Shin Haus is pleased to present an upcoming solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based artist Dawei Wang. Dawei is known for his quietly evocative depictions of everyday life. His latest body of work continues his exploration of small, unremarkable moments that tend to slip past attention.

Born in 1984 in Shanghai, China, Dawei received both his BA and MFA from the Fine Art College of Shanghai Normal University before relocating to New York, where he now lives and works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Working primarily in oil paint, Dawei captures the subtle, emotional textures embedded in the ordinary scenes of an increasingly atomized world.

Dawei’s practice is deeply informed by his experience navigating life between China and the United States. His works frequently reflect themes of ennui, introspection, and the complex isolation of urban living. Figures appear absorbed in their own worlds, suspended in time, and rendered with a soft pastel palette that heightens a sense of ethereal otherworldliness.

Drawing inspiration from artists such as Edward Hopper and Luc Tuymans, Dawei’s minimalist works build understated tension using empty space and soft focus. Like Hopper, he is attentive to light and time, often spending months on each piece as he gradually builds luminance layer by layer. In recent years, he has shifted his focus away from close study of other artists toward a more introspective process grounded in his own inner world.

At the heart of Dawei’s work is a sensitivity to the environment, with a keen interest in architecture as a built landscape. His compositions often emerge from familiar surroundings, shaped by daily walks and careful observation. Memory, imagination, and direct observation move fluidly within these scenes. Sensory details, including fleeting impressions from subway commutes to moving through the city at night, serve as points of inspiration.

This exhibition at Shin Haus brings together a new series of oil paintings that further develop Dawei’s interest in the intersections of distance, memory, and solitude. Created in the wake of recent global shifts, the works also reflect a renewed perspective shaped by isolation and introspection, as well as Dawei’s own experience as an immigrant. Above all, Dawei Wang’s work is marked by his depth of empathy, which allows him glimpses into the inner worlds of strangers.