Invisible Worlds and Silent Colors by Wei Chao

The Pound Ridge Library is pleased to present Invisible Worlds and Silent Colors, a solo exhibition by photographer Wei Chao, on view from July 19 through September 13, 2025. We invite you to experience this quiet, lyrical journey. 

This collection of photographs offers a meditative look at the world through moments of stillness, subtle light, and quiet emotion. Wei Chao’s work finds meaning in the overlooked—in the way a shadow curves across a wall, or how light reveals the poetry of everyday spaces. His lens captures the unseen, the in-between, and the deeply felt. The images include both color and black-and-white, and are drawn from Chao’s travels and life in New York City. Whether intimate or expansive, each photo invites the viewer to slow down, look more closely, and listen to what the silence has to say. What makes this body of work especially moving is its ability to suggest presence through absence. Each frame leaves room for reflection, offering not just what is seen, but what is sensed. In a time when the world often feels too fast, these photographs offer a quiet invitation to pause, reconnect, and rediscover the beauty of subtle attention.

Artist Statement: I’m excited to share Invisible Worlds and Silent Colors here at Pound Ridge Library. This isn’t just a group of photos—it’s a personal glimpse into how I see and feel the world around me, a collection of moments that moved me enough to stop, look closer, and press the shutter. Since I first picked up a camera at 18, I’ve been drawn to quiet details: the way light touches a wall, how a moment feels more than it shows, and the small scenes that often go unnoticed. Photography helps me slow down and really see—finding meaning in reflections, shadows, stillness, and subtle contrasts. The images in this show come from different places and times—some from my travels, others from my neighborhood—but they all share that quiet sense of presence. They aren’t about spectacle, but about noticing. Each photo is a pause, a breath, a silent observation of something fragile, fleeting, or quietly powerful.I’m especially interested in the “in-between” moments—things that are neither loud nor obvious, but speak in a softer language. This work is about paying attention, slowing down, and finding meaning where you least expect it. Sometimes a moment of calm, color, or mystery can tell you more than a thousand words ever could.These images move between color and black and white, between exterior and interior, between seen and felt. They invite the viewer to slow down, look closely, and find beauty not only in what is visible, but in what lingers—quietly—beneath the surface. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share this visual journey with you.

Artist Bio:Wei Chao is a New York-based multimedia artist with a Master’s degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, where he was honored with the Artist of the Future award. His background spans creative technology, education research labs, advertising, artist studios, and museums. Chao’s photography explores the emotional nuances of the human experience and the layered complexity of contemporary life. His work combines storytelling, technical fluency, and compositional precision to create images that are both intimate and expansive.   

Opening Reception July19, 3:00pm to 5:00pm.