Temporary Exhibitions
Nie Weigu was born in 1957 in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing. He studied at the School of Fine Arts and Nanjing Normal University (1978–1982), continuing his training at the National Academy of Arts of China (1985–1988). In 1998, he earned his Ph.D. in the History of Chinese Art at the Nanjing University of the Arts.
The artist has held numerous solo exhibitions both in China and abroad: Dragon-Snake Brush: Radiant Ink and Color, Gengsi Art Gallery, Nanjing (2012); Reconstructing the Pictorial Realm, “Bridge” Art Space, 798 Art District, Beijing (2014); The Lotus and I Have Merged, Fo Guang Shan Dajue Temple Art Museum, Yixing (2014); Pagoda Shadows, Lotus Fragrance. Calligraphic Heart, Buddha Museum Art Gallery, Fo Guang Shan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China (2015); Vision of the World, Art Museum of Nanjing University, China (2015); Vision of the World, Slovak National Scientific Library, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia (2015); Vision of the World, National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Beijing (2015); Nie Weigu Solo Exhibition, China Artists Association, Beijing (2015); Vision of the World, Italian National Tourism Board, Cathedral Conference Center, Florence, Italy (2016); Vision of the World, National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Kyiv (2016); Infinity (supported by the Jiangsu Federation of Literary and Art Circles “Masters and Masterpieces Project”), Modern Art Gallery, Nanjing (2018); Infinite Lotus Realm, Art Museum of Nanjing University, China (2020); Heaven and Distance, Meilong Cultural Center, Shanghai (2020); Unconventional Ink, Zhongjia Art Museum, Wuhan (2023).
Nie Weigu’s works have received significant awards, and are included in both public and private collections. He is also the author of academic studies and essays.
Over the years, he has served as Professor, Master’s Supervisor in Fine Arts, and Associate Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Nanjing University of the Arts; Vice President of the Nanjing Artists Association; member of the China Artists Association; Special Researcher of the Jiangsu Academy of Culture and Arts; and Vice President of the Jiangsu Institute of Chinese Painting, among other positions.
Nie Weigu contributes significantly to the renewal of traditional Chinese painting by merging delicate brushwork with the vibrant colors of Western art, creating a unique style of “colored writing.” Through abstract constructions, he captures the majesty of nature and the harmony between heaven and earth, reflecting humanity’s glorious history in a fascinating landscape. His work represents a symbiosis of tradition and innovation, while offering a fresh and thought-provoking perspective on Chinese art.
Dr. Hab. Tudor Stavilă,
Art Critic
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NIE WEIGU: Journey into the Unknown or Mapping Mysteries
Painter and professor Nie Weigu, one of China’s most successful contemporary artists with a remarkable career, presents at the National Art Museum of Moldova a selection of recent works. These reveal the path of a profound artist, mastering an impressive arsenal of technical and artistic means, capable of building a dynamic dialogue between structure and fluidity, between clarity and impulse. His works, marked by strong visual tension and inner unity of meaning, with a powerful emotional impact, invite the viewer on a journey into the unknown, a meditation on the mysteries of existence, of time, and of humanity’s place in the universe.
The sinuous forms in a series of works vividly recall Chinese ideograms. Expressing a cultural and historical dimension, they suggest a link between the tradition of Asian calligraphy and the modern aesthetic context. By embedding cultural depth in his works—concealing constellations of signs and symbols freed from traditional constraints, and using modern Western techniques such as action painting—the artist demonstrates his mastery of a universal artistic language that transcends geographic boundaries. Nie Weigu challenges us to look beyond the surface and discover the hidden layers where the aesthetic naturally fuses with the spiritual, and the individual with the universal.
In an increasingly restless world, obsessed with new technologies, Nie Weigu’s painting is a constant inquiry into the nature of existence and knowledge. His works suggest a process of spiritual ascent, inviting us to introspection and the search for balance in modern chaos. Concerned with the human condition in the digital age—where humanity is enveloped by codes and rigid structures—the artist constructs images with patches of color, textures, and dynamic strokes applied spontaneously on canvas. Alternating with geometric elements and rigorously ordered surfaces, these generate an atmosphere charged with organic energy. Through this fusion, the artist creates a visual dialogue between reason and emotion, between order and chaos.
One of Nie Weigu’s central concerns—producing fascinating visual tensions—is the exploration of the vastness and order of the cosmic universe. In series such as Meditative Cosmos and Meditative Constellations, the artist investigates the cosmic logos by following the organization of stars into familiar constellations as a way to understand the world. These works suggest that art can serve as a means to penetrate both the outer universe and our inner reality. They most eloquently explore the theme of balance between order and chaos, between spirituality and rational structure. The images are arranged into clear, almost mathematical frameworks that order various stylized constellations. Though seemingly simple, they attempt to impose a subtle order upon infinity. The artist invites us to transcend rational structures, to feel the energy that animates them, and to find equilibrium between mind and heart, science and faith, the visible and the imagined.
Nie Weigu’s painting cannot be confined to a single aesthetic style. Rooted in a visual dialogue between tradition and modernity, his art represents a fusion of multiple artistic directions—symbolism, calligraphy, geometric minimalism, and gestural abstraction—creating a unique visual language that surpasses traditional boundaries. His works thus become an inexhaustible source of meditation, an invitation to look beyond appearances, and to discover harmony and balance within the dualities of the vibrant contemporary world.
Tudor Zbârnea
General Director
National Art Museum of Moldova
