Wucius Wong

A world-renowned artist, Wucius Wong has been very active in the Hong Kong art scene. He has made significant contributions to art, art criticism and art education over the past fifty years. By incorporating Chinese landscape elements and design concepts, his works unveil a new horizon in ink painting.

This is a major retrospective exhibition to commemorate the accomplishment of Wucius Wong. It features over 70 representative works displayed in five chronological sections. With each section covering a decade of his works, the exhibition will showcase the stylistic evolution and the superb achievement of Wucius Wong from the 1950s to date.

--- Wucius or Wuxie?

The pseudonym of Wucius Wong, Wuxie, has its origins in the Analects in which Confucius discussed how poetry should be “wuxie” (without depraved thoughts). He adopted this pseudonym in his early years when he originally aspired to become a poet. His choice discloses the literati in him and echoes the lyricism in his paintings.

1938 Moved to Hong Kong

1940 Took refuge in China during the Sino-Japanese War

1946 Returned to Hong Kong after the war

1955 Co-publisher of the periodical Poetry Blossom

1957 Studied Chinese ink painting with Lui Shou Kwan

1959 Co-founder and chairman of the Modern Literature and Art Association, Hong Kong, which published the periodical New Currents

1960 Organised the First International Salon of Paintings, Hong Kong.

1961 Studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Ohio, USA

1963 Pursued graduate studies in painting at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

1964 Received BFA and MFA degrees at the Maryland Institute, College of Art

1965 Organised art and design courses, Extramural Department, Chinese University of H. K.

1966 Assistant Curator, City Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1970 Grantee of the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund; stayed in New York City, sponsored by the Fund

1971 Travelled in USA and Europe; visited UK under sponsorship of the British Council

1972 Acting Curator, City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1976 Appointed honorary adviser, Hong Kong Museum of Art

1979 Retrospective exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art

1984 Panellist on the Symposium on Twentieth Century Chinese Painting, Hong Kong; emigrated to USA, took up residence in Minnesota.

1985 Visiting artist, Department of Art, University of Minnesota; moved to Columbus, Ohio and taught at the Columbus college of Art and Design

1986 Moved to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

1986 Travelled in China under the sponsorship of the Chinese Artists Association, Beijing

1987 Retrospective Exhibition, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; lecturer, Minnesota Museum of Art

1988 Visiting artist, Lawrence Institute of Technology, Michigan; lectured at Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

1989 Visiting artist, Memphis College of Art, Tennessee; Panellist, Symposium on Contemporary Chinese Art at the China Institute in America, New York

1990 Juror for Visual Arts grants by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Harrisburg, PA

1991 Visiting artist to the Saint John's University, Collegeville, MN

1991 Resident artist at the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA

1993 Visiting artist to the League of NH Craftmen Spring Conference, Concord, NH

1994 Visiting artist, Louisville Visual Art Association, KY

1994 Speaker, Conference on the Nature of Chinese Painting, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, UK

1970 John D Rockefeller III Fund Grant

1999 Fellowship Emeritus, Hong Kong Arts Development Council

Jos. V Canzani Award for Alumni Excellence, Columbus College of Art & Design, Ohio, USA

1959 The British Council, Hong Kong

1975 Goethe Institute, Hong Kong

1979 Hong Kong Museum of Art

1980 Gallery Eighties, Toronto, Canada

1982 Printmakers' Gallery, Taipei

1983 Hui Arts, Minneapolis, MN

1986 Charlotte Horstmann & Gerald Godfrey, Hong Kong

1987 Mountain Thoughts, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN

1988 Hsiung Shih Gallery, Taipei

1989 River Dreams, Gerald Godfrey Far Eastern Art, London, UK

1989 Water and Clouds, Hanart Gallery, New York, NY

1990 Exchange Square Rotunda Gallery, Hong Kong.

1991 Alice R. Rogers Gallery, Saint John's University, MN

1991 Gallery 456, Chinese-American Arts Council, New York, NY

1991 Ancient Dreams, Charlotte Horstmann & Gerald Gldfrey, Hong Kong

1992 The East-West Journey, Hsiung Shih Gallery, Taipei

1992 Ancient Dreams, Godfrey Far Eastern Art, London, UK

1994 Hanart T. Z. Gallery, Hong Kong

1997 Plum Blossoms International, Hong Kong and Singapore

1998 Kaikodo Gallery, New York

1999 Hanart TZ Gallery Hong Kong

2000 Goedhuis Contemporary, London

1960 First Hong Kong International Salon of Paintings, Hong Kong

1961 Sao Paulo Biennale, Sao Paulo, Brazil

1962 Fifth Moon Group Exhibition, Taipei

1962 Hong Kong Art Today, City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1962 Saigon International, Saigon, Vietnam

1963 Columbus Art League Annual Exhibition, Ohio

1964 Annual Exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, MD

1966 Circle Group Exhibition, Manila, Philippines

1968 Circle Group Exhibition, City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong

1969 Contemporary Hong Kong Art, City Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong (also 1972,1975 and 1976)

1970 Hong Kong Art Exhibition, Hong Kong Pavilion Expo '70, Osaka, Japan

1971 Art Now Hong Kong, organized by City Museum and Art Gallery, travelled to Bristol, Edinburgh, London & Manchester, U.K

