English | 中文
Wei Jia (b.1957)
Bio
Wei Jia was born in Beijing in 1957 and received his BFA in 1984 from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1987 he earned a MFA in Studio Arts from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. Currently he works and lives between New York and Beijing, where he teaches at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Wei has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in various venues in the United States and China, including Central Academy of Fines Arts, Beijing; National Museum of Art, Beijing; Dadu Museum of Art, Beijing; Yuan Dian Museum, Beijing; Chelsea Art Museum, New York; CU Art Museum University of Colorado at Boulder; Museum of Binghamton University, New York; Lincoln Center, New York; Founders Gallery of University of San Diego, California, etc. His works are in the public collections of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, the Utah Museum and the Beijing Dadu Museum of Art, among others. His recent shows include "Oil & Water: Reinterpreting Ink", at The Museum of Chinese in America In New York and "Tales of Two Cities: New York & Beijing", at Bruce Museum in Greenwich.
Artist's Statement
My diversified cultural background has influenced me as an artist by evoking a unique way of thinking and expressing myself. My earliest artistic development was shaped during my years in China, studying classical Chinese painting, poetry and calligraphy. After I moved to the United Sates in the 1980s, elements of modern and contemporary western art revealed themselves in my work. I was influenced by American culture, but feelings of cultural displacement and the co-existence of separate cultural identities taught me to reckon with these influences in my work.
My process involves a rigorously repeated cycle of tearing, mounting and painting, which contributes serendipitous combinations that cannot be replicated. The foundation of my artwork is a variety of hand-made paper widely used in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. I am fascinated by the long history of hand-made paper in China, by the cultural and historical elements of the paper and by its relationship to nature and craft. A collage of layers of hand-made paper requires a close look. In my artwork, the viewer is encouraged to free the mind and make a journey of immersion in the rich variations expressed by this exceptional medium. My personal journey involves bringing my daily life into the artwork: the color of changing seasons, the layers of wood, the shape of flowers and plants, the art I enjoy in museums and galleries, the rhythm of Djembe (the African drum) and the aesthetic of ancient poems. For me, this process embodies nature and poetry, sound and silence, richness in density and wealth in space, the past and the present, change and immutability.
Artists create their own problems in order to solve them. I want my work to stand as a successful reconciliation of the challenge to unite western and eastern influences. This was always my artistic ambition for my personal journey from China to the United States. As an artist, I try to rediscover and reexamine the culture of China while living in New York. In this way, I am able to reinvent and recreate the tradition of Chinese art under the influence of modern and contemporary western art.
EDUCATION
1987 M.A. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Department of Studio Art
1984 B.F.A. Central Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Oil Painting, Beijing
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Schmidt/Dean Gallery
2015 Cursive Script, Color, and Collage The art of WEI JIA, NaiHai Art, CA
2012 Wei Jia - New Work, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Wei Jia: New Paintings: Calligraphy, Collage, Crossculture, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, NYC
2007 Wei Jia: Made in China, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Wei Jia: Made in Beijing forward slash New York, China 2000 Fine Art, New York
2004 Wei Jia: 2004, China 2000 Fine Art, New York
Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1999 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1997 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1995 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1992 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1988 Wei Jia, Haas Gallery, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
1987 Wei Jia, Haas Gallery, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
10th International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen, China
2017
Suzhou Jinji Lake museum, China
2015
Lin Yan, Wei Jia: A Garden Window, Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Hong Kong. (Catalogue)
Sovrapposizioni Di Immagini, Casa Dei Carraresi Via Palestro, Treviso, Italy
2014
Experience China Chinese Contemporary Oil Painting, Dadu Museum, Beijing
Tales of Two Cities: New York & Beijing, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT. (Catalogue)
Transcending Boundaries: Qin Feng; Wei Jia and Lin Yan, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
Start from Tradition: Lin Yan & Wei Jia, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York, NY
Oil & Water Reinterpreting Ink, The Museum of Chinese American, New York, NY. (Catalogue)
2013
China Style, Dadu Museum, Beijing
New York Beijing Here There, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing
