Wei Tan
Wei Tan’s art began as an urgent act of self-revelation through improvisation. Each painting is a journal entry where thoughts and memories are purged. Like making soup, materials are thrown onto the canvas and mixed together through spontaneous gesture. Wet paint, powdery pastels and viscous oil clash into each other creating haphazard geographies. Often a period of mindless doodling is carried out before the painting emerges with an unexpected coherence. The process of automatic drawing allows thoughts from the subconscious to emerge and form a narrative.
In her later work, Wei Tan developed an interest in more tangible forms. This first manifested as paintings that exist between the real and the abstract, where quasi real-life objects – resembling chairs, boxes, tables and vases – float in a sea of abstract colours and forms. These objects became characters of their own, each emanating a unique emotional signature. In her latest Chairs Series, each chair seems to carry the lingering presence of a human being. The objects in the room evoke various feeling states ranging from excitement and playfulness to melancholy and longing. These rooms are a peek into the emotional landscape of the painter, as well as a mirror in which the viewers can catch a glimpse of themselves.
Check out Wei’s work below!
