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LEE Ming-Wei
LAST UPDATE : 2023.05.6 / EDITOR : tcaa
15 artworks / 166 exhibition / 0 essays

Lee Mingwei, born in Taiwan in 1964 and currently living in New York and Paris, Lee Mingwei creates participatory installations, where strangers can explore issues of trust, intimacy, and self-awareness, and one-on-one events, where visitors contemplate these issues with the artist through eating, sleeping, walking and conversation. Lee's projects are often open-ended scenarios for everyday interaction, and take on different forms with the involvement of participants and change during the course of an exhibition.

Lee received an MFA from Yale University in 1997, and has held solo exhibitions internationally including Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, and has been featured in biennials in Venice, Lyon, Liverpool, Taipei, Sydney, Whitney, and Asia Pacific Triennials.

birth year
1964
Place of Birth
Taichung
Taiwan
Place of Residence
New York
U.S.A.
Paris
France
education
1997
MFA Department of Sculpture
Yale University, Graduate School of Fine Arts
1993
BFA Department of Textile Art
California College of Arts
personal website
...More
CURRICULUM VITAE
2022
Lee Mingwei: Our Labyrinth
Tate Modern , London , UK
2021
Lee Mingwei: Li, Gifts and Rituals
Museum Villa Stuck , Munich , Germany
2020
Lee Mingwei and Bill T. Jones: Our Labyrinth
​The Metropolitan Museum of Art​ , New York , U.S.A.
2020
Lee Mingwei: Li, Gifts and Rituals
Gropius Bau​ , Berlin , Germany
2019
Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom
​Art Gallery of South Australia , Adelaide , Australia
2019
Lee Mingwei: The Tourist
​Perrotin Tokyo , Tokyo , Japan
2019
Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom
Cleveland Museum of Art , Ohio , U.S.A.
2019
Lee Mingwei: You Are Not a Stranger
Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland , Ohio , U.S.A.
2018
Lee Mingwei: Seven Stories
Museum MACAN , Jakarta , Indonesia
2018
Sonic Blossom
Centre Pompidou , Paris , France
2018
Lee Mingwei: Stone Journey
Worcester Art Museum , Massachusetts , U.S.A.
2018
Sonic Blossom
​National Portrait Gallery , Washington D.C. , U.S.A.
2016
Lee Mingwei and His Relations: The Art of Participation
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki , Auckland , New Zealand
2016
The Moving Garden
National Gallery of Victoria , Melbourne , Australia
2016
Between Going and Staying
Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art , Manchester , UK
2015
Sonic Blossom
The Metropolitan Museum of Art​ , The Metropolitan Museum of Art​, , U.S.A.
2015
Lee Mingwei and His Relations: The Art of Participation
Taipei Fine Arts Museum , Taipei , Taiwan
2015
Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom​
Museum of Fine Arts , Boston , U.S.A.
2014
Lee Mingwei and His Relations: The Art of Participation
Mori Art Museum , Tokyo , Japan
2014
Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom​
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art , Beijing , China
2013
A Quartet and A Living Room
Chinese Arts Centre , Manchester , UK
2013
Luminous Depths
Peranakan Museum , Singapore , Singapore
2012
The Living Room
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston , U.S.A.
2012
Visible, Elusive
Shiseido Gallery​ , Tokyo , Japan
2012
Tales of Flower and Stones
​Espace Louis Vuitton , Taipei , Taiwan
2011
The Moving Garden
Brooklyn Museum​ , New York , U.S.A.
2011
The Travelers
Museum of Chinese in America , New York , U.S.A.
2010
Trilogy of Sounds
​Mount Stuart​ , Scotland , UK
2010
Pantheon Project
Museum Contemporary Baltimore​ , Baltimore , U.S.A.
2010
Lee Mingwei: Liquid Forms
Osage Gallery​ , Hong Kong , China
2009
Grandfather's Incline
Montalvo Art Center , Saratoga , U.S.A.
2009
The Mending Project
Lombard-Freid Projects​ , New York , U.S.A.
2008
Guernica in Sand
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art , Brisbane , Australia
2008
Bodhi Tree Project
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art , Brisbane , Australia
2008
Uncommon Senses
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery , New Plymouth , New Zealand
2008
The Quartet Project
Albion Gallery​ , London , UK
2007
Lee Mingwei: Impermanence
​Chicago Cultural Center​ , Chicago , U.S.A.
2007
Duologue
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei , Taipei , Taiwan
2006
The Tourist​
Sherman Galleries​ , Sydney , Australia
2006
Guernica in Sand
Albion Gallery , London , UK
2006
Pantheon Project
Neuberger Museum of Art , New York , U.S.A.
2005
Through Masters' Eyes
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst , Cologne , Germany
2005
Through Masters' Eyes
Kaikodo Gallery , New York , U.S.A.
2004
Through Masters' Eyes
Los Angeles County Museum of Art​ , Los Angeles , U.S.A.
2004
Shueito Legends
Bunker Museum of Contemporary Art​ , Kinmen , Taiwan
2003
The Tourist​
The Museum of Modern Art , New York , U.S.A.
2003
Harvard Seers Project​
​Harvard University Office for the Arts , Cambridge , U.S.A.
2002
The Tourist Project
Rice University Art Gallery , Houston , U.S.A.
2002
The Shadow and Its Double
Eslite Gallery​ , Taipei , Taiwan
2000
The Living Room Project​
​Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston , U.S.A.
2000
The Sleeping Project
Lombard Freid Fine Arts , New York , U.S.A.
2000
Empathic Economies
Davis Museum​, Wellesley College , Wellesley , U.S.A.
2000
Empathic Economies
Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art , Ft. Lauderdale , U.S.A.
1999
Lee Mingwei 1994 to 1999​
Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art​ , Cleveland , U.S.A.
1998
Way Stations​
​Whitney Museum of American Art , New York , U.S.A.
1998
The Letter Writing Project
​The Fabric Workshop & Museum​ , Philadelphia , U.S.A.
1997
Interact Exchange​
​Lombard Freid Fine Arts , New York , U.S.A.
2020
Florilegium: a gathering of flowers
Inverleith House, ​Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK
2020
A Call to Attention
UCCA Dune​, Aranya Gold Coast , Beidaihe , China
2020
The Sky as a Studio. Yves Klein and his contemporaries​
Centre Pompidou-Metz , Metz , France
2020
In the Name of Flower​
Pearl Art Museum​ , Shanghai , China
2020
Measure Your Existence
The Rubin Museum of Art , New York , U.S.A.
2019
The scene in which I find myself / Or, where does my body belong​
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery​ , New Plymouth , New Zealand
2019
In the Company of Artists: 25 Years of Artists-in-Residence
​Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston , U.S.A.
2019
Traversées
Musée Sainte-Croix​ , Poitiers , France
2019
SOCIAL: Rethinking Loneliness Together
Montalvo Arts Center , Saratoga , U.S.A.
2019
The Gift​, Geoffrey Bawa Centenary Celebration
Lunuganga Trust , Colombo , Sri Lanka
2019
Musica Mobile, a Poetics of Sound and Movement
Taipei Fine Arts Museum , Taipei , Taiwan
2019
Leaving the Echo Chamber
Sharjah Biennial 14 , Sharjah , UAE
2019
Stage Is Yours
Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA / The Finnish National Gallery , Helsinki , Finland
2018
Language of Flowers​
Asia University of Modern Art , Taichung , Taiwan
2018
Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time
​Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston , U.S.A.
2018
New Materialism
Bonniers Konsthall​ , Stockholm , Sweden
2018
Brief Encounters ‘18
Lustwarande - Platform for Contemporary Sculpture , Tilburg , Netherlands
2018
Declaration
Institution for Contemporary Art​, Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , U.S.A.
2018
Light to Night Festival 2018: Colour Sensations
National Gallery Singapore , Singapore , Singapore
2017
Ouvert la Nuit - Festival des lumiere
Villa Medici​ , Rome , Italy
2017
L’OFFRE
DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art , Montreal , Canada
2017
EAT ME
Trapholt Museum for Moderne Kunst , Kolding , Denmark
2017
Lee Mingwei: Seven Stories,​ ​14th edition of Biennale de Lyon
Bullukian Foundation , Lyon , France
2017
PEACE
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt , Frankfurt , Germany
2017
Flower Power
Asian Art Museum , San Francisco , U.S.A.
2017
MOVE
Centre Pompidou​ , Paris , France
2017
Viva Arte Viva,​ ​The 57th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia
Venice , Venice , Italy
2017
Middle of Now | Where,​ ​Honolulu Biennial 2017
Honolulu , Hawaii , U.S.A.
2017
Listen Hear: The Art of Sound
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Boston , U.S.A.
2017
Person of the Crowd​
​The Barnes Foundation , Philadelphia , U.S.A.
2016
Sugar Spin: You, Me, Art and Everything​
Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art , Brisbane , Australia
2016
Why Not Ask Again?,​ ​11th Shanghai Biennale
Power Station of Art , Shanghai , China
2016
Don’t You Think It’s Time For Love ?
Moscow Museum of Modern Art , Moscow , Russia
2016
GIGANTESQUE ! L’EXPERIENCE POMMERY #13​
Domaine Pommery , Reims , France
2016
That Which Remains
​Mount Stuart , Scotland , UK
2016
Telling Tales: Excursions in Narrative Form
​Museum of Contemporary Art Australia​ , Sydney , Australia
2016
The 14th Taishin Arts Award Exhibition
​Museum of National Taipei University of Education , Taipei , Taiwan
2016
The Future is Already Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed,​ ​20th Biennale of Sydney​
Carriageworks , Sydney , Australia
2015
Food, Shelter, Clothing: Art and Need
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft​ , Louisville , U.S.A.
