Shi Guowei on Color, Authentic Illusion, and Art Basel 2026

Beijing-based artist Shi Guowei, born in Luoyang in 1977, hand-colors black-and-white prints to create what he calls 'authentic illusion'—a subjective intervention that disrupts photographic reality. He studied photography at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts & Design and earned a master's at Fachhochschule Dortmund. For Art Basel 2026, Magician Space presents his new works. In an interview with ArtAsiaPacific, Shi discusses his process: he applies color based on inner states rather than restoring original hues, and his recent diptych 'Amrta / Anutpada' (2026), shot in California, uses warm and cool tones to reflect on life and death. He describes his shift around 2018 from thematically driven work to more indeterminate emotional states, influenced by time in mountains. Trees recur in his imagery, symbolizing silent resilience. His hand-coloring technique, developed during graduate studies, is subjective and painterly, with no possibility of correction—only continuation or restart. Shi's work has been exhibited at Shanghai Center of Photography in 2021.