Lilly Wei is a New York-based independent curator and critic whose focus is contemporary art. She has written regularly for Art in America since 1984 and is a contributing editor at ARTnews and  formerly at Art Asia Pacific among other national and international publications.  Wei has also written for Art & Australia, Asian Art News, Sanat Dünyamiz, Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine, Tema Celeste, Flash Art, Art Press, and Art and Auction, among other publications, and has frequently reported on international biennials such as those of Venice, Sydney, Cairo, Athens, Reykjavik, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and international exhibitions such as Documenta and Sonsbeek, the sculpture international in the Netherlands.  She has written on countless artists, including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Xu Bing, Chakaia Booker, Paul Chan, Francesco Clemente, Chuck Close, Diana Cooper, Tara Donovan, Theaster Gates and Ragnar Kjartansson to name a few.

She has been the author of numerous exhibition catalogues and brochures on contemporary art, including publications for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Knoedler, Marlborough and Pace Galleries, New York, NY. A curator of exhibitions in the United States, Europe and Asia, she is currently working on The Compromised Land, a 2013 exhibition of contemporary Israeli video art and photography for the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York. Other upcoming projects include a profile on Theaster Gates for Art & Australia and she just completed an essay on Documenta and Münster for a book to be published by Sculpture Magazine.  Wei lectures on critical and curatorial practices and serves on numerous advisory committees and review panels.  Additionally, she sits on the board of several not-for-profit art institutions and organizations including AICA/USA (the International Association of Art Critics), Art in General, Bowery Arts & Sciences, Art Omi International and is a fellow of the CUE Foundation as well as the organizer for its Young Art Critics Mentoring Program.  Wei was born in Chengdu, China and has an MA in art history from Columbia University, New York.

Art Today: The Case of Documenta 13  —  Lecture by Lilly Wei

Documenta is a 100-day, international exhibition of mostly contemporary works by over 300 artists, which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The exhibition includes an extensive public program with congresses, seminars, lectures, workshops for kids, and films.  Documenta ranks among the most important European exhibitions and attracts arts professionals, including artists, curators, museum directors, critics and art dealers. Established in 1955, Documenta is considered one of the world’s major must-see art exhibitions. Providing an overview of this fantastic exhibition and how it re-defines art of the moment, this lecture also re-examines the changing role of the art critic.