2012
Reductive, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Vaulting Limits, Tenri Culture Institute of New York, NY. (Catalogue)
Colorblind: Qin Feng; Wei Jia; Paul Shakespear; David Shapiro, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2011
Asian Variegations, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
Giving and Receiving, CU Art Museum University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. (Catalogue)
2010
Lin Yan + Wei Jia: Echoes from the Past, Amy Simon Gallery, Westport, CT
Spring Equinox, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing. (Catalogue)
Intertwining Layers, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Apartment Art in China 1970s-1990s, Shuimu Art Space, Beijing
Art Graduate Reunion Exhibition, Class of 1980, Studio III, Department of Oil Painting: Celebrating 90th Anniversary of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Loft 3 Gallery, Beijing. (Catalogue)
Then and Now Chinese Art From 1710 to 2007 Lamont Gallery Phillips Exeter Academy, NH
Cross - Reference: 11 Artists from NY, Shuimu Art Space, Beijing. (Catalogue)
2007
Calligraphy in Paintings, Museum of Binghamton University, NY
Corresponding - Chinese and American Artists, National Museum of Art, Beijing
Wei Jia and Nancy Lasar: Fields of Vision, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2006
Curator's Choice: China, Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA
Summer Rotation II, Amy Simon Fine Art, CT
East Transplanted West, Kean University, NJ
Brooklyn, Westport Arts Center, CT
New Chinese Occidentalism - Chinese Contemporary Art in New York, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York, NY. (Catalogue)
2005
Simplicity in Life 2: Lin Yan + Wei Jia, William Fellows Architects, New York, NY
Summer Rotation 1 Amy Simon Fine Art, CT
2003
Paper Chase: Creation in Paper by Contemporary Chinese Artists in New York, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY
2002
Contemporary Brush strokes - New York artists From China, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY
2000
Art Span - Three Generation, Nine Artists in One Family, Shanghai Biennial, China
1999
Spring Group Show, Miyako Yoshinaga Art Prospects, New York, NY
1995
Recent Paintings by Chinese - American Artists, The Cork Gallery, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
1992
Second Spring: Contemporary Chinese Painting & Sculpture, Founders Gallery, University of San Diego, CA
Duo show, Z gallery, Soho, NYC
1990
Twin Cranes Gallery, Seattle, WA
Works by Pang's Family, Lung Men Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1987
Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibition, The Chinese Culture Institute, Boston, MA
1985
National Youth Art Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Beijing, China
1977
Beijing City Art Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Beijing, China
1976
In Memory of Zhou Enlai, National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, China
PUBLIC COLLECTION
Brooklyn museum, New York
Dadu Museum, Beijing
National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing
The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Utah Museum, Salt Lake City
Artist's Statement
My diversified cultural background has influenced me as an artist by evoking a unique way of thinking and expressing myself. My earliest artistic development was shaped during my years in China, studying classical Chinese painting, poetry and calligraphy. After I moved to the United Sates in the 1980s, elements of modern and contemporary western art revealed themselves in my work. I was influenced by American culture, but feelings of cultural displacement and the co-existence of separate cultural identities taught me to reckon with these influences in my work.
My process involves a rigorously repeated cycle of tearing, mounting and painting, which contributes serendipitous combinations that cannot be replicated. The foundation of my artwork is a variety of hand-made paper widely used in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. I am fascinated by the long history of hand-made paper in China, by the cultural and historical elements of the paper and by its relationship to nature and craft. A collage of layers of hand-made paper requires a close look. In my artwork, the viewer is encouraged to free the mind and make a journey of immersion in the rich variations expressed by this exceptional medium. My personal journey involves bringing my daily life into the artwork: the color of changing seasons, the layers of wood, the shape of flowers and plants, the art I enjoy in museums and galleries, the rhythm of Djembe (the African drum) and the aesthetic of ancient poems. For me, this process embodies nature and poetry, sound and silence, richness in density and wealth in space, the past and the present, change and immutability.
Artists create their own problems in order to solve them. I want my work to stand as a successful reconciliation of the challenge to unite western and eastern influences. This was always my artistic ambition for my personal journey from China to the United States. As an artist, I try to rediscover and reexamine the culture of China while living in New York. In this way, I am able to reinvent and recreate the tradition of Chinese art under the influence of modern and contemporary western art.
