The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

Wang Jian Wei completed his postgraduate studies in oil painting in 1987 at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts and is now employed as a professional painter in the Beijing Art Studio (Beijing Huayuan). Formerly an oil painter, Wang Jian Wei turned to experimental installations in the 1990s and this has become his main form of artistic expression. His works have been shown at important international exhibitions such as the 'New Asian Art Show: Now a Dream of East', Japan, China and South Korea, 1995; and the ' '95 Kwangju Biennale', South Korea. He is a leading exponent of multimedia art in China. Wang Jian Wei refers to his experimental art as a 'grey system', which is based on holistic and organic principles and an assumption of the integration of knowledge as the point of departure for artistic experimentation. His work is aimed at searching for subtle and dynamic interrelationships between science, philosophy, art and society; and exploring the possibility of 'symbiosis' and 'transplanting' between artistic space, laws of nature, social rules and basic modes of human experience. In Model 1996 Wang Jian Wei fictionalises the relationship of symbiosis. By placing the biological communications between humans and insects within the context of a cyclical mechanical movement, the artist compels us to consider the dynamic correspondence between the physical properties of materials, physiological attributes, given human experience and cognitive practices. Through a practice of textualisation and materialisation, the significance and form of the installation system is realised. The work gives expression to the relationships between humans and nature, social habits and artistic and technological practice. Wang Jian Wei's works have always been evocative of the laboratory and scientific research. The witty way in which the relationship of physical properties and the social conduct of humankind are used as metaphors highlight an indigenous quality of contemporary Chinese art which is characterised by humanistic concerns and a challenging spirit. Huang Zhuan,Guangzhou Academy of FineArt, Guangzhou,China Top Installation at Beijing International Com-art Show 1994 Glass plates laid out under red carpet at the entrance of the exhibition Bottom Model 1996 Preparatory drawing WAN& Jian we· Lives and works in Beijing, China ARTISTS EAST ASIA I 73