BIO
Wolf Boxuan Chen (b. November 10, 2000, Wenzhou, China) is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco whose current practice centers on digital simulations, improvisational performance, and game-engine–based installation. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in Fine Arts, Chen works at the intersection of technological world-building and embodied storytelling, using Unreal Engine, VR, and generative systems to construct time-based environments that unfold in unpredictable ways.
Chen’s practice has shifted significantly from earlier sculptural installations toward a new methodology rooted in digital puppetry and real-time gameplay. Their recent work, We Live in That Bright One Second (2024), marks a pivotal moment in this transition. Developed through live manipulation of physics-based systems, fragments of narrative, and responsive sound, the piece explores how bodies and artifacts react to forces beyond their control. This work established Chen’s ongoing interest in unstable knowledge, improvised meaning, and the tension between human presence and machine autonomy.
Across their installations, Chen builds virtual worlds that operate with or without the viewer, often emphasizing passive interaction where witnessing becomes a form of participation. These environments examine how technology reshapes attention, embodiment, and the emotional residue left by systems that continue generating events long after the artist steps away. Their work questions the limits of control and authorship in a digital age, while pushing game engines beyond entertainment toward speculative pedagogy and performance.
Chen’s work has been exhibited at the Kemper Art Museum, MarinMOCA, and G-CADD, and has appeared in publications including ARMOUR Magazine. Their artworks are held in private collections internationally.
CV
Wolf Boxuan Chen
Born in Wenzhou, China, 2000.
Lives and works in San Francisco, the United States of America.
Education/Training
BA in Fine Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, the United States of America, 2020-24
Selected exhibitions
2025 haha amen (group exhibition), Little Raven Gallery, San Francisco, the United States of America
2025 ART FWD: 5x5x5 (group exhibition), Marin MOCA, San Rafael, the United States of America
2025 Home Without Borders (group exhibition), Gray Area, San Francisco, the United States of America
2025 666 liù liù liù (group exhibition), The Nook, San Francisco, the United States of America
2025 O.S.D (solo exhibition), San Francisco, the United States of America
2024 BA 2024 Senior Show (group exhibition), Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, the United States of America
2024 13 Body Problem (group exhibition), Washington University in St.Louis, St. Louis, the United States of America
2023 Time + Space (group exhibition), Washington University in St.Louis, St. Louis, the United States of America
2023 Women in Philosophy (group exhibition), Washington University in St.Louis, St. Louis, the United States of America
2022 A Celebration (group exhibition), G-CADD, Granite City, the United States of America
Collections
Wolf Boxuan Chen is collected by various private collectors in the United States of America, Canada, and China.
Curations
2025 666 liù liù liù (group exhibition), The Nook, San Francisco, the United States of America
2025 O.S.D (solo exhibition), San Francisco, the United States of America
Professional Experience
2024-present, Curator /Art Director, Wolf-C Studio, San Francisco, California, the United States of America
2021-2023, Wood Shop Assistant, Washington University in St.Louis, St. Louis, the United States of America
2022, Art Director, ARMOR Magazine, St. Louis, the United States of America