Win Ng

Win Ng (1936 - September 7, 1991) was a gay Chinese-American sculptor, industrial designer and illustrator. He is best known as the co-founder of the groundbreaking San Francisco based handmades department store Taylor & Ng

Ng was born in Chinatown, San Francisco ["Wokcraft" by Charles and Violet Schafer. San Francisco: Yerba Buena Press, 1972. page iii.] . He studied at Saint Mary's Academy and the City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. After serving in the United States Army he studied at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1959. He began the Masters of Fine Arts program at Mills College in 1960 but did not complete the program. [http://www.askart.com/askart/n/win_ng/win_ng.aspx]

Early Career

His early career as a ceramicist focused on abstract work influenced by Peter Voulkos and resulted in a one man show in 1958 at the Michow Gallery in New York City. By the 1970s Ng had seven one-man shows to his credit in Paris, New York, Portland and San Francisco. ["Herbcraft" by Violet Schafer. San Francisco: Yerba Buena Press, 1971. page 88.]

Taylor & Ng

In 1965 Ng met artist Spaulding Taylor and shifted his focus toward utilitarian work. The two founded [Environmental Ceramics (the precursor to Taylor & Ng) and moved into creating handmade artware and homewares. Through their department store the two artists not only created a signature style still in demand by collectors, but helped to popularize Asian culture and cuisine. Ng created pottery, book designs and linens for the department store for over twenty years. The department store closed in 1985. [http://www.askart.com/askart/n/win_ng/win_ng.aspx]

Book Illustration

Ng created illustrations for a number of books by Yerba Buena Press throughