Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, play changes from something inherent to something we consciously do, only in specific areas of our lives. It’s all fun and games until you grow up.

In Play is Infinite, the latest exhibition at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Chinese American artist Jordan Wong, aka WONGFACE, considers what it is to live as one might play, and how play can enhance even the things we take seriously. He weaves cultural references, pop culture references, and philosophical references to Taoism, Dualism, and Nondualism, creating art for all ages. The series of intricate, fantastical 2D works throughout the museum are layered with text, shapes, and characters, so many that you can discover something new upon each viewing, a treat if you’re a caregiver who visits the museum multiple times a year for the sake of children in your life.

Play is Infinite, like much of Wong’s work, feels like it’s speaking to adults through a childlike language.

“My work naturally has a sense of whimsy to it,” Wong tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “It is inspired by things that I fell in love with as a kid: anime, manga, comic books, graphic novels, video games, and cartoons. It just felt like a natural fit. I’m essentially a big kid. The things that I loved when I was small, I still love them as an adult.”

Across three floors, the vibrant works hang on walls near or in passageways such as stairwells and hallways. Each piece features scattered arrows pointing every which way. In “Dreamland (Tutorial Lvl.),” a mural between the first and second floors, arrows direct the visitors’ movement as they travel between levels.

“Iconography and arrows are a huge part of my visual language and the arrows are a fun little reference,” Wong says. He explains how “Dreamland (Tutorial Lvl.),” a white design on a bright blue background, uses video game and navigational references to direct visitors through the space. 

The various mediums throughout Play is Infinite speak to Wong’s experimental approach to artmaking. He plays with digital printing, aquatint etching, lightboxes, gold foil, vinyl, aluminum, copper, and concrete. He also invites visitors to play along with paper and crayons against a laser-engraved wood panel.

“It really connects with being creative, having an art practice. It’s all rooted in play, right?” says Wong. “You know, use of different processes, technologies, and collaborative relationships with other fabricators, artisans, and craftspeople. That sense of play is not just restricted to your proficiency in one medium or even a couple media.”

While the cartoonish figures against vibrant colors invite the gaze of children, the densely layered iconography, particularly the use of retro video game imagery, makes it clear that the works are speaking, at least partially, to people old enough to understand some of the references. After all, it is adults who need to be reminded of the importance of play, who need to be ushered back to a time before play was worked out of their system.

This is especially necessary in the Children’s Museum, where adults are in full grown-up mode as they watch over the kids for whom they are responsible. In a place that utilizes play as a tool for childhood development, Wong’s work further drives home the point that play is more than recreation.

In his native Ohio, Wong has created mesmerizing larger-than-life outdoor installations at the New Little Free Library in Cleveland, Lakeland, and Akron Art Museum. The wondrous works pay homage to his heritage in the act of reclamation, and his childhood influences, in the act of reimagining. Wong, who has a graphic design background, developed a distinct visual language. His works are both meticulous and exude a freestyle rhythm that allows them to move from background to foreground and back, like members of a jazz band trading subtle solos while the rest of the ensemble plays accompaniment.

Wong’s next Pittsburgh showing, Extended Play, opens January 2025 at Bakery Square’s Portal Art Gallery, in partnership with ZYNKA Gallery. As the title might suggest, the upcoming exhibition will complement Play is Infinite, exploring similar themes through new work.

“It’s still very much in the spirit of play, of growth, of who am I, what can I really achieve, and how do I do that? What power-ups do I need? What final bosses do I need to beat, particularly within myself?” says Wong.

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Play is Infinite. Continues through May 2025. Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. 10 Children’s Way, North Side. Included with regular admission. pittsburghkids.org