From Charleston to China: Inside Beeple’s First Solo Exhibition at Deji Art Museum

In Nanjing, China, Deji Art Museum has marked a historic moment with the opening of “Beeple: Tales from a Synthetic Future,” the first-ever solo museum exhibition by digital art pioneer Mike Winkelmann, known globally as Beeple.

The retrospective show thoughtfully showcases Beeple’s evolution—from his early “Everydays” sketches to kinetic works like “Human One” and the ambitious “S.2122.” Beeple also unveiled a new kinetic sculpture titled, “Exponential Growth,” which was commissioned by the museum. It’s a career-encompassing exhibition for an artist who has become a lightning rod for the possibilities of digital creativity.

Curated by Serpentine Galleries’ Hans Ulrich Obrist, the exhibition bridges past and future, reflecting Beeple’s ability to capture the constantly shifting internet zeitgeist with staying power. Whether it’s his dystopian reflections on climate change, his absurdist takes on pop culture, or his ritualistic practice of creating art daily, Beeple’s work feels both immediate and enduring. Key pieces like “S.2122,” a sculpture updated in real-time by the artist, challenge the very idea of what art can be — dynamic, alive, and evolving.

“The concept of the artwork as a living organism is a major shift in art right now,” says Olbrist. “It moves beyond the finite nature of traditional paintings and sculptures to something dynamic and evolving. Beeple’s ‘Human One’ and other kinetic sculptures embody this idea—they continue to change and evolve, much like a living organism. This aligns with broader trends in art, where artists use AI, organic materials, or participatory methods to make works that grow, transform, and interact with their environments. It’s a departure from static, traditional forms of art and opens up new possibilities for how art interacts with the world.”

The exhibition is bigger than just Beeple. Drawing a cue from the curated artist showcases at Beeple Studios in Charleston, S.C., Deji Art Museum’s inclusion of “Digiverse,” an open call for emerging digital artists, signals their commitment to building the future of art. As Beeple puts it, “This isn’t just a milestone for me—it’s about what’s next for all of us.”

Situated in one of China’s most-frequented shopping malls, Deji Art Museum aims to bring digital art to the masses by making it accessible and meeting the market where it is.

“In Nanjing, we attract audiences from across China and internationally. Last year, the city saw 123 million visitors, and we also have over a million registered university students,” explains Ai Lin, director of Deji Art Museum. “By placing our exhibitions in the Deji Plaza mall, we aim to draw in people who might not have planned to visit an art museum at all. Our goal is to make art accessible and unexpected—to bring art into people’s lives in new and engaging ways.”

We caught up with Beeple at the show’s opening in Nanjing to dive into the exhibition, the power of memes, and much more.

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nft now: Can you tell us about your new piece, “Exponential Growth,” and your plans for it?

Beeple: “‘Exponential Growth’ was commissioned alongside the museum’s flower exhibition. I wanted to create a 21st-century take on what a flower or still life could be. The piece continually changes and blends between different colors and layers of video, creating infinite variations. It will mathematically never look the same. To me, this reflects the nature of a flower—always changing, growing, decaying, and looking different depending on the light. Technology allowed me to explore those ideas in a way that traditional media couldn’t.”

“Technology allowed me to explore those ideas in a way that traditional media couldn’t.”

BEEPLE

What was it like to select nine Everyday pieces out of 6,000 images to feature in this show?

Luckily, I didn’t have to do that—the museum’s curators handled it. That’s why we have curators, right? It would be hard for me to narrow it down because there are 6,400 everydays, and out of those, only about 150-ish are available to collect. The museum selected pieces based on what resonated with them, and sometimes their choices surprised me. Some weren’t what I would have picked because I have personal favorites or preferences. It’s interesting to see what resonates with others and the throughlines they draw between the works.”

What inspired you to explore humanity’s interactions with nature and climate in your work?

To me, technology will eventually address many climate challenges, but people often fail to think long-term. For example, sea level rises over the next 40 years seem solvable compared to the rapid growth of AI. That’s the lens I come from. With AI and the speed at which technology is evolving, there are bigger things to worry about. I reject the idea that technology and nature are in a zero-sum game where one has to be hurt for the other to thrive. That’s a very unnuanced way of looking at their relationship, and it doesn’t reflect reality. My work aims to explore that balance and the idea that these two forces can coexist.

“The concept of unvetted ideas spreading rapidly and reaching massive audiences is going to have huge consequences for humanity in the future.”

BEEPLE

How do you view memes in relation to your artwork?

I don’t think of my work as memes, but rather as commenting on them. For example, if I include a Pepe meme in my work, I’m employing it and commenting on it rather than trying to create a meme itself. That said, I do try to make images that are visceral and powerful enough that they could go viral, but there’s always that added layer of commentary. The concept of unvetted ideas spreading rapidly and reaching massive audiences is going to have huge consequences for humanity in the future. I think we’re just at the very beginning of that phenomenon. Memes are a part of that conversation, and I find them fascinating to explore in my work.

What’s the concept behind your dynamic piece, “Human One,” and how does it evolve over time?

From the beginning, the concept behind “Human One” was that it would continue to change and evolve over the course of my life. Each iteration is essentially like starting the artwork over from scratch, except for the box and the person walking—it’s remade each time. It’s a journey through time, almost like a piece of software, which makes it exciting to me. I think in the future, more art will be dynamic, evolving, and an ongoing conversation, unlike the finite, frozen-in-time statements of traditional sculptures or paintings. I don’t have a giant roadmap planned; I’m figuring it out as I go, which keeps it interesting. For instance, this exhibition is the first time “Human One” has sound, and I’ll keep adding new functionality and changing it over time. There’s also trust involved with collectors—they don’t know what the piece will change into, which is a new kind of relationship. In the past, when you bought a painting, it was static. Digital art lets us break those rules and explore evolving forms.

One example is the tiny stickers on the backpack of the figure in “Human One”—each sticker represents a museum where the piece has been shown. That idea came from Ryan, the collector who owns it. He suggested adding stickers to reflect its journey, and I thought it was a great idea. This kind of collaboration with collectors is new to digital art. It makes the process more dynamic and participatory, and it keeps the work interesting and engaging for me as well.

How does digital art empower inclusivity and accessibility in the art world?

Digital art can empower institutions to showcase a wider variety of voices. For example, if you were to curate a group show of 100 traditional artists, you’d have to deal with shipping paintings from all over the world, customs issues, insurance, art handlers, and so on. It’s a massive logistical and financial undertaking. But with digital art, you could curate a global group show in a few days—just send the files. Even with the need for screens, the logistics are orders of magnitude simpler. This allows museums to feature thousands of artists over the same period they might only showcase a few traditional ones.

At my studio events, we show work from hundreds of artists from all over the world, including many emerging artists who’ve never had their work displayed in public before. It’s easy to forget how much that means to people, and I think you’ll see museums embrace that inclusivity more in the future. Digital art has just begun to scratch the surface of its potential to democratize and diversify the art world.