Fay Ming

1943,Shanghai, China

Introduction

Ming Fay is a Shanghai-born and New York-based sculptor, installation artist, and professor. His work focuses on the concept of the garden as a symbol of utopia and the relationship between people and nature. Today he is well known for his large fruit sculptures and mixed media installations. His whimsical yet culturally poignant sculptures are made out of bronze or papier-mâché and often presented in a highly sophisticated way. Born in 1943 into a family of artists, he immigrated to Hong Kong in 1952 where he completed his secondary education. In 1961, the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio awarded him a full scholarship to study design. After graduating in 1965, he worked in a design studio before he discovered his true passion, sculpture. He obtained a BFA degree in sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1967 and an MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1970. Since then he has resided in New York and devoted himself to his sculptural work. Throughout his career, Fay has been an active teacher and has taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Columbus College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, the William Paterson College, and the University of Pittsburgh. In 2007 he was the recipient of the NYFA fellowship in Sculpture. Fay is a member of the board of Directors of the Alternative Museum, The Chinese American Arts Council, The Chinese Information and Culture Center, and the overseas Chinese Renaissance Society.

He has completed numerous public art commissions including a suspended glass and steel sculpture for a residential lobby in Philadelphia, a large-scale tree sculpture in Puerto Rico, sculptural benches for New York City Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Alisan Fine Arts began representing Fay in 1985, and since then has held 4 solo exhibitions for the artist. He was included in New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond held at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2008 and curated by Alice King. Fay has exhibited internationally and his works have been displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art, National Academy Museum, New York; Łódź Biennale, Poland; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. His works are in the collections of many prominent museums including the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Jersey; He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen; Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei; Hong Kong Museum of Art, M+ Hong Kong.


BIOGRAPHY
1943    Born in Shanghai, China
1952    Moved with his family to Hong Kong where he completed his secondary education
1965    Diploma, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio, USA
1967    BFA, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1970    MFA, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
1982    Co-founded the Epoxy Art Group in New York, USA
2016    Included in the gallery monography Alisan Fine Arts 35 Years, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2022    Published artist monograph, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Currently Professor in sculpture, William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, USA
Lives in New York, USA


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

2023   

  • New Land Plaza: You Can’t Beat a New York Original, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, USA

2022-2023   

2019   

  • Ming Fay: Beyond Nature, Sapar Contemporary, New York, USA
2014   
  • Figures, Lesley Heller Workspace, New York, USA
2012   
  • Canutopia, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey, USA
2010   
  • Out of Jungle: Two decades of Studio Doodads 1990 to 2010, Chinese American Arts Council, New York, USA
  • Full Circle, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
2007   
  • Floating Reeds: An Installation by Ming Fay, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai MOCA, Shanghai, China
2006   
  • Silent Exile, 2x13 Gallery New York, USA
  • Monkey Pots New Species from Ming Fays Lab, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
2005   
  • Ramapo Garden of Desire, Kresge Gallery, Ramapo College, Mahwah, New Jersey, USA
2004   
  • Ming Fay – From Concept to Reality, Cuchifritos Gallery, New York, USA
  • Money Tree & Monkey Pots, Montalvo Gallery, Saratoga, California, USA
2003   
  • Floating Botanica, Copia Museum, Napa, California, USA
2002   
  • Hidden Seed Garden: An Installation by Ming Fay, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2000   
  • Qian and Bao, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Abundant Invention, Wave Hill Glyndor Gallery, Bronx, New York, USA
1998   
  • Garden of Qian, Whitney Museum at Phillip Morris, New York, USA
1997   
  • Lings, Bulova Corporate Center, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York, USA
  • Earthly Delights, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, New York, USA
1996   
  • Veins of the Spiral, Kim Foster Gallery, New York, USA
  • Feast for the Eyes, Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA
  • Midnight Porridge, Broadway Windows, New York University, New York, USA
  • Monkey Pots New Species from Ming Fays Lab, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
1994  
  • Matter into Spirit, Kim Foster Gallery, New York, USA
  • Extended Curves, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
  • From the Garden, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
1993
  • On the Edge, Keen Gallery, New York, USA
  • Existential Attainment, Lungmen Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1991   
  • Images from Beyond, Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Nature Reborn: From Archaeology to Science Fiction, Exit Art, New York, USA
1990   
  • Bell Sprouts (Outdoor Installation), Petrosino Park, New York, USA
  • Objects from Nature, Chinese American Arts Council, New York, USA
1989   
  • Journey into Nature, Squibb Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
1988    
  • Ming Fay, Gallery Triform, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Elixirs, Alternative Museum, New York, USA
1986    
  • Ming Fay: Recent Works, Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture, Hong Kong
1985    
  • Drawings for Sculptures: Ming Fay, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
  • Ming Fay, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1984    
  • Ming Fay, Broadway Windows, New York University, New York, USA


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 

2024   

  • Legacies: Asian American Art Movements in New York City (1969-2001), Co-sponsored by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU, 80WSE Gallery, New York, USA (until Dec 20, 2024)

2023   

2022-2023   

  • Oneness: Nature and Connectivity in Chinese Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA

2022   

2021   
 2020   
  • Frieze New York 2020 Online Edition, New York, USA
  • Exodus II: Unhinging the Great Wall, Chinese Art Revealed, East Village NY 1980s, Whitebox Harlem, New York, USA
2019   
 2018   
  • Art Across Archive: Postcards from Chinatown, Think!Chinatown Community Art Space, New York, USA
2010   
2008   
2007   
  • Shenzhen Ink Biennial, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
2006   
  • Transplant Transculture, Wave Hill, Bronx, New York, USA
  • Transplanted, Kean University, Union, New Jersey, USA
  • New Chinese Occidentalism, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, USA
2005  
  • Neutral, Lab Gallery, New York, USA
  • Material Terrain, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St Louis, MO, USA
2004   
  • Lodz Biennial, International Artist Museum, Lodz, Poland
  • The 179th Annual, National Academy Museum, New York, USA
  • Crosscurrents in the Mainstream, Zimmerli Museum, New Jersey, USA
  • Metamorphosis, Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI, USA
2003  
  • Food Matters, Katonah Museum of Art, New York, USA
  • Serene Beauty, Jamaica Art Center, Jamaica, New York, USA
2002  
  • To Scale, The Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA
2001   
  • All Terrain, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
  • Harvest 2001, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, New Jersey, USA
2000   
  • Environmentally Concerned 2, Bronx River Art Center and Gallery, Bronx, New York, USA
  • Environmentally Concerned, Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York, USA
  • Art Nature/Nurture, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI, USA
  • The End, Exit Art, New York, USA
  • Persistence: Botanica, Butters Gallery, Portland Oregon, USA
1999   
  • Art Underfoot: Manhole Covers in New York, The Urban Center, New York, USA
  • Six Degrees of Seduction, Central Fine Arts, New York, USA
  • As Far As the Eye Can See, Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, GA, USA
1998   
  • Metaphors: Inspirations and Folklores, Henry Street Settlement, New York, USA
  • Paper: the State of Connection, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin, USA
  • Sculpture, Leedy Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
1997   
  • 1997 Biennial Exhibition of Public Art, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York, USA
  • Ancient Emblems, Contemporary Signifiers, Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
  • Gardens of Urban Delight: The Lower East Side, Henry Street Settlement, New York, USA
1996   
  • Posing Reality: Contemporary Still Life, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
  • Black and White: Sculptors' Drawings, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, USA
  • Mutation of Ink and Paper, Taipei Gallery, New York, USA
1995   
  • Bodies/Transformations: Small Bronzes, TZ Art & Co., New York, USA
  • Elusive Source, Corcoran Gallery of Art, WashingtonDC, USA
  • Undetermined Origins, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Workspace Program: 5 Years, Gallery at Dieu Donne Papermill, New York, USA
1994   
  • Visionary Proposals for Lower East Side, Henry Street Settlement, New York, USA
  • Art for Learning, Municipal Art Society, New York, USA
  • Fabricate Nature, Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho, USA
  • Orientations, David Adamson Gallery, WashingtonDC, USA
  • The Garden of Sculptural Delights, Exit Art, New York, USA
1993   
  • Plant Body: Spiritual Botany, Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York, USA
  • Spring/Summer Exhibition, Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey, USA
  • Diverse Disclosures, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York, USA
  • Artists of Conscience, Alternative Museum, New York, USA
1992   
  • Still Life Today, Scott Alan Gallery, New York, USA
  • Art Asia Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
  • The Hybrid State, Exit Art, New York, USA
1991   
  • Bronze, Frumkin/Adams Gallery, New York, USA
  • Group Exhibition, Nancy Drysdale Gallery, Washington DC, USA
1990   
  • Selections, Artist Space, New York, USA
  • The Decade Show: Epoxy Art Group, The New Museum, New York, USA
1989   

  • Made in New York, Williams Center for the Arts, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA

  • Power Struggle, Spaces Gallery,Cleveland, OH, USA

1987   
  • New York: New Venue, Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
1980   
  • Chicago International Art Exposition, Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago, USA


SELECTED ART AWARDS
2005    Redevelopment Authority, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2003    Department of Transportation and Public Works, Yauco, Puerto Rico, USA
2002   Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
1999   MTA, Delancey/Essex Streets Station, New York, USA
Economic Development Corp of NY, Flushing Queens, USA
1998   GSA, US Court House, Seattle, Washington, USA
Percent for Art, Staten Island Ferry Terminal, New York, USA
1997   Public Art Fund, Phipps Housing, Bronx, New York, USA
1993   Percent for Art, Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1990   Percent for Art, P.S. 7, Elmhurst, New York, USA

SELECTED PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS 
Whitehall Ferry Terminal, New York, USA
Percent for Art, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, USA
General Services Administration, United States Courthouse, Seattle, Washington, USA
Delancey/Essex Station, New York, USA
Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York, USA
Lippman Plaza, Flushing, Queens, New York, USA
Economic Development Corporation of New York, New York, USA
He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Howard Plaza Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Conrad Hilton, Hong Kong

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS 
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO, USA
Jan Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
PS7, Elmhurst, Queens, USA
Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA
Columbus Gallery of Fine Art, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Sidney Lewis Foundation, Richmond, Virginia, USA
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA
Phipps House, Daly Avenue Apartments, Bronx, New York, USA
Mobil Oil Corporation, New York, USA
Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Pittsburgh National Bank, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Prudential Insurance Company, Los Angeles, California, USA
R.J. Reynolds, Salem, North Carolina, USA
Ten Main Center, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen. China
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Howard Plaza Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
M+, Hong Kong
China Club, Hong Kong
Conrad Hilton Hotel, Hong Kong