2015
Guess what? Hardcore Contemporary Art’s Truly a World Treasure: Selected Works from the YAGEO Foundation Collection
​The National Museum of Modern Art , Kyoto , Japan
2015
Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
Weisman Art Museum​, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis , U.S.A.
2014
By Proxy
James Cohan Gallery , New York , U.S.A.
2014
Guess what? Hardcore Contemporary Art’s Truly a World Treasure: Selected Works from the YAGEO Foundation Collection
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art​ , Hiroshima , Japan
2014
Guess what? Hardcore Contemporary Art’s Truly a World Treasure: Selected Works from the YAGEO Foundation Collection
​Nagoya City Art Museum , Nagoya , Japan
2014
Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
Gund Gallery​, Kenyon College , Gambier , U.S.A.
2014
Guess what? Hardcore Contemporary Art’s Truly a World Treasure: Selected Works from the YAGEO Foundation Collection
​The National Museum of Modern Art , Tokyo , Japan
2014
Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
SITE Santa Fe , Santa Fe , U.S.A.
2013
Connecting_Unfolding
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art , Seoul , Korea
2013
Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
Blaffer Art Museum​ , Houston , U.S.A.
2013
TEA/Super-Connect—2013 International Techno Art Exhibition
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts , Taichung , Taiwan
2013
Little Water,​ ​Dojima River Biennale 2013
Dojima River Forum , Osaka , Japan
2013
A City Shaped,​ ​Artefact Festival
STUK arts center , Leuven , Belgium
2012
REAKT / Views and Processes
European Capital of Culture , Guimarães , Portugal
2012
Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art
Smart Museum of Art , Chicago , U.S.A.
2012
Accidental Message: Art is Not a System,​ Not a World, ​7​ Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale​
OCT Loft Creative Culture Park , Shenzhen , China
2012
All Our Relations,​ ​18​ Biennale of Sydney
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia , Sydney , Australia
2012
Wide Open School
Hayward Gallery , London , UK
2011
All Things Equal
Hedreen Gallery​, Seattle University , Seattle , U.S.A.
2010
21st Century: Art in the First Decade
Gallery of Modern Art , Brisbane , Australia
2010
Re:Thinking Trade​, ​Liverpool Biennial 2010
Old Rapid Hardware Store , ​Liverpool , UK
2010
Playing in the City II
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt , Frankfurt , Germany
2009
The Enlightenment, Edinburgh International Festival​
Dean Gallery , Edinburgh , UK
2009
The Spectacle of the Everyday​, ​Lyon Biennial 2009
Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon , Lyon , France
2009
So Close Yet So Far Away,​ ​2009 Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale
Incheon Art Platform within the Warehouse Complex , Incheon , Korea
2008
All Inclusive
​Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt​ , Frankfurt , Germany
2008
Art of Taiwan and its Contemporary Mutations
The Moravian Gallery , Brno , Czech Republic
2008
Person of the Crowd
​Neuberger Museum of Art , New York , U.S.A.
2008
China Power III​
Musée d'art moderne Grand-Duc Jean​ , Luxemburg , Luxemburg
2008
Home,​ ​Taiwan Biennial 2008
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts , Taichung , Taiwan
2007
1.5 Generation
Queens Museum of Art​ , New York , U.S.A.
2007
Have You Eaten Yet?,​ ​2007 Asian Art Biennial
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts , Taichung , Taiwan
2006
International 06,​ ​Liverpool Biennial 2006​
Tate Liverpool , Liverpool , UK
2006
Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2006
Niigata , Niigata , Japan
2006
Male Pregnancy Project
Centre d’Art Santa Monica , Barcelona , Spain
2006
Between the Lakes: Artists Respond to Madison
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art , Madison , U.S.A.
2006
Male Pregnancy Project​
Czech Academy of Sciences , Prague , Czech Republic
2005
Elegance of Silence
Mori Art Museum​ , Tokyo , Japan
2005
Trading Places
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei , Taipei , Taiwan
2005
Man of the Crowd
Contemporary Museum Baltimore , Baltimore , U.S.A.
2005
Scents of Purpose: Artists Interpret the Spice Box
​Contemporary Jewish Museum , San Francisco , U.S.A.
2005
We are the world
El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía , Madrid , Spain
2005
Contemporary Art from Taiwan at the Venice Biennale
Taipei Fine Arts Museum , Taipei , Taiwan
2004
Whitney Biennial 2004
Whitney Museum of American Art , New York , U.S.A.
2004
We Are the World
Chelsea Art Museum , New York , U.S.A.
