Ting, Walasse

born 1929 Wuxi China

died 2010 New York USA

Born in Wuxi, Jiangsu in 1928, Walasse Ting is a Chinese diaspora artist celebrated for his colourful and bright depictions of animals, flora and sultry women. He briefly studied at the Shanghai College of Fine Arts in the 1940s, before leaving for Paris in 1953 in his early 20s. 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 brush strokes 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 held 13 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 numerous important museums around the world including 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, to name a few.

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, USA

1960 First solo exhibition, Ting, Martha Jackson Gallery (historic), New York, USA

1961 First exhibited with Sam Francis, Arte e Contemplazione, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy

1962 The Century 21 Exposition World Fair, Seattle, USA

1964 Publication of 1 Cent Life

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

1979 Travelled to China

1986 First exhibition at Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2001 Set up studio in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

2010 Passed away on May 17 in New York, USA

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026

Walasse Ting: oil painting, Galeria Birch, Copenhagen, Denmark

2024-2025

Walasse Ting: Joy, Temptation and Magic, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2023-2024

Walasse Ting: New York, New York, Inaugural Exhibition, Alisan Fine Arts, New York, USA
Walasse Ting: Parrot Jungle, NSU Art Museum, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

2017

Symphony of Colours: Walasse Ting, French May Arts Festival Associated Project, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2016-2017

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

2010

Walasse Ting Retrospective Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Walasse Ting (1928-2010) I Love Flowers All My Life, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong

2009

The Catto Gallery, London, UK

2008

Walasse Ting 10th Exhibition, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2002

Celebrating the Year of the Horse, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2001

The Black and White World of Walasse Ting, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Yibo Gallery, Shanghai, China

2000

Scheringa Museum, Spanbroek, Netherlands

1999

The Catto Gallery, London, UK

1998

His Utopian World, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

1997

Walasse Ting, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Walasse Ting, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

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

The Magical World of Walasse Ting, Hong Kong Arts Centre; Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Apollo Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Avant-Garde Art Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
P Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
Galerie Luc Pieters Galerie, Knokke, Belgium
Galerie l’Orangerie, St. Paul-de-Vence, France

1992

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

1991

The Enchanting World of Walasse Ting, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Sala Nonell, Barcelona, Spain
Galerie Acolea, Madrid, Spain
Galleria del Monte Ischia, Ischia Island, Italy
Arthouse Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

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
Galleri Scandinavia, Gothenburg, 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

Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, Netherlands
P Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
Galleria del Manifesto, Verona, Italy
Galerie Dessers Hasselt, Belgium
Kunstforum Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Rice Paper Painting by Walasse Ting, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

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-Garde 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

2026

45th Anniversary: Home and Abroad, Alisan Fine Arts, New York, USA
The Chinese Avant-Garde in Paris, French May Arts Festival Associated Project, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
How Asian is It?, Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, New York, USA

2025

Tradition Transformed, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
Art Personalised: Masterpieces from the HKMoA (Phase IV), Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong

2024-2025

The Journey of Ink: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings from the Museé Cernuschi, Bund One Art Museum, Shanghai, China

2024

19 Century, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA
Asian-American Abstraction: Historic to Contemporary, Hollis Taggart, New York, USA
Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France 1946-1962, Grey Art Museum, New York University, New York, USA

2023

Beyond Tradition: The Metamorphosis of Chinese Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Cromwell Place, London, UK

2022-2023

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

2022

Being, Zhi Art Museum, Chengdu, China
Contemporary Chinese Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Cromwell Place, London, UK
Dead Lecturer/Distant Relative, Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York

2021-2022

Individuals, Networks, Expressions, M+, Hong Kong

2021

Art and Writing: Gao Xingjian, Gu Gan, Walasse Ting, Wang Tiande, Wang Dongling, Southside Saturday, Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Celebrating a Friendship: Walasse Ting & Sam Francis, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
NOT A Fashion Store!, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Ink City, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong

2020

Contemporary Forms of Ink Painting, Alisan Fine Arts-Aberdeen, Hong Kong

2018

Walasse Ting, Sam Francis, Ayako Rokkaku: Perpetual Colours, Phillips, Hong Kong

2016-2017

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

2016

Alisan Fine Arts: Celebrating 35 Years of Promoting Chinese Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Central Library, 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

2002

Masterpieces by Eminent Chinese Artists: A 5^th Anniversary Celebration of the Hong Kong Reunification with China, Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

1997

The Chinese Root: Works by Mainland and Overseas Chinese Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China

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 ART FAIRS BY ALISAN FINE ARTS
2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

2012

ART HK 12, Hong Kong

2010

ART HK 10, Hong Kong

2009

Hong Kong International Art & Antiques Fair, Hong Kong

1997

Tresors: The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair For Asia, Singapore

1995

Nostalgia．Modernity: Walasse Ting, Xu Lei, Tresors: The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair For Asia, Singapore

1994

Chinese Ladies, Two Approaches: Paintings by Walsse Ting & Peng Xiancheng, Tresors: The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair For Asia, Singapore

1992

Art Asia Hong Kong, Hong Kong

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Tate Gallery, London, UK
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA
Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, USA
Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, New York, USA
Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, USA
Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Chrysler Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA
Baltimore Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hannover, New Hampshire, USA
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
U.S. Steel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Gulf Oil Corp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, 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+, 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 at NSU Art Museum, Nova Southeastern University, Skira, Milan, Itlay