Wai Pong Yu

1982, Hainan, China

Introduction

Wai Pong Yu was born in Hainan Island, China in 1982 and moved to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of 2. He graduated from the Fine Arts Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006. Wai has developed his own artistic style using ink from a ballpoint pen on paper, creating continuous lines that intertwine and multiply in a rhizomatic manner, reflecting his emotions and thoughts. His subject matter often explores concepts related to the cosmos, time, and nature, employing juxtapositions and metaphysical forms. He currently resides and works in Hong Kong. 

Wai has actively participated in various group exhibitions showcasing ink art, such as The Spirit of Ink: 12 Hong Kong Artists, and New Ink, An Exhibition of Ink Art by Post 1970 Artists from Yiqingzhai Collection, both held in 2013 at Sotheby's Gallery in Hong Kong. His works have been featured in prestigious art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong (2014-2021), Ink Asia (2015-2019), Fine Art Asia (2014-2021), as well as Asia Week New York (2015) and SCOPE in New York (2012, 2013). Currently his series A Rhythm of Landscape are on view at M+ as part of the group exhibition, titled Shanshui: Echoes and Signals.

In 2021, Alisan Fine Arts presented Wai's works for the first time in the exhibition POP ROCK, which showcased his iconic ongoing series titled A Moment of Truth (2011–). For the artist, this series carries a significant message, serving as a reminder that "equality lingers in a society predominated by partiality and discrimination."

His works are in the collections of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, UK; M+, Hong Kong.




BIOGRAPHY
1982   Born in Hainan Island, China
1984   Moved to Hong Kong with his parents
2006   Graduated from Fine Arts Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Present Lives and works in Hong Kong

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024-2025

  • Shanshui: Echoes and Signals, M+, Hong Kong

2024

2022

  • Kathmandu Triennale 2077, Kathmandu, Nepal

  • Wild Imagination: Contemporary Ink Art in Guangdong-HongKong -Macao from 2000 to 2022, Macao Museum of Art, Macao

  • Homeland in Transit, Zollikon, Switzerland
  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2021

  • Homeland in Transit: Through the Clouds, Zollikon, Switzerland

  • Hong Kong Cancer Fund Charity Exhibition: Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Pop Rock: An Exhibition About Rocks, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2020

  • Garden of Six Seasons, Parasite, Hong Kong

  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Wild Imagination: Contemporary Ink Art in Guangdong-HongKong -Macao from 2000 to 2022, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China

2019

  • We Support, presented by ACO Art Space, Hong Kong

  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Homeland in Transit, Zollikon, Switzerland

  • Together We March Forward, New Asia 70th Anniversary Art Exhibition, HART Hall, Hong Kong
  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2018

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2017

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Ink Global 2017, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2016

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • First Open, Christie’s, Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong Cancer Fund Charity Exhibition: Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2015

  • Asia Week, New York, USA

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • A Separate Dimension, Kaikodo, New York, USA
  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2014

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2013

  • Taciturn: Painting On and On (5), Gallery HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong

  • Scope, New York, USA

  • Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • The Spirit of Ink: 12 Hong Kong Artists, Sotheby’s Gallery, Hong Kong
  • New Ink: An Exhibition of Ink Art by Post 1970 Artists from Yiqingzhai Collection, Sotheby’s Gallery,  Hong Kong

2012

  • Scope, New York, USA

  • Hong Kong International Antiques & Arts Fair,  Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • ARTHK12, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2011

  • Asia Art Fair, Miami, USA

  • Hong Kong International Antiques & Arts Fair, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • ARTHK11, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2010

  • ARTHK10, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2009

  • Hong Kong International Antiques & Arts Fair, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • ARTHK09, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2008

  • Hong Kong International Antiques & Arts Fair, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • ARTHK08, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

  • Beyond the Surface: Chinese Abstract Art, Macao Museum of Art, Macao
  • Hong Kong Arts Centre 30th Anniversary Award Competition Entries Exhibition, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong Arts Centre 30th Anniversary Award Competition Shortlisted Exhibition: Hong Kong International Antiques & Arts Fair, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2006

  • Pas+ry: Graduation Show of the Department of Fine Arts, Art Museum of Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • Mountain Project: Works by Chinese University of Hong Kong 2006 Art Graduates, Olympian City, Hong Kong

  • Traveling through Dunhuang & Yungang: A Study of Buddhist Art, Hui Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2005

  • Tokyo Art Co. Ltd: Y. S. Hui Fine Arts Exhange Programme, Hui Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
M+, Hong Kong