With both fashion and art sharing a deep reliance on physicality and form, Wen Wu’s solo exhibition The Body Thinks in Colour showcased at Paul Smith Westbourne House is a natural progression in this dialogue. Curated by Virginia Damtsa and Katie Heller, Wen Wu’s newest body of work is a continuation of her deep sensitivity predominantly to the female body. Exhibiting in leading museums across London, Beijing, Seoul and Taipei, Wu finds a new home at Westbourne House. This collaboration forms the long enduring interdependence of both creative forms, as clothing and art perform to each other and ourselves.
Amongst the iconic British tailoring, restored vintage furniture and ceramics is found Wen Wu’s art tenderly woven throughout. In the Dining Room, featuring homeware and objects, are mounted Wu’s Owl and Falcon (2026), oil on canvas. These full-length portraits are playful explorations of gendered expression. Both Falcon and Owl depict male and female subjects, sprawled backwards on stools taming their beast of choice. Dark mustard hues background both portraits with light emerging from both clothing and skin. Wu’s contouring of the body and creasing of clothing elicit humanisation rather than objectification. A pale pink dress that adorns the subject of Owl stands in opposition to the deep blue garments of Falcon. Relationships between wildlife, humans and attire are presented as mutualistic, with Wen Wu rejecting the idea they are separate signifiers.
In the Depths of Living Green (2022) is the artistic focal point of the Kensington Room. Showcased amongst the sleekness of Paul Smith shoes and suits, this landscape oil on canvas depicts a forest glade inhabited by a nymph and fox. Wen Wu abandons refinement and precision, instead embracing scumbling in which the world created becomes fluid with the viewer falling into the mystic.
Westbourne House also harbours the Waterfall (2025), an oil on linen portrait and thematic continuation from her Precious Stream series. Wu’s signature opaque background persists, foregrounded by a woman balancing a book on her [their] head with her hands entangled in a reading ribbon. The contouring of her clavicle and tender expression bleed fragility. Is Wen Wu posing knowledge as a waterfall in itself, or are we as women bound to constant refinement of the mind and body?
The Body Thinks in Colour and Westbourne House Paul Smith align materiality with physicality, a fusion of great art and garments. Atmosphere is paramount, and within this collaboration, clothing and art bleed seamlessly into one another rather than standing as separate expressions.
Wen Wu: The Body Thinks in Colour 14th May, 2026 – 28th September, 2026
Paul Smith, Westbourne House, Notting Hill, London
Artwork images courtesy of the artist and Virginia Damsta © Wen Wu
The Body Thinks in Colour, Wen Wu presented by Virginia Damsta. May 14th London 2026. Vernissage photos © Jennifer Moyes.
London based writer who graduated with a BA in English Literature and is navigating the trials and tribulations of their early 20’s. Her primary fascination is how art mirrors life’s complexities. When art is created, conversation ensues – thus creating an endless space of expression and thought. Each word she writes is an attempt to decode possible motivations of the artists desire. Her work is infinitely obsessed with the question that concerns every creative piece – why?
