Over the past two years, Wan Chaoqian has been noticing bathroom design: showers, bathtubs, towel racks, scented candles, and tiles of every kind. Modern bathrooms all follow the same logic—they offer comfort when you’re at your most exposed. Water pressure is steady, and the temperature is controlled. Glossy, spotless tiles bring order to your drifting thoughts. They calm you, keeping you between the mirror and your phone.
Tiles are surfaces of perfection. They don’t absorb—only reflect. Just like a smartphone screen, information flows across them, with no way out. The real exits—the drainage and ventilation—however, are hidden. They bear the true flow, carrying away excrement, soap suds, and what’s left of desire. They empty out your overload today, just to refill you tomorrow.
Even the drain covers are designed now, as if the flaw must also be flawless. Like a plane circling above the city—so long as it never lands, you’ll never see the panic of rush hour. Only the beauty of the view.
Wan Chaoqian (b.1995, Hebei) graduated from Painting & Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art, now lives and works in Beijing. Through reworking images drawn from the internet, visual culture, and everyday life, his practice reflects the paradoxical landscape of contemporary society—one that is both endlessly captivating and deeply fatiguing.
His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Magician Space and BROWNIE Project, and was included in exhibitions at TANK Shanghai, A Project by IMAGOKINETICS x Building 23 Artist Community, etc.
Wan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, All Ends Well, 2025, exhibition view, Magician Space, BeijingWan Chaoqian, Clean #04, 2024, mixed media on wooden panel and linen, 120 x 90cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #06, 2024, mixed media on wooden panel and burlap, 120 x 150cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #07, 2024, mixed media on wooden panel and canvas, 120 x 147cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #08, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and burlap, 121 x 170cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #09, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and canvas, 150 x 197.5cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #10, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and linen, 120 x 240cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #11, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and linen, 195 x 89cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #12, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and canvas, 155 x 60cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #13, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and linen, 94 x 40.5cm, courtesy the artist and Magician SpaceWan Chaoqian, Clean #14, 2025, mixed media on wooden panel and linen, 116 x 160cm, courtesy the artist and Magician Space
Photos: courtesy of the artist and Magician Space, Beijing
