Junwei Dai, who was born in 1990 in Jiangsu, China, earned both a B.A. and two M.A. in landscape architecture at the China Academy of Art and the National University of Singapore respectively. Soon after he began painting in watercolor, in 2016, he achieved many international awards, such as the Leatherseller’s Prize in Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 207th Exhibition in England, the Bonese Turner Innovative Concept Award in the National Watercolor Society 2017 Annual Exhibition in the United States.

Junwei Dai believes that, ultimately, art should be an examination of life—a cathartic expression of one’s emotion and response to the world. Dai’s memories from his childhood in China, the nine years he spent in universities around the world, and the experience he has gained from traveling to nearly two dozen countries all contribute to his original creative vision. “I know that life is transitory,” he says. “I paint what captures my heart and hope that these works will leave behind a personal message—a legacy of my inner feelings, stimulated by my fascination with the world.”