Ota Fine Arts Shanghai is delighted to present “The Invisible Road”, a solo exhibition by the artist Chen Wei (b. 1980, China). This is Chen Wei’s first solo exhibition at Ota Fine Arts Shanghai, and his tenth with the gallery, featuring his recent photography works and LED installations created over the past two years.

 

The exhibition title “The Invisible Road” hints about the uncertainty in narrative. Through Chen’s acute observations and sensitive depictions of the urban landscape, the exhibition explores the complex relationship between individuals and the present realities that they are faced with.

 

“The Invisible Road” will be the final chapter of Chen’s 'New City' series which began in 2013. This series reveals the emotional undertones and psychological tensions behind China’s accelerated urban transformation. In contrast to the darker tones and somber lighting seen in his earlier works, New Lights (2024) presents a vivid and dreamlike display window that glows with vintage colourful lightbulbs. The shattered glass of the window is unexpectedly clean, and reflections of buildings could be seen in them.

 

Chen focuses on the “partial” (or otherwise parts) in recent works, with simplified and often ambiguous backgrounds, these works discuss dispersion and convergence. In Badminton (2024), shuttlecocks that have been hit countless times are casually piled in the corner of a badminton court; in Scatters Like Pomegranate Seeds (2024), half-peeled pomegranates spill over onto a stack of books on the windowsill, while Forsaken Vessels of Flesh (2025) features an empty room, with marbles scattered in front of a glass cabinet. Fragile, ephemeral objects become subjects that represent the spirits of the contemporary existence. In the same way, Still Lemons / No Worries (2024) depicts a small window, one where exchanges occur and anticipation lingers. The shadowy, still image of the window serves as a metaphor for the breakdown of communication between individuals and society in the aftermath of the pandemic. Amidst the lengthy waiting time and the disillusions, there are still lemons which symbolize the duality of reality. As depicted in Motojiro Kajii’s short story Lemon (1925): it is both a potential “bomb” that disrupts old structures, and a refreshing, hopeful gesture, that brings subtle yet genuine happiness.

 

Trouble and malfunction is a recurring theme in Chen Wei’s work, offering a lens for understanding contemporary urban and digital experiences. In his new LED series Trouble City (2025), the artist transforms the visual language of glitching street-side advertisements – flickering circuits, fragmented images, misaligned texts – into rhythmic, immersive compositions of uncertainty and error. LED panels display randomly sequenced light patterns. Their luminous units vary in form and scale, like architectural remnants from a forgotten metropolis.

Ota Fine Arts Shanghai invites viewers to experience the emotional undercurrents flowing in the exhibition through Chen Wei’s unique use of light and colour.