Wong Wucius

1936, Dongguan, Guangdong, China

Introduction

Born in 1936 in Guangdong Province, China, Wucius Wong is a celebrated ink painter and a proponent of the Hong Kong New Ink Movement. He grew up in Hong Kong, and under the tutelage of Lui Shou-Kwan began studying Chinese ink painting in 1958. He co-founded the Modern Literature and Art Association before becoming a member of the One Art Group. After organising the First Hong Kong International Salon of Painting in 1960, he went on to study at the Columbus College of Art and Design in the United States, before obtaining a BFA and MFA from the Maryland Institute of Art. From the 1960s-1980s he worked as an Extramural Course Coordinator at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Assistant Curator of the City Museum and Art Gallery, and Principal Lecturer of the Hong Kong Polytechnic. He was awarded an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship in 1971 and received Bronze Bauhinia Star Medal of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Lifetime Achievement Award of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, University Fellowship of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Presently, he is an Adjunct Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Permanent Chairman of the Chinese Painting Institute Hong Kong, Committee Member of the National Chinese Painting Institute, Honorary Advisor to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and to the Hong Kong Artists Association.

Wong’s paintings have been exhibited in over eighty solo and group exhibitions across the globe. Two major retrospective exhibitions for Wong have been held at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2006, and at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2016. His paintings were included in China: 5000 Years held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1998, New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond, curated by Alice King in 2008 and held at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. 

Alisan Fine Arts has organised joint exhibitions for Wong and Pat Hui, featuring their collaborative works in two shows in 1987 and 2005. Notably, Wong was featured in two important exhibitions organised by the gallery to commemorate the life and work of Lui and his students in 1995 and 2015. 

His works have been collected by numerous public museums, including British Museum, London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Minnesota Museum of Art, Minnesota; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA; Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, Germany; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Shanghai Art Museum; Guancheng Art Museum, Dongguan, China; Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+; Hong Kong Heritage Museum; University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong. Two of his paintings are currently on display at M+ as part of a group exhibition, titled Shanshui: Echoes and Signals.


BIOGRAPHY 
1936    Born in Dongguan, Guangdong, China
1938    Moved to Hong Kong
1955    Co-publisher of the periodical Poetry Blossom
1958    Began studying with Lui Shou-Kwan
1959    Co-founder and chairman of the Modern Literature and Art Association, Hong Kong
1960    Organised 1st International Salon of Painting, Hong Kong
1961    Studied at Columbus College of Art and Design, Ohio, United States
1963-64    Received BFA and MFA degrees, Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, USA
1965    Organised art and design courses, Extra Mural Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong
1966    Assistant Curator, City Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong
1967    Principal lecturer, School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, until 1984
1971    Grantee of John D Rockefeller 3rd Fund, stayed in New York to do research on Modern Art, United States
1971    Travelled in the United States and Europe; visited the United Kingdom under the sponsorship of British Council
1972    Acting Curator, City Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong
1976    Appointed Honorary Adviser, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
1984    Panellist on the Symposium on 20th Century Chinese Painting, Hong Kong
Immigrated to the United States, took up residence in Minnesota
1985-1994    Moved to Columbus, Ohio, United States
1989    Panellist, Symposium on Contemporary Chinese Art, China Institute in America, New York, United States Harrisburg, United States
1991    Resident artist, Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, United States
1993-94    Visiting artist, League of NH Craftman Spring Conference, Concord; Louisville Visual Art Association, Kentucky, United States
1994    Speaker, Conference on the Nature of Chinese Painting, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
1996    Moved back to Hong Kong
2007    Received Bronze Bauhinia Star Medal by Hong Kong Government
2014    Published Collection of Essays by Wucius Wong, Flower City Publishing, Guangzhou, China
2015    Honorary Artist of the Year, awarded by Asia Society, Hong Kong
Artist residence at Hong Kong Polytechnic
Present    Adjunct Professor, Fine Arts Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Honorary Advisor, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, Hong Kong
Permanent Chairman, Chinese Painting Institute, Hong Kong
Honorary Advisor, Hong Kong Artists Association, Hong Kong
Committee Member, National Chinese Painting Institute, Beijing, China

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 
 2018 
  • Mountains. Water. City. Forms, Guancheng Art Museum, Dongguan, China
2017 
  • Wucius Wong: Eternal Water, Sotheby's Hong Kong Gallery, Hong Kong
2016-2017
  • Ink Innovations and Crossovers: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Wucius Wong, Innovation Gallery, Jockey Club Innovation Tower, Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

2010 

  • Spirit of Sky and Land: Artworks by Wucius Wong, Exhibition Gallery of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Macau