2004
Fiction Love
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei​ , Taipei , Taiwan
2003
Limbo Zone​, ​50​ Venice Biennale
Taiwan Pavilion , Venice , Italy
2003
Away from Home
Wexner Center of Art , Cleveland , U.S.A.
2003
Inaugural Exhibition
Cincinnati Center for Contemporary Art , Cincinnati , U.S.A.
2003
The Magic Makers
Des Moines Center of Art​ , Des Moines , U.S.A.
2003
Mind Space
Ho-Am Art Museum , Seoul , Korea
2003
The Gift
Bronx Museum of Art , Bronx, New York , U.S.A.
2003
The Gift
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art , Chicago , U.S.A.
2002
Sitelines
Addison Gallery of American Art​ , Andover , U.S.A.
2002
The Gift
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art​ , Arizona , U.S.A.
2002
Labyrinth of Pleasure
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art​ , Kaohsiung , Taiwan
2001
Labyrinth of Pleasure
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei​ , Taipei , Taiwan
2001
Mixed Ingredients
American Center for Food​, Wine and the Arts , Napa , U.S.A.
2001
The Gift
Centro Arte Contemporanea Palazzo delle Papesse , Siena , Italy
2001
About the Bayberry Bush
Parrish Art Museum​ , Southampton, New York , U.S.A.
2000
The Sky is the Limit​, ​2000 Taipei Biennial
Taipei Fine Arts Museum , Taipei , Taiwan
2000
Worthless (Invaluable)
Museum of Modern Art​ , Ljubljana , Slovenia
2000
The Gift of Hope
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo , Tokyo , Japan
1999
The 3​ Asia Pacific Triennial​
Queensland Art Gallery , Brisbane , Australia
1999
Where Are You?​
Center for Curatorial Studies​, Bard College , New York , U.S.A.
1998
Plural Speech
White Box , New York , U.S.A.
1998
Art on Paper
Weatherspoon Art Gallery​ , Greensboro , U.S.A.
1997
Gimme all your money
Refusalon , San Francisco , U.S.A.
1997
The World View
Deutsche Bank , New York , U.S.A.
1997
Reflection
Art+ Architecture Gallery​, School of Architecture, Yale University , New Haven , U.S.A.
KEYWORDS
SELECTED ARTWORKS
bamboo , , , acrylic ,
350x112cm
bamboo , , , acrylic ,
350x112cm
bamboo , , , acrylic ,
350x112cm
01 / 10
Nu Wa Project
During the annual Jewish havdalah ceremony, performed at the end of shabbat, a "Spice Box" is passed around so that its fragrant scents may be enjoyed and recalled later during the secular work week. Commissioned by The Contemporary Jewish Museum, I have interpreted the spice box as a kite in the form of the mythical Taiwanese goddess NuWa who, according to legend, patched up the sky after GongGong, the god of water, ripped a huge hole in it during a battle with ZhuRong, the god of fire. She ...
Performance Art , Installation Art ,
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
01 / 10
Through Masters’ Eyes
The question of copying/imitating has always fascinated me as an artist. In traditional East Asian practice, one begins by copying from his teacher and then moves on to copying the masters and then, if the student/ artist is still alive, he can start doing a bit of his own work with trace of originality. In Western contemporary art practice, however, if there is any trace of knowingly copying another artist's work, it can be the end of the artist's career. In Through Masters' Eyes I ...
Performance Art , Installation Art ,
Mixed Media Installation
323x323x85cm
Mixed Media Installation
323x323x85cm
Mixed Media Installation
323x323x85cm
Mixed Media Installation
323x323x85cm
Mixed Media Installation
323x323x85cm
01 / 10
The Dining Project
The Dining Project originated during my first year at Yale University, where I completed my MFA. Feeling isolated, I posted hundreds of posters all over the campus, inviting anyone interested in “sharing foods and introspective conversation” to contact me. By the end of the first day, I had received approximately 45 responses to my invitation. This project involved an after-hours encounter in the museum's gallery. Through lottery, I arranged to have a private dinner with a stranger on ...
Performance Art , Installation Art ,
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
Mixed Media Installation
Dimensions Variable
01 / 10
Our Labyrinth
My visit to Myanmar was the seed for Our Labyrinth, inspired both by the gesture of removing one’s shoes before entering any temple, pagoda or mosque, and by the pristine space created for visitors by volunteers who constantly swept the sacred grounds. For this project, as visitors walk among the galleries, a dancer will sweep a mound of rice through the space, along a labyrinthine path of their choosing. This dancer may encounter obstacles along the way, but will navigate these silen ...
Performance Art , Installation Art ,
LEE Ming-Wei, 2013, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2009, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2006, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2000, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2000, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 1998, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 1995, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2010, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2009, Performance Art , Installation Art
LEE Ming-Wei, 2007, Performance Art , Installation Art
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