Press. "American Photo's 15 Emerging Artists." November 9, 2007. Zheng Lijun.
Saatchi News. "Shen Wei: Saatchi Online Critics' Choice." July 2, 2007. Aaron Schuman.
Wonkavision. "Feature Artist: Shen Wei." May, 2007. Chad Muthard.
JPG Magazine . "Photo Essay: Almost Naked by Shen Wei." March, 2007.
Shanghai Decor. "Oversea Express: Shen Wei." March, 2007.
China Press . "Concubines of New York captures the stories behind Chinese Opera ." March 10. 2007. William Yep.
World Journal . "Shen Wei photography on Chinese Opera." March 10, 2007. David Hsieh.
American Photo. "Images of the Year." Jan/Feb, 2007.
Sing Tao Daily. "Behind the Scene: Shen Wei's Concubines of New York." March. 7, 2007. Wu Gang.
Ming Pao Daily News. "Preview of Concubines of New York by Shen Wei." March 9, 2007. Eric Wang.
Ilterzoocchio. "Shen Wei: Nudi non solo." February 23, 2007.
Sing Tao Daily . "Shen Wei at Jen Bekman Gallery." December 14, 2006. Locus Chow.
Ming Pao Daily News. "Shen Wei's Photography." December 14. 2006. Yang Yang.
The Stranger. "In Art News." December 5, 2006. Jen Graves.
Texas Photographic Society. " Thoughts on the curating the "TPS 15." " August, 2006. Harris Fogel.
The New York Ilbo. "2006 Contemporary Project Space Show." September 11, 2006
Blueeyes Magazine. "Portfolio: Shen Wei." July, 2006.
Conscientious . "A Conversation with Shen Wei." June 6, 2006. Joerg Colberg.
World Journal. "Asian photography exhibition at Lincoln Center." August, 2005. David Hsieh.
Liberty Times. "The Obsession." July, 2005. Liu, Jie.
St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Stay Focused." September 5, 2004. Rhoda Fukushima.
IntermediaArts . "Flaming Film Festival." June, 2002.
St. Paul pioneer Press. "Two Roads Converge." July, 2004. Fukushima, Rhoda.