2009 

  • Myriad Visions of Wucius Wong, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
2008
  • Spirit of Sky and Land:Wucius Wong, Ipreciation, Singapore
2006
  • At the East—West Crossroads—The Art of Wucius Wong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2000

  • The Paintings of Wucius Wong, Goedhuis Contemporary, London, UK 
  • Goethe Institute, Hong Kong

1999

  • Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong

1998

  • Ring of Fire: The Art of Wucius Wong, Kaikodo Gallery, New York, USA

1997

  • Plum Blossoms International, Hong Kong, Singapore
1994
  • Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong

1991-1992

  • Ancient Dreams: Paintings by Wucius Wong, Charlotte Horstmann and Gerald Godfrey Limited, Hong Kong; Godfrey Far Eastern Art, London, UK

1991

  • Alice R Rogers Gallery, Saint John University, Minnesota, USA
  • Gallery 456, Chinese-American Arts Council, New York, USA

1990

  • Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong
1989
  • River Dreams: Recent PaPintings by Wucius Wong, Gerald Godfrey Far Eastern Art, London, UK
  • Hanart Gallery Inc, New York, USA

1988

  • Hsiung Shih Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

1987

  • Mountain Thoughts, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, USA
1986
  • Charlotte Horstmann & Gerald Godfrey, Hong Kong

1983

  • Hui Arts, Minneapolis, USA

1982

  • Printmakers Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

1980

  • Gallery Eighties, Toronto, Canada

1979

  • Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints by Wucius Wong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

1975

  • Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, Hong Kong

1959

  • British Council, Hong Kong


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024-2026

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

2024

2023 

2021-2022 

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

  • The Cabinet, Cabinet exhibition space, M+, Hong Kong

2021 

  • Affordable Art, Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen, Hong Kong

  • Ink Dreams: Selections from the Fondation INK Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA

  • Shuimo Hong Kong: Chinese Ink Painting Institute Hong Kong, Members Paintings, Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong

2020 

2019 

  • Hong Kong Experience • Hong Kong Experiment, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

  • Hong Kong Waters Korean Mountains: Hong Kong & Korean Art Exchange Exhibition, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
  • Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

2018 

  • The Weight of Lightness: Ink Art at M+,  M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong

2017 

2016 

2015 

2014 

  • Contemporary Ink Art Exhibition in Hong Kong, Art Museum of Beijing Fne Art Academy, Beijing, China

2012 

  • Ink Painting: International Ink Painting Exhibition and Symposium, National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
  • The Origin of Tao: New Dimensions in Chinese Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
2011 
  • 7th International Ink Art Biennale of Shenzhen, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
  • Shui Mo Hong Kong: Exhibition of Hong Kong Ink Paintings, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2010 
  • Legacy & Creations: Ink Art vs Ink Art, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2009 

  • 6th International Ink Painting Biennale of Shenzhen, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
  • Selected Hong Kong Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
  • Ink Painting: Two Cities, Central Library, Hong Kong
  • Artists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan: 11th Nationwide Art Exhibition, Lin Baixin International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Shantou, China
  • Sixty Years: Art of New China, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
  • Hong Kong‧Water‧Ink‧Colour, Central Library, Hong Kong

2008  

2007 

  • Hong Kong Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition 2007, In Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland, Artist Commune, Hong Kong
  • Chinese Artists Painting Xinjiang, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
  • China Onward – Chinese Contemporary Art, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
2006 
  • Contemporary Hong Kong Ink Painting Exhibition, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong; Shenzhen, China
  • Contemporary Ink Painting, Doulun Art Museum, Shanghai, China

2005 

2004 

  • Xin Xie Yi: Selections of New Freehand Chinese Ink Painting by Invited Artists, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
  • 4th International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
  • Ink Painting Triennial, Jiangxu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
2003
  • National Oil Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2002 & 2004 
 2002
  • 3rd International Ink Painting of Shenzhen: Metropolis Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
  • Second International Ink Painting Biennial, Shenzhen, China

2001 

  • Hong Kong Cityscapes: Ink Painting in Transition, Brunei Gallery, The School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK
  • Contemporary Chinese Art from the Khoan and Michael Sullivan’s Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
2000 
  • Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Arthur Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
  • Exposi de Arte Chiesa Celebra do regresso de Macau Pria , Museu de Arte de Macau, Macau
  • 20th Century Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

1999

  • Calligraphy & Beyond: Wucius Wong & CC Wang, Plum Blossoms, Hong Kong

1998

  • Shanghai Art Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
  • China 5000 Years, Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
  • Shenzhen International Ink Biennale, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China

