Blank Space I Artwork

A Chinese visual artist celebrated for his provocative, unique use of digital photography, Fu Wenjun creates art that both reflects and challenges our understanding of the modern world. The Chongqing-born creator trained in oil painting at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute before turning his focus to photography, where he developed his iconic Digital Pictorial Photography style as a way to express more complex ideas than traditional documentary style allowed. Combining aspects of modern Western and traditional Chinese art through digital experimentation on photographs, Fu Wenjun pioneered the use of digital technology to stretch the boundaries of photographic art. His Digital Pictorial Photographs conjure elements of calligraphy, oil painting, and sculpture ranging from figurative to abstract, simultaneously exploring tradition and technology’s effects on human life. In 2017, the National Art Museum of China presented a solo exhibition of Fu Wenjun’s work, titled Harmony in Diversity: Fu Wenjun’s Digital Pictorial Photography Exhibition, which included two Digital Pictorial pieces collected by the museum, Nepotism and Thought Reading No.5, among the exhibited works. Sought after by top museums and collectors around the world, from the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum to the Kennedy family, Fu Wenjun’s work has won numerous prestigious awards, including first prize at the International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Argentina, “The Best Artist in the World” at Tour Eiffel La Grande Exposition Universelle, and the International Award “Lorenzo il Magnifico” of X Florence Biennale. Fu Wenjun continues to cross boundaries of generation, culture, and geography through his expansive body of work. He’s currently focused on creating spaces where Western and Eastern cultures interact, evoking dialogues about how different societies engage with the changes modernity brings. He is recognized worldwide as one of the leading minds in contemporary visual art.