20,000 Variations an a Paper Plane in Flight by MSCHF

Image Courtesy of TWC

A free, three-day public presentation timed to Lunar New Year, on view February 20-22, 2026

The Wang Contemporary, a new mission-driven cultural organization, will celebrate its grand opening with an inaugural three-day performative exhibition by the art collective MSCHF, honoring Lunar New Year. 20,000 Variations On A Paper Plane In Flight will be on view from February 20–22, 2026, at The Wang Contemporary’s newly restored home at 58 Bowery in New York City’s Chinatown.

Conceived as a durational performance installation, 20,000 Variations On A Paper Plane In Flight unfolds across the course of each day. Once per hour, a flock of red and gold paper planes descends from the building’s central oculus, accompanied by an evolving piano score composed and performed by Yeonjoon Yoon. 

Each paper plane bears a one-word invocation drawn from 5,000 of the most commonly used nouns in the English language. By the fact of their ubiquity, this set of words en masse forms a loose reflection of the world. Dispersed onto viewers at random as they fly, MSCHF invites visitors to pick up and unfold a plane to discover the inscription within.

The performance  will serve as a bold introduction to The Wang Contemporary’s programming, as the organization will offer New Yorkers cutting-edge exhibitions and festivals tied to other major cultural moments throughout 2026 with select events presented for free. The organization is designed to serve as both a showcase for established and emerging Asian and Asian-American artists, and a gathering space for both the local community and international audiences. With a commitment to an arts affordability agenda, The Wang Contemporary will offer innovative and unexpected cultural programming—and collaborative projects that connect global creative voices with the cultural fabric of one of New York’s most historic districts.

The exhibition will be open to the public by RSVP via https://20000planes.com/

Plane flights once per hour at 36 minutes past the hour.

Doors will close during flights.

ABOUT THE WANG CONTEMPORARY:

The Wang Contemporary (TWC) is a cultural organization founded by Ying and Alexander Wang to support and present Asian and Asian-American creativity across generations and disciplines. Located in New York City’s Chinatown, TWC is housed in a historic landmark long embedded in the neighborhood’s cultural landscape. Through exhibitions, performances, and public programs, TWC serves as a platform for creatives to experiment, challenge conventions, and engage with culture as a living, evolving force—rooted in history while oriented toward the future.

With musical composition by Yeonjoon Yoon
Yeonjoon Yoon (b. Seoul) is a pianist, composer, and sound artist whose work explores the
intersection of acoustic tradition, electronic mediation, and East-Asian philosophy. Yoon’s artistic practice extends beyond concert performance into composition, installation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. He has performed internationally at venues including the Seoul Arts Center, Lincoln Center, and London’s Barbican Centre, and studied at the Juilliard School, Yale School of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin.