Born in Shanghai in 1968 and graduated from Shanghai Arts & Crafts College in 1986. He now lives and works on Chongming Island, Shanghai and Nara.
Fang Wei’s paintings neither depict specific objects nor subject matters. Instead, he sets free his wild and uninhibited fantasies by releasing vibrant colors and of emotions through the portrayals figures and scenes on canvas. For a long period of time, Fang has been intrigued with the inherent qualities of human nature, to which he takes an embracing attitude to address its excitement, fear, solitude, ecstasy and sorrows. With an absurd, exaggerated, surreal approach, Fang employs a palette of dense and gorgeous colors, as well as unique strokes of wash technique to construct an array of spiritual imaginations.
The human figure has been one of most important themes in Fang Wei’s practice. As soon as his brush touches the palette from which images of men, women, Buddha, and God come into being as colors come together through blending and permeation to allow his figures become indistinct and ambiguous. Multiple figures often appear on the larger dimension paintings that often dissolve or blend into the surrounding. Fang Wei’s paintings are characterized with a primitive force of mysticism and a distinct artistic language. He tries to capture the equivocal and the intuitive images from his mind, and these seemingly arbitrary images are in fact the result of the artist’s gradual mediation and rigorous control. Their narratives are multi-faceted and divergent, captivating as they are, a visual sense of hypnosis is at play among the flowing images.
Fang’s recent solo exhibitions include “The Shadow’s Leave-Taking“, AIKE, Shanghai, China (2021); "Morningtide", AIKE, Shanghai, China (2018); "Hidden Earth", Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2016); "Assassin", BANK, Shanghai, China (2014); Fang Wei solo exhibition, Shanghai Gallery of Art (SGA), Shanghai, China (2012).