Tony Wong 1948 - 2012
Guangdong.China
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Biography
"Narrative" is a key, fundamental characteristic of Tony Wong's work. His works often show a distinct trait of storytelling. Wong says as a child he listened to his grandmother tell countless Chinese folk tales and these later became the inspiration and source material for his works. Despite that, his works do not necessarily provide any specific plot line. In a brief essay, the American art critic Gerrit Henry (1950-2003) wrote: "While his paintings sometimes evoke the Chinese legends his grandmother told him as a child, they depend not so much on any specific legend as much as on the power of images to suggest a story that is meaningful to all." In other words, although Wong broadly draws upon mythological, legendary and classical literary themes, he avoids sinking into mere illustrative interpretation through deft tinkering. "My paintings can tell stories but have no fixed meaning," Wong has said.
"Ultimately, it is up to the observer to draw their own conclusions as to the meaning." After the transformation, the narrative characteristics of Wong's works remain but the storylines are concealed, leaving only the situations. As such, his works leave space for the open analysis and interpretation of the observer. Despite Wong's insistence that he has little interest in a dialectic between Western and Eastern painting, his incorporation of traditional Chinese mythology, legends and narratives into his works seems to have begun at least as early as 1983. When toying with new ideas, Wong has always generally first produced a prototype in oil pastel on paper before moving on to produce the full-sized work in oil. He then takes the heavy use of oil pigments a step further and develops it into a '3-D painting'. His sculptures retain the flat, two-dimensional compositional concept with a largely frontal orientation more closely related to painting. The heavy layering and sense of commotion in the three-dimensional oils are, of course, not only capable of driving an emotional response in the observer, but they also call to mind passion and powerful expressive style of that vanguard of modern painting Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Tony Wong was born in Taishan County in China's Guangdong Province in 1948. In 1966, he left Hong Kong and emigrated to the United States where he began studies at The Art Institute of Chicago in 1968. He studied his master's degree at University of California, Berkeley, after which he left Berkeley in 1975 and took a position as assistant professor of art at the Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. In 1977, Wong walked away from teaching and headed off to develop in the art scene of New York City.
——Extract from Chia Chi Jason WANG, Solitude in Paradise—Tony Wong's Artistic Journey.
Exhibitions
Tony Wong 1948-2012 2015 │ 05.09 - 05.30
Lin & Lin Gallery
Master Works on Paper II 2014 │ 08.09 - 08.31
Lin & Lin Gallery
The Way Is Not Merely Between Two Points2010 │ 12.18 - 2011.01.30
Lin & Lin Gallery
Tony Wong Solo Exhibition2009 │ 05.22 - 06.16
Lin & Lin Gallery
Double Happiness 2009 │ 01.11 - 02.11
Lin & Lin Gallery
Old Trunk, New Branch, A New Spring 2008 │ 01.05 - 01.30
Lin & Lin Gallery
The Exhibition of Tony Wong's Oil Paintings and Sculptures 2007 │ 01.06 - 01.28
Lin & Lin Gallery
In the Backyard II: Over-flowing Landscape of Desire2010 │ 12.18 - 2011.01.30
Lin & Lin Gallery
Gaudy-ism Taiwan — Boorish & Vulgar as the Makeup of Life1998 │ 06.20 - 07.05
Lin & Lin Gallery
The Exhibition of Tony Wong's Oil Paintings , Sculptures and Paper Works 1996 │ 10
Lin & Lin Gallery
Publications
The Way Is Not Merely Between Two Points2010
NT$ 1,200
Solitude in Paradise - Tony Wong's Artistic Journey2009
NT$ 2,000
Tony Wong2008
NT$ 500
Tony Wong 20072007
NT$ 800
Tony Wong2000
NT$ 500
Tony Wong1998
NT$ 500
Tony Wong1996
Non sale