1997

  • Hong Kong Art 1997 Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Guangdong Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
  • Asian Traditions/Modern Expressions: Asian American Artists and Abstraction, 1945-1970, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

1996

  • Mutations of Ink and Paper, Exhibition of Works by Chinese-American Artists on the East Coast, New York, USA
  • Tradition and Innovation: 20th Century Chinese Painting, travelling exhibition by Hong Kong Museum of Art, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore; British Museum, London, UK; Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Koln, Germany

1995

1994 

  • The Beauty of Ink, Exhibition of Ink Paintings by Contemporary Master Artists in North America, Chinese Culture Centre, Westmont; Chicago Cultural Centre, Chicago, USA
  • Beyond the Borders: Art by Recent Immigrants, Bronx Museum of Arts, New York, USA
  • Orientations: Travelling Exhibition of Chinese, Japanese, Korean Paintings, David Adamson Gallery, Washington DC; Louisville Visual Art Association, Kentucky, USA

1993 

  • Visions in Between: Paintings by Chinese, Japanese and Korean Artists, Ise Foundation, New York, USA
  • Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK

1992 

  • Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennale, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
  • Second International Ink Painting Exhibition, Shenzhen, China
  • Where the Streams become a Rive: Contemporary Works from the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada

1990 

  • Exhibition of 19th and 20th Century Chinese Paintings, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong

1988 

  • Continuity and Change: Five Contemporary Chinese Artists, Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut, USA
  • Aspetti della Pittura Chinese Contemporanea, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Ferrara, Italy
  • 1st International Ink-Wash Painting Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

1987 

  • The Poetic Visions: Collaborative with Pat Hui, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
  • Chinese Paintings: Traces of the Brush, Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

1986 

  • Chinese Painting Today, Art Gallery of Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

1985-1986 

  • Development of Modern Chinese Painting: A Retrospective Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

1985

  • Shui Mo: The New Spirit of Chinese Tradition, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
  • A Selection of Twentieth Century Chinese Painting, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC, Canada

1984 

  • Centennial Collection: Masterpieces for Minnesota, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, USA

1983 

  • Overseas Chinese Artists Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

1982 

  • Contemporary Hong Kong Art, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines
  • 1st Exhibition of Asian Art, Bahrain

1980 

  • Art Toronto ‘80, Toronto, Canada

1976 

  • Art ‘76, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 

1975 

  • Annual Art Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan

1973 

  • Five Contemporary Chinese Painters, Mavis Chapman Gallery, Sydney, Australia

1972 

  • Contemporary Hong Kong Art, Pacificulture Museum, Pasadena, California, USA

1971 

  • Art Now Hong Kong, London; Edinburgh; Bristol; Manchester, UK

1970 

  • Hong Kong Art Exhibition, Hong Kong Pavilion Expo ‘70, Osaka, Japan

1969 

  • Contemporary Hong Kong Art, City Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1966 

  • One Art Group Exhibition, Manila, Philippines

1964 

  • Museum Annual Exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland, USA
1963 
  • Columbus Art League Annual Exhibition, Ohio, USA

1962 

  • Fifth Moon Group Exhibition, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Saigon International, Saigon, Vietnam
  • Hong Kong Art Today, City Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1961 

  • Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo, Brazil

1960 

  • 1st Hong Kong International Salon of Painting, Hong Kong


SELECTED AWARDS
1971     John D Rockefeller III Fund Grant, USA
1998     Lifetime Achievement Award, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong
Jos. V Canzani Award for Alumni Excellence, Columbus College of Art & Design, Ohio, USA
2007     Received Bronze Bauhinia Star Medal by Hong Kong Government
2015     Honorary Artist of the Year, awarded by Asia Society, Hong Kong

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS 
USA
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Minnesota Museum of Art, Minnesota, USA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis USA
Saint Paul Art Museum, Minnesota, USA
Artuhr M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA
Florida A & M University, Florida, USA
City University of New York, New York, USA
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, USA
Morgan Guaranty Trust, New York, USA
Prudential Insurance, New York, USA
American Express, Washington DC, USA
The World Bank, Washington DC, USA
Ford Motor Company, Detroit, USA

EUROPE & AUSTRALIA
British Museum, London, UK
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, Germany
Eastern Art Museum, Hamburg, Germany
Union Bank of Switzerland, Switzerland
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Australia National Trust, Melbourne, Australia

ASIA
First National Bank of Dallas, Singapore
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Guancheng Art Museum, Dongguan, China
Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China
Changzhou Art Museum, Changzhou, China
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
M+, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Art Gasllery of Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong
Peninsula Group, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong
Standard & Chartered Bank, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Land, Hong Kong
Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong