Shen Wei at his painting studio in New York. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As a dancer-choreographer, Shen Wei is known for his work on the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. He choreographed the breathtakingly beautiful dance piece, titled Scroll Painting, in which dancers performed on a constant changing LED scroll of Chinese ink-and-wash paintings, depicting the evolution of China since ancient times.

The New York-based artist also expands his art vision to paintings and films. From Dec 3 to June 20, 2021, the artist will launch his solo exhibition, titled Painting in Motion, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, in the United States.

As the first exhibition in the US to present the range of Shen's artistry, it will cover the artist's works spanning from 1982 to 2020, including 18 paintings, three film works, notebooks, sketches and documentation of his choreography, including the drawing for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Games.

"Most people do not know the other important part of my life and art creations, special recent paintings and film works. Also it shows my interest in all art forms toward my next important new creation development," says Shen. He was speaking during an email interview with China Daily, adding that this project started in spring 2017 after he was invited to make a site-specific project at the museum's courtyard, titled The People of the Garden, which will be displayed during the upcoming exhibition.