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Liu Wei

New York

Feb 28–Mar 23, 2013

Installation view of Liu Wei at Lehmann Maupin New York

540 W 26th St

New York, 10001

Lehmann Maupin is honored to present the first solo exhibition of Chinese artist Liu Wei’s work in the United States, on view at 540 West 26th Street from 28 February through 23 March 2013. The exhibition will feature an amalgamation of multi-media works created over the past year in the artist’s studio in Beijing. Three large-scale assemblages constructed from salvaged demolition debris, a continuation of the artist's Merely a Mistake series begun in 2009, will be the centerpieces of the installation in the main gallery space.

Considered to be one of the most progressive and original Chinese artists to have emerged on the international art scene, Liu’s work has evolved over the past 15 years into a layered conceptual approach that transcends medium and material. Working across painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video, Liu is relentless in his pursuit of truth and engagement with reality. His exploration of urban life stems from the accelerated urbanization afflicting his immediate cityscapes and the instability of a rapidly changing society. Of the times, Liu has said, “We grew up when things were constantly changing and nothing seemed stabile. There was a turnaround in values every couple of years…. Today you’d believe in one thing and tomorrow you’d believe in something completely different.”

Installation view of Liu Wei at Lehmann Maupin New York
Installation Views: 1 of 5
Installation view of Liu Wei at Lehmann Maupin New York
Installation Views: 1 of 4

Books and Editions

Portrait of Liu Wei

Liu Wei (b. 1972, Beijing, China; lives and works in Beijing, China) explores 21st-century socio-political concepts such as the contradictions of contemporary society and the transformation of developing cities and the urban landscape. In many of his sculptural and installation works, he uses found materials that are re-contextualized to draw new meanings out of the materials from which they are made. Liu Wei frequently uses geometric and architectural forms in his work as a reference to his urban surroundings.

Liu Wei graduated from the China Academy of Art in 1996. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized at Long Museum, Shanghai, China (2020); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH (2019); PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea (2016); Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China (2015); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2014); and Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2011).

Learn about the artist