Wenjue: Homo Ludens

Wenjue: Homo Ludens

Duration

2026.10.30-2026.11.15

Venue

TANK Shanghai

As the first institutional solo exhibition by Gen Z artist Wenjue, the exhibition’s title is taken from the classic work on play by Dutch historian and linguist Johan Huizinga. This series of paintings focuses on the multifaceted dimensions of the identity of “Homo Ludens (the Player)”, seeking to delve deeply into the bodily perceptions, emotional flows, and insights into life that arise within the individual during the process of play, while capturing the spiritual experiences that emerge and the dramatic scenarios they engender: Within the protected realm of play — a closed, pure spatial domain detached from reality — how do players generate gazes, communication, and interaction, weaving intriguing connections that link play to transcendental sensory experiences? Building on this, the exhibition further explores how game mechanics shape our desires, and how our desires, in turn, drive, influence, and continually give rise to new forms of play.

The unique “threshold nature” of the card-playing arena makes it, beyond mere gameplay, more akin to a highly realistic role-playing game (RPG). When players take their seats, their everyday, mundane identities fade away, and they become agents of the will embodied in the decks in their hands. During the game, opponents’ mental states, body postures, and facial expressions influence one another and serve as key factors directly affecting card plays and the outcome of the match. This intersubjectivity — the mutual interpenetration of bodies — transforms the match into a dual contest of mind and body. This microcosmic gaming arena also contains a metaphor for modern life. The card table becomes a microcosm of the world, where the interweaving of randomness and strategy serves as a true reflection of contemporary people facing an uncertain fate. The brief clasp of cold palms and the knowing smile exchanged after the game become a sacred ritual for establishing fleeting yet solid connections between people in an atomized metropolis. This series serves not only as a tribute to works on similar themes in art history but also as a genuine commentary on how, in the digital age, “players” reconstruct their subjectivity and seek authentic tactile experiences through play. 

Wenjue was born in Beijing in 2001. He studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris in 2015 and then at Atelier François Legrand in 2016. In 2019, he became a lifelong member of the Fondation Taylor. Wenjue currently lives in Shanghai. His work revolves around the experimentation with the medium of "oil paints”. Through the physical accumulation of oil paints, he makes three-dimensional rock-like and bas-relief sculptures collide with two-dimensional paintings, creating a new dialogue and giving a new definition to structure and image.