Fusing the disciplines of choreography, paint, film, and dance, artist Shen Wei’s new works will debut in the United States with his exhibit “Painting in Motion,” opening at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on December 3. The program, which is the first North American exhibition to draw together Shen’s creations across these various media, carries the viewer along a journey of light, motion, and time, illuminating the ethereal realms the artist has brought to life.

Many of Shen’s recent paintings can be found in the Hostetter Gallery, while his films are screened in Calderwood Hall and the Fenway Gallery of the Palace. One of these films is a new commission for the museum, titled “Passion Spirit,” which navigates a path from the past into recent time, according to Shen. His paintings, which are usually crafted from oil or acrylic paints, draw from ancient Chinese landscapes and twentieth-century abstraction. The pieces are designed on large canvases, linen, and wood.

Works such as “Untitled Number 8” feature dramatic contrasts in color, evoking scenes found in nature. Others, like “Suspension in Blue Number 6,” portray images that resemble bursts of energy or the movement of water. Meanwhile, in the Hostetter Gallery, personal items from Shen’s life are displayed, carrying the spectator through his creative process. These objects include postcards, letters, sketches, and journals where recorded his dreams.

“Everything is connected,” said Shen. “…As an artist, there is a period where you went through something where you were affected, your intentions, your beliefs, or your sensitivities. That is part of your life. It affects what you can create, what you express, what you were feeling, during that period.”

Shen was born in 1968, in Hunan province, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. During this period, art and educational institutions were taken apart on a large scale. Shen was only a child when this happened. Still, in the aftermath of the revolution, the country experienced a revitalization of the arts, a movement that he said impacted him and his growth.

He had a rich, creative upbringing, as his father was the director of a Chinese opera company. Shen was sent to an arts school and learned a great deal from his teachers. His involvement in traditional Chinese opera drew together a plethora of disciplines: singing, acting, dancing, and martial arts.

“It was very intense; we tried to learn as much as we could from the artists who were passing [their craft] on to us,” said Shen.

The works featured at the museum reflect Shen’s career as a dancer and choreographer, infused with motion. Shen said that his art is also influenced by his experiences while traveling, observing different cultures and religions, while also expressing perceptions from time spent in solitude. “Passion Spirit” brings together these focuses, representing two halves of a dancing figure, one red and one white, that eventually unite into one being.

Through his work, Shen invites an audience to step into a dream world, but he said that he does not impose expectations or direction upon viewers. Rather, he hopes that they will form their own interpretations, while observing the artifacts of his creative process.

“When you go through the whole exhibition, you will see the artist in a way, what they’re thinking and what they’re feeling,” said Shen. “What they see is expressed through image, through painting.” He added, “There are ways of sharing what the artist is thinking, reflected in what their life journey is, what they’re trying to express to an audience.”

To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.