WEI JIA (b. 1957, Beijing)
Wei Jia practiced traditional calligraphy, Chinese painting and poetry from an early stage. Wei graduated with a B.F.A from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (1984) and M.F.A. from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (1987). He currently works and lives in New York and Beijing. The feeling of cultural displacement and coexistence of cultural identities led him to measure the influences from Eastern and Western cultures in his work.
Hand-made paper is widely used in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. Fascinated by its historical importance and relationship to nature and craft, Wei Jia uses hand-made paper to make abstract collages. Wei Jia’s process involves a rigorously repeated cycle of tearing, mounting and painting, which leaves the artwork full of serendipitous combinations which cannot be replicated. The final work is made of layers of ink, pastel, gouache, oil and hand-made paper, encouraging the viewer to have a close look at the exceptional medium and make a journey within the artwork. American critic Robert C. Morgan notes that: “The results often appear more solid and lyrically intriguing than paintings associated with American Color Field painting in the 1960s, largely due to the superior absorbent quality of the paper made from crushed mulberry leaves.”
Wei has had numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally, including Central Academy of Fines Arts (Beijing), National Museum of Art (Beijing), CU Art Museum University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, U.S.A.), Lincoln Center (New York), etc. Since 1987, he has had 16 solo exhibitions in the United States. His works are in the public collections of The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Utah Museum (Salt Lake City), the Dadu Museum (Beijing) and the Brooklyn Museum (New York). His recent shows include Carry-On (the fifth exhibition), Yuan Art Museum, Beijing (2021); 10th International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen: Ink at Current, Hua Art Museum, Shenzhen (2019); Blurred Boundaries, New York School of Interior Design Gallery, New York (2018); Wei Jia: Recent Work, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia (2017); Lin Yan, Wei Jia: A Garden Window, Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Hong Kong (2015); Oil & Water: Reinterpreting Ink, The Museum of Chinese in America, New York (2014) and Tales of Two Cities: New York & Beijing, Bruce Museum, Greenwich (2014). In 2021, he is going to have a solo exhibition Good Times concurrent at Fou Gallery, New York and Chambers Fine Art, New York.
韦佳（b. 1957，北京)
少年时代学习中国传统绘画，诗词及书法，1984年毕业于中央美术学院油画系，1987年于美国布鲁姆斯堡宾西法尼亚州立大学视觉艺术系取得艺术硕士学位。他目前生活和创作于纽约与北京两地。他的创作游历于两种文化之间。他在布鲁姆斯堡期间开始创作一些抽象国画，寻求中国抽象和美国抽象因素之间的关系。韦佳的创作灵感主要来源于中国传统书法和绘画，在美国现当代艺术的影响下，努力以新的角度和方式继承传统。他用中国手工纸做拼贴，因为纸上承载了中国的传统文化，保留着人与自然的关系。他在宣纸上书写和泼墨，再将形象撕毁，重新拼贴，反复的撕与贴之后画面变成抽象的色块，无论是东方的笔法用墨还是西方的油墨重彩都成为断章。韦佳说：“与现当代西方绘画不同，我更喜欢近看的绘画，让视觉游历于画面上，去感受画面的丰富的层次变化，像中国山水画那样，纸的拼贴使我达到我的追求。我的日常生活都会进入到我的作品里，春秋的色彩，树丛中的层次，花草交织的形状，美术馆与画廊作品的启发，读古诗的感受，打非洲手鼓的节奏等等。它们在我的画中暗示着我的生活状态。”撕与贴的反复，充满东方和西方艺术表达方式的碰撞，正是韦佳追求的必然与偶然的冒险。
韦佳在国际范围内广泛举行个展和群展，包括中央美术学院美术馆（北京），中国美术馆（北京)，科罗拉多大学博物馆（美国小石城），林肯中心（纽约）等。他在美国已举办16次个展，有众多的私人收藏。他的作品还被宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院（费城），犹他博物馆（美国盐湖城），大都美术馆（北京）以及布鲁克林美术馆（纽约）等公共机构收藏。他近期的展出包括《接力》（元典美术馆，北京，2021）；《水墨现在：第十届深圳国际水墨双年展》（华·美术馆，深圳，2019）；《模糊的界限》（室内设计学院，纽约，2018）；《韦佳：新作》（施密特∙迪恩画廊，费城，2017）；《林延，韦佳：后院》（季丰轩画廊，香港，2015）；《再读水墨》（美国华人博物馆，纽约，2014）以及《双城记：纽约&北京》（布鲁斯博物馆，格林威治，2014）。2021年，他即将在否画廊和前波画廊（纽约）同时举办个展《好时节》。
