Shen Wei traverses cultural bridge

The most recent MindScape works reveal a softer color palette and a more delicate sensibility in watercolor, said Katrina London, curator of the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

"Pretty much all of his paintings at the Pocantico Center reference abstract landscapes in some way, but they also, at the same time, speak to the choreography of dance. You can see the movement in them, and so they're kind of like these dream-like spaces that are in between a landscape and a dance and just the interior of his mind, his feelings and thoughts," she said.

"When I think about Shen Wei, I also really think about him as a global ambassador. I really feel that his practice, both across dance and also the visual arts, transcends cultural divides," said Mapplethorpe.

She noted that from a young age, Shen was immersed both in Chinese traditional gongbi painting and calligraphic practices, and also began studying Western portrait and figurative art.

"I do feel that when Western visitors come to see the exhibition, they will find a point of entry through their own experiences and knowledge, whether it's abstract expressionism, Chinese calligraphy or shanshui landscape painting. I think there are many different ways to appreciate and understand Shen Wei's paintings," she said.

Shen's lifelong fascination with art began at an early age, shaping the many facets of his artistic identity.