Ting Walasse

1928-2010, Wuxi, China

Introduction

Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu in 1928, Walasse Ting is an artist celebrated for his colourful and bright depictions of animals, flora and sultry women. He briefly studied at the Shanghai Art Academy in the 1940s, before leaving for Paris in 1948 at the age of nineteen. There he became associated with artists belonging to the avant-garde group CoBrA. In 1957, he travelled to New York, where he befriended the American artist Sam Francis; here Ting became strongly influenced by Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. In 1964 he wrote One Cent Life, edited by Francis and published by E.W. Kornfeld, which involved collaborating with twenty-eight European and American Pop Art and Expressionist artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Joan Mitchell, and included sixty-two original lithographs. In 1977, he won the Guggenheim Fellowship Award for his drawings. His paintings during this period are filled with bold dripping brushstrokes mixed with bright acrylic pigments, but by the 1970s, he began experimenting with figures, developing the distinctive style that we are so familiar with today. His paintings are a sheer testimony to love, life and beauty. His paintings of women, flowers, cats, fish, horses, and watermelons are often painted in a rich palette of bright acrylics on rice paper, layered with powerful effervescent brushstrokes in Chinese ink. He passed away in 2010.

Alisan Fine Arts organised Ting’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong in 1986 and has since then held 11 solo shows for him. Alisan's inaugural exhibition at our new gallery location in New York City in November 2023 celebrates a new chapter and the vibrant legacy of Walasse Ting, coinciding with Ting's first solo museum exhibition in the United States, Walasse Ting: Parrot Jungle, at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. In 2016, the Musée Cernuschi in Paris also held the first large-scale retrospective exhibition of Ting's work in France. His works have been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Chicago Institute of Art; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Tate Gallery, London; Musée Cernuschi, Paris; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taiwan; Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+, Hong Kong.


BIOGRAPHY
1928    Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
1940    Studied at the Shanghai Art Academy, China
1948    Moved to Hong Kong
1953    Arrived in Paris, France
1957    Moved to New York, United States
1961    First exhibited with Sam Francis, Arte e Contemplazione, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
1962    The Century 21 Exposition World Fair, with Sam Francis, Seattle, USA
1972    The Fresh Air School, with Sam Francis & Joan Mitchell, Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburg, USA
1974    Became an American citizen             
1977    Awarded a fellowship for drawing from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, USA
2010    Passed away on May 17 in New York, USA

 

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

2023-2024                               

2017

2016-17                               

  • Walasse Ting: The Flower Thief, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France

2010               

2009               

  • The Catto Gallery, London, UK

2008               

2002               

2001               

  • Yibo Gallery, Shanghai, China

2000

  • Scheringa Museum, Spanbroek, Netherlands
1999
  • The Catto Gallery, London, UK

1998

1997

1996               

  • Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
  • Galerie Delaive, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1995               

  • Gallerie Guy Pieters, Knokke, Belgium

1994               

  • Belgium Kunstforum, Ghent, Belgium
  • P Gallery, Hamburg, Germany

1993

1992          

  • Sala Nonell, Barcelona, Spain
  • Galerie Acolea, Madrid, Spain
  • Ghent Lineart Internationale, Ghent, Belgium

1991             

1990               

  • Galerie Alcolea, Barcelona, Spain
  • Galerie Alcolea, Madrid, Spain
  • Galerie Moustache, Osaka, Japan
  • Galerie l’Orangerie, St. Paul-de-Vence, France
  • Ghent Lineart Internationale, Ghent, Belgium
  • Galleria 2RC, Milan, Italy
  • Galeria de Arte, Almancil, Portugal
  • Louis Stern Galleries, Beverly Hills, USA

1989               

  • American Club, Hong Kong
  • Lens Fine Art, Antwerp, Belgium
  • American Prints Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  • Galerie Lucy Weill-Seligmann, Paris, France
  • Galerie Ostermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
  • Galerie Scandinavia, Goteburg, Sweden

1988              

  • Galerie Alcolea, Barcelona, Spain
  • Galerie Alcolea, Madrid, Spain
  • Galerie Guy Pieters Knokke, Belgium
  • Galerie Asbaek, Horsens, Denmark
  • Galeria Torres Clary Reus, Spain
  • Ghent Lineart Internationale, Ghent, Belgium

1987

  • Galerie Asbaek, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Gallery Esperanza, Montreal, Canada
  • Elfin Art Gallery, Quebec, Canada
  • Ars Mundi, Hanover, Germany
  • Galerie l’Orangerie, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

1986               

1985               

  • Art Unlimited, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Galerie La Hune, Paris, France
  • Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Galerie Asbaek, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1984               

  • Galerie Huset, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • Avant-Grande Art Centre, Taichung, Taiwan
  • Lung Chiang Art Gallery, Kao Hsiung, Taiwan
  • Galerie BBL, Antwerp, Belgium
  • Galeria 2RC, Rome, Italy
  • Galeria 2RC, Milan, Italy

1983               

  • Galerie Dessers, Hasselt, Belgium               
  • Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, Netherlands
  • Gallery Koppelmann, Leverkusen, Germany
  • Lens Fine Art, Antwerp, Belgium
  • Galerie Grafica Club, Milan, Italy
  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Galerie Moderne, Silkeborg, Denmark  