1972 Contemporary Hong Kong Art, Pacificulture Museum, Pasadena, CA

1973 Five Contemporary Chinese Painters, Mavis Chapman Gallery, Sydney, Australia

1975 Annual Art Exhibition, National Historical Museum, Taipei

1980 Art Toronto '80, Toronto, Canada

1981 Art '81, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong (also Art '76 and Art '78)

1982 Contemporary Hong Kong Art, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines

1982 First Exhibition of Asian Art, Bahrain

1982 International Contemporary Chinese Brush Painting, National Historical Museum, Taipei

1982 Recent Developments in 20th Century Chinese Painting, Hugh Moss Gallery, London

1983 Contemporary Vision of the Landscape, Hong Kong Museum of Art

1983 Overseas Chinese Artists Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan

1983 Recent Developments in 20th Century Chinese Painting, Hong Kong Arts Centre

1983 International Contemporary Chinese Brush Painting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1984 Centennial Collection: Masterpieces for Minnesota, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota

1984 20th Century Chinese painting, Hong Kong Museum of Art

1986 Contemporary Chinese Painting, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

1986 Development of Modern Chinese Painting---A Retrospective Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum

1986 Two Overseas Chinese Artists, National Gallery, Beijing

1987 Chinese Paintings: Traces of the Brush, Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Minnesota

1988 Mountain Visions, Seton Hall University, New Jersey

1988 Continuity and Change: Five Contemporary Chinese Artists, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

1988 Aspetti della Pittura Chinese Contemporanea, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Ferrara, Italy

1988 Ink Paintings by Hong Kong Artists, Barbican Centre, London

1988 International Ink Painting Festival, Wuhan

1988 First International Ink-Wash Painting Exhibition, Beijing

1988 Old Ink, New Brush: Contemporary Chinese Art, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan

1988 Quartet---Works by Four Contemporary Chinese Artists, Chinese Cultural Center, New York

1989 Contemporary Chinese Painting, Lo Shan Tong, London, Hong Kong, Taipei

1989 Beyond the Magic Mountains, Hanart Gallery, New York and Taipei

1990 Metamorphosis---Modern Chinese Painting, Hong Kong Arts Centre

1990 In the Literary Tradition, Exhibition of 19th and 20th Century Chinese paintings, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

1992 Visions in Between, Ise Art Foundation, New York

1992 Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial '92, Hong Kong Museum of Art

1992 Joint Exhibition with Su Trembath, Godfrey Far Eastern Art, London

1992 Second International Ink-Wash Painting Exhibition, Shenzhen

1993 Visions in Between, Travelling exhibition of paintings by Chinese, Japanese and Korean artists, Fukuyama Museum, Hiroshima, Japan; Walker Hill Art Center and Park Ryu-Sook Gallery, Seoul, Korea; Howard Salon Taipei, New Trends Gallery, Taichung, and G. Zen Art Gallery, Kao Hsiung Taiwan, Republic of China

1993 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London

1994 City Colours, City University of Hong Kong

1994 The Beauty of Ink, Exhibition of Ink Paintings by Contemporary Master Artists in North America, Chinese Culture Center, Westmont, IL, and Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

1994 Hong Kong Art, Kogashima Prefectural Museum of Culture, Kagoshima, Japan

1994 Between East and West - Transformations of Chinese Art in the Late 20th Century, Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticuit

1994 Beyond the Borders - Art by Recent Immigrants, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York

1994 Visions in Between, Travelling exhibition of paintings by Chinese, Japanese and Korean artists, Taipei Gallery, Chinese Information and Culture Centre, New York

1994 ORIENTations, David Adamson Gallery, Washington, D.C., and Louisville Visual Art Association, Kentucky

1998 Shanghai Biennale

Wucius Wong has also exhibited in group shows in the following countries: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.

2000 Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Arthur Sackler Museum, Harvard University

2002 Kaleidoscope: Contemporary Hong Kong Art 2002, Alisan Fine Art, Hong Kong

2004 Kaleidoscope: Contemporary Hong Kong Art 2004, Alisan Fine Art, Hong Kong

Wucius Wong has also exhibited in group shows in the following countries: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.

American Express, Washington, D.C.

Art East/ Art West, Hamburg, Germany

Australia National Trust, Melbourne, Australia

Chase Manhattan Bank, New York

City University of New York

First National Bank of Dallas, Singapore

Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL

Ford Motor Company, Detroit, MI

Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation

Hong Kong Jockey Club

Hong Kong Land Property Co., Ltd., Hong Kong

Hong Kong Museum of Art

Hong Kong Polytechnic

Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, MN

Morgan Guaranty Trust, New York

Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, Germany

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Standard & Chartered Bank, Hong Kong

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN

The Peninsular Group, Hong Kong

The Prudential, New York

The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Union Bank of Switzerland

University of Hong Kong