The Phippen Museum is offering a comprehensive exhibit reflecting artist Wei Tai’s dedication to western art and his amazing artistic journey from East to West. Learn about his transition from Eastern traditions to art of the American West at ‘East Meets West: The Art of Wei Tai.’ The exhibit opens Saturday, Oct. 7 and runs through Feb. 18, 2024, at the Phippen Museum, 4701 AZ-89, Prescott.

The Opening Reception and Members Preview for this exhibition is at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, with butler-passed appetizers from Goods from the Garden and a cash bar. As a special incentive, anyone purchasing his artwork at the Opening will receive a gift from the artist. There will also be an art demonstration by Tai on Saturday, Oct.7 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.<br />

For nearly twenty years, Wei Tai has participated in the Phippen Museum’s annual Western Art Show and Sale and delighted attendees with his unique brand of western fine art. And during that time, he has been named Best in Show several times and garnered numerous top honors in different mediums, including drawing, watercolor and oil. Tai has also become a familiar face to those who attend the exciting Quick Draw Challenges on the Courthouse Plaza during Memorial Day weekend, helping raise thousands of dollars to benefit the Museum’s ongoing mission, a news release stated.

So, it’s not surprising that his outstanding artwork has enhanced many of the Phippen Museum’s fine art exhibitions. In a special effort to highlight his considerable talent and artistic technique, the Museum will proudly present a retrospective exhibition of fascinating artwork illustrating his ability to take Eastern subject matter and meld it with Western art techniques, and vice versa, the release stated.

A native of China, Tai was born in 1944 in a rural village south of Shanghai. His father was a well-known sculptor who encouraged him to study art at an early age and Tai attended the Shanghai Fine Arts Institute where he received formal training in traditional Chinese painting methods. In 1991 he immigrated to Arizona where his Eastern subject matter and techniques have been influenced by European and American art traditions, resulting in a refined mixture of both. His paintings are currently held in many private and public collections, and he has had other solo and group exhibitions in Shanghai, Tokyo, Milan, Cologne, and Amsterdam, the release stated.

To get a better understanding of his western surroundings, Tai visited tribal land, ranches, and rodeos. “The Southwest is very colorful, both the landscape and the people,” Tai said in the release.

Studying the subjects in person helped him formulate more accurate depictions and improved his technique. At his home studio, he works in oil, watercolor, acrylic, charcoal, and Chinese brush painting, using a variety of surfaces, including canvas, silk, copper, and rice paper. And his themes and techniques vary greatly.

“I paint Eastern subjects with Western technique, and sometimes I paint Western subjects with Eastern technique,” Tai said in the release. “I go back and forth.”

The evening will be enhanced by the considerable musical talent of Tai’s sister, Mei Mei Wei, and niece, Lily Wei Ye, who are both seasoned concert violinists. Mei Mei Wei was a winner of the Artists International Violin Competition in New York, where she was invited to play solo recital in Carnegie Hall. She has also performed recent solo and Chamber concert tours to South Korea and Japan with her daughter, violinist Lily Wei Ye. Lily Wei Ye was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She was introduced to the violin when she was six years old and in 2008 moved to Shanghai to attend Concordia International School Shanghai, graduating in 2013. She participated in Concordia APAC string festivals and became one of the soloists in her senior year, the release stated.

Members will be admitted free and guests for $20 each.

For more information on these or any other events at the Phippen Museum, visit www.PhippenArtMuseum.org, or call (928)778-1385.

Information provided by The Phippen Museum.