1982               

  • National Gallery of Art, Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA      

1980               

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1979               

  • Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, Netherlands
  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1978               

  • Lens Fine Art, Antwerp, Belgium
  • Galerie Aele, Madrid, Spain

1977               

  • Galerie Adrian Maeght, Paris, France
  • Galerie Grafica Club, Milan, Italy

1975               

  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • National Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Galerie Nord, Randers, Denmark
  • Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland

1974

  • Galerie Minami, Tokyo, Japan
  • Galerie Adrian Maeght, Paris, France

1973

  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1972

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden

1971

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1970

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden
  • Esther Bear Gallery, Santa Barbara, USA
  • Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, USA

1969

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1968

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • Galerie de France, Paris, France

1967

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • J.L. Hudson Gallery, Detroit, USA
  • Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, USA

1966

  • Galerie Lefebre, New York, USA
  • Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, USA

1965

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA

1964

  • Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, USA

1963               

  • Lefebre Gallery, New York, USA
  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, USA

1962               

  • Galerie St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria

1961               

  • Galerie Van de Loo, Munich, Germany
  • Galerie Rive Gauche, Paris, France
  • Galerie Smith, Brussels, Belgium
  • Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, USA

1960               

  • Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, USA
  • Galerie Espace, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Galerie Birch, Copenhagen, Sweden

1959               

  • Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, USA

1957               

  • Galerie Chalette, New York, USA

1956               

  • Galerie Taptoe, Brussels, Belgium

1954              

  • Galerie Paul Facchetti, Paris, France

1952               

  • Hotel Cecil, Hong Kong

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024-2025               

  • The Journey of Ink: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings from the Musée Cernuschi, Bund One Art Museum, Shanghai, China (Until Jan 5, 2025)

2024               

2023   

2022-2023   

  • Ink in Motion: A History of Chinese Painting in the 20th Century, Cernuschi Museum, Paris, France 

2022   

2021-2022                              

  • Individuals, Networks, Expressions, M+, Hong Kong

2021                               
 2020
 2019
 2018
2017  

2016-17                               

  • Sam Francis & Friends - Ting, Appel, Alechinsky, Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, Netherlands

2016                               

2015               

2012                              

2010                               

  • ART HK 10, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Centre, Hong Kong
2009
  • Hong Kong International Art & Antiques Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Centre, Hong Kong
2007                               
  • Exploration: New Ink Art Shanghai 2007, 3rd Shanghai Ink Biennial, Zhu Qizhan Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2006                               

  • Sam Francis and Walasse Ting: Friends, Gallery Delaive, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1997                               
 1995                               
  • Nostalgia．Modernity: Walasse Ting, Xi Lei - Tresors: The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair For Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Suntec City Centre, Singapore
1994                               
  • Chinese Ladies, Two Approaches: Paintings by Walsse Ting & Peng Xiancheng - Tresors: The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair For Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, World Trade Centre, Singapore
1992                               
  • Art Asia Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
1972                               

  • The Fresh Air School: Sam Francis, Walasse Ting, Joan Mitchell, Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA

1962                               

  • The Century 21 Exposition World Fair, with Sam Francis & Walasse Ting, Seattle, USA

1961                               

  • Arte e Contemplazione, with Sam Francis & Walasse Ting, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy


SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Tate Gallery, London, UK
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY, USA
Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA, USA
Chicago Art Institue, Chicago, IL, USA
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA, USA
Chrysler Museum, Provincetown, MA, USA
Baltimore Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI, USA
Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hannover, NH, USA
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
U.S. Steel, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Gulf Oil Corp, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Philadephia Museum of Art, Philadephia, PA, USA
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, PA, USA
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, USA
Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, Denmark
Randers Kunstmuseum, Jutland, Denmark
National Gallery of Art, Reykjavik, Iceland
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
M+ Museum, Hong Kong

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
1961   My Shit and My Love. 10 Poems. Walasse Ting, poems by Walasse Ting, lithographs by Maurice Beaudet & Georges Girard, Smith Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

1964   One Cent Life, poems by Walasse Ting, edited by Sam Francis, E.W.Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland

1967   Chinese Moonlight, 63 poems by 33 poets, Wittenborn & Co, New York, USA

1969   Hot and Sour Soup, poems by Walasse Ting, Sam Francis Foundation, California, USA

1971   Green Banana, poems by Walasse Ting, Rosengreen Litografi, Copenhagen, Denmark

1974   Trip, Walasse Ting, Adrien Maeght Gallery, Paris, France
All in My Head, Walasse Ting, Yves Rivière, Paris, France
Good Morning, text by Walasse Ting, Atelier Clot, Paris, France

1977   Red Mouth, poem by Walasse Ting, Hong Kong

1984   Rice Paper Paintings, Selected letters, Yves Rivière, Paris, France

1988   Jolies Dames, one poem by Walasse Ting, Yves Rivière, Paris, France

1993   Blue Sky, poems by Walasse Ting, Art Unlimited, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1995   Acrylic on Canvas, essays by Mia Ting & Walasse Ting, Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke-Heist, Belgium

1997   A Very Hot Day, Shanghai Art Museum Solo Exhibition, poems by Walasse Ting, Jesse Ting, USA

2024   Walasse Ting: Parrot Jungle, Solo Exhibition by NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Skira, Milan, Itlay