EDUCATION
1987 M.A. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Department of Studio Art
1984 B.F.A. Central Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Oil Painting, Beijing
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Schmidt/Dean Gallery
2015 Cursive Script, Color, and Collage The art of WEI JIA, NaiHai Art, CA
2012 Wei Jia - New Work, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Wei Jia: New Paintings: Calligraphy, Collage, Crossculture, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, NYC
2007 Wei Jia: Made in China, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Wei Jia: Made in Beijing forward slash New York, China 2000 Fine Art, New York
2004 Wei Jia: 2004, China 2000 Fine Art, New York
Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1999 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1997 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1995 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1992 Wei Jia: Recent Works, Schmidt/Dean Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1988 Wei Jia, Haas Gallery, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
1987 Wei Jia, Haas Gallery, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
10th International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen, China
2017
Suzhou Jinji Lake museum, China
2015
Lin Yan, Wei Jia: A Garden Window, Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Hong Kong. (Catalogue)
Sovrapposizioni Di Immagini, Casa Dei Carraresi Via Palestro, Treviso, Italy
2014
Experience China Chinese Contemporary Oil Painting, Dadu Museum, Beijing
Tales of Two Cities: New York & Beijing, Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT. (Catalogue)
Transcending Boundaries: Qin Feng; Wei Jia and Lin Yan, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
Start from Tradition: Lin Yan & Wei Jia, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York, NY
Oil & Water Reinterpreting Ink, The Museum of Chinese American, New York, NY. (Catalogue)
2013
China Style, Dadu Museum, Beijing
New York Beijing Here There, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing
2012
Reductive, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Vaulting Limits, Tenri Culture Institute of New York, NY. (Catalogue)
Colorblind: Qin Feng; Wei Jia; Paul Shakespear; David Shapiro, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2011
Asian Variegations, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
Giving and Receiving, CU Art Museum University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. (Catalogue)
2010
Lin Yan + Wei Jia: Echoes from the Past, Amy Simon Gallery, Westport, CT
Spring Equinox, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing. (Catalogue)
Intertwining Layers, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Apartment Art in China 1970s-1990s, Shuimu Art Space, Beijing
Art Graduate Reunion Exhibition, Class of 1980, Studio III, Department of Oil Painting: Celebrating 90th Anniversary of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Loft 3 Gallery, Beijing. (Catalogue)
Then and Now Chinese Art From 1710 to 2007 Lamont Gallery Phillips Exeter Academy, NH
Cross - Reference: 11 Artists from NY, Shuimu Art Space, Beijing. (Catalogue)
2007
Calligraphy in Paintings, Museum of Binghamton University, NY
Corresponding - Chinese and American Artists, National Museum of Art, Beijing
Wei Jia and Nancy Lasar: Fields of Vision, Amy Simon Fine Art, Westport, CT
2006
Curator's Choice: China, Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA
Summer Rotation II, Amy Simon Fine Art, CT
East Transplanted West, Kean University, NJ
Brooklyn, Westport Arts Center, CT
New Chinese Occidentalism - Chinese Contemporary Art in New York, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York, NY. (Catalogue)
2005
Simplicity in Life 2: Lin Yan + Wei Jia, William Fellows Architects, New York, NY
Summer Rotation 1 Amy Simon Fine Art, CT
2003
Paper Chase: Creation in Paper by Contemporary Chinese Artists in New York, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY
2002
Contemporary Brush strokes - New York artists From China, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY
2000
Art Span - Three Generation, Nine Artists in One Family, Shanghai Biennial, China
1999
Spring Group Show, Miyako Yoshinaga Art Prospects, New York, NY
1995
Recent Paintings by Chinese - American Artists, The Cork Gallery, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
1992
Second Spring: Contemporary Chinese Painting & Sculpture, Founders Gallery, University of San Diego, CA
Duo show, Z gallery, Soho, NYC
1990
Twin Cranes Gallery, Seattle, WA
Works by Pang's Family, Lung Men Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1987
Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibition, The Chinese Culture Institute, Boston, MA
1985
National Youth Art Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Beijing, China
1977
Beijing City Art Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Beijing, China
1976
In Memory of Zhou Enlai, National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, China
PUBLIC COLLECTION
Brooklyn museum, New York
Dadu Museum, Beijing
National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing
The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Utah Museum, Salt Lake City