Each year, we identify the Asian artists on the rise, shining a light on the exciting and provocative works enriching the region’s artistic and cultural landscape. Taiwanese artist Zhu Chen Wei shares his story.
Zhu Chen Wei is a new-generation artist who’s making waves for his unique creative style and his keen observations of contemporary culture and consumer behaviour. His recent show, Madness Never Ends, his largest solo exhibition with Artelli as well as his first in Macau, explored the reconstruction of traditional masterpieces with Zhu’s unmistakeable sense of humour and style.
Born in Tainan, Zhu graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the National Kaohsiung Normal University. Schooled in traditional fine art, his preferred method of painting is flat coating his canvases to preserve its original texture – and then, through deliberate placement of brushstrokes, paint debris and colour, his art takes on a 1960s Pop Art-inspired aesthetic. Zhu also recently dabbled in digital art and sculptural installations, which he exhibited for the first time during Art Taipei in 2022. Sculpture is a medium he explored again at his Macau exhibition, where he debuted a 2-metre-high Sunny sculpture comprising 28 30cm sculptures.