Nan Ke Gallery is pleased to announce its representation of artist Wenjie Yu. Wenjie Yu (b.1997, Shanghai), born on November 10th, 1996 in Shanghai. He now lives and works in London and Shanghai. In 2020, he graduated from the Department of Experimental Art of the China Academy of Art and received a BFA degree, and in 2022, he graduated from the Department of Sculpture of the Royal College of Art.
Installation view of The Rite of Spring, March 8, 2025 - April 20, 2025, Nan Ke Gallery, Shanghai © Courtesy of Nan Ke Gallery, Photographed by Runxin.
Wenjie's artworks originate from the expression of inner experiences generated by the body and spirit in the process of experiencing and exploring the world. These inner experiences give rise to illusions, memories, associations, fantasies, and feelings, while these elements are constantly broken and reorganized into visual fragments. Therefore, grand and micro narratives that are both delicate and sensitive always coexist in his works. He regards absolute honesty and courage in art as his priority. As a skeptical yet naive young man, he criticizes the world in a sharp but humorous way. He yearns to create a unique experience for the audience by engaging and developing continuous dialogue in his works.
Wenjie Yu
As above, so below #7, 2025
Cotton cloth, linen, elastic fabric, cotton sewing thread, sand, soft pastel, resin and wood paint
30w x 42h cm
© Courtesy of the artist
In Wenjie Yu’s pieces, painting, sculpture, installation, moving images, embroidery performance, and sound are included in his media. He utilizes a perceptual logic to secondarily stitch (a type of bonding with a puncture back) these media. E.g., some fabrics are three-dimensionally quilted. Under an even lighting angle, the three-dimensional sculptural image will be apparent, but once in uneven light or at side angles, the image becomes invisible. The intangible images are hidden within the tangible images and are strung together in different frames to form a new narrative.
Wenjie Yu
As above, so below #3, 2024
Cotton cloth, linen, elastic fabric, cotton sewing thread, sand, soft pastel, resin and wood paint
60 x 50 cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Wenjie Yu combined history and the future in a leap, showing that the present is both past and future. His inspiration system is huge and complex, so it is difficult to detect a specific clue of inspiration in his practice.He is a hybrid and diverse artist who translates objects from his spiritual world directly to the real world through his artworks. He maintains principles while constantly changing rapidly. Believing that "not being changed by the world is actually changing the world.”
Wenjie Yu
As above, so below #6, 2025
Cotton cloth, linen, elastic fabric, rice paper, cotton sewing thread, sand, soft pastel, resin and wood paint
66 x 72 cm
© Courtesy of the artist
Wenjie's works fully demonstrate his obsession with fabrics since childhood, especially his advanced study in the meticulous yet liberal Experimental Art Department and the Sculpture Department for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees respectively.
He reveals the complex antennae of the artist's inner perception of the world. The series "As above, so below" conveys two emotional tones: the black tone of the former symbolizes the tortuous channels of the mind, while the latter transcends the vast and bright universe. Wenjie's creations highlight a sense of ethereality and vagueness. The elements on her canvas mainly include human hands, the wings of creatures, trees and mountains, and the ocean.
July 1, 2025
