Sleepless Tonight: Chen Wei

Ota Fine Arts is delighted to present "Sleepless Tonight" a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Chen Wei. This will be his first solo exhibition in Japan in 4 years, to be held at both Ota Fine Arts Tokyo and Ota Fine Arts 7CHOME. Chen who is based in Beijing, China, is a leading artist of the generation born in the 1980s and has been presenting his work primarily through photography. His representative photographic series was recently exhibited at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum's exhibition 'TOP Collection: The Resonance of Seeing' held from 18 July to 6 October this year. For this exhibition, Ota Fine Arts will be exhibiting a combination of works in different media, including photography, video and LED, for the first time in Japan.

Chen Wei recreates the cityscapes that he has seen in a set in his studio and then photographs them. This worldview that combines a mixture of reality and unreality is at the core of Chen's creation, and has something in common with the worldview of the literature of Kobo Abe, Motojiro Kajii, Franz Kafka and others whom he admires.

This exhibition marks the final chapter of the 'New City' series, in which Chen focuses on the rapid development and transformation of cities in China. These photographic works imply the social changes in China after experiencing a pandemic. In Front Door Nail (2024), the door is about to open and light from the outside can be seen however, a light bulb placed in front of the door blocks it. The light bulb - a small ray of hope that illuminates the dark room - prevents the door from opening, like a nail hammered into the floor. This paradox evokes the sense of entrapment felt by people living in controlled circumstances. Flowers of Silence (2024) depicts a bouquet of flowers that has been left outside of a building, and in contrast to the dark interior of Front Door Nail, the warm colours of the flowers and the ray of sunlight exude a certain warmth. Feelings of affection, usually communicated by a gift of flowers, could not be conveyed during the pandemic, reflecting the lack of communication in modern society. This is made more apparent through the physical isolation of people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Light Me (2021) series of video works that are being exhibited for the first time in Japan, highlights the solitude of people in a pronounced way. These works depict a person gazing at a computer or smartphone screen in a dimly lit room and the only component that changes gradually in the inorganic space with no hints of human vitality is a faint light emitting from the screens. This effect of adding another time axis to a still photograph that should have captured only one moment in time marks a new phase in Chen's expression.

The new LED series Trouble Garden (2024) was influenced by Japanese Karesansui, otherwise known as dry landscape gardens. In Chen's earlier creations, the random flashing lights of the LED panels represented the malfunctioning electronic billboards that are often seen in different cities in China. For this exhibition, they have transformed into lights reminiscent of fireflies or ripples. This garden landscape created by Chen is composed of malfunctioning LED panels, yet it can also be interpreted as our world that is made up of individuals and society with problems.

Chen Wei often considers light and colour as a consequence of expressing emotions.

The LEDs, video works and photography, coupled with Chen's distinctive and characteristic expression of light and colour transforms the exhibition space into a single comprehensive installation work. Ota Fine Arts Tokyo welcome all viewers to join us as we experience Chen's blended worldview of reality and unreality.

Chen Wei often considers light and colour as a consequence of expressing emotions. The LEDs, video works and photography, coupled with Chen's distinctive and characteristic expression of light and colour transforms the exhibition space into a single comprehensive installation work. Ota Fine Arts Tokyo welcome all viewers to join us as we experience Chen's blended worldview of reality and unreality.