Wu rose to prominence in the 1980s as a conceptual artist known for his experimental works with language, the use of big character posters and other textual pop references, a kind of precursor to Gu Wenda and Xu Bing, who are masters at toying with language and meaning. Wu’s pivotal 1986 installation, Red Humour International, laid the foundation for his highly idiosyncratic and sophisticated approach to painting, which forgoes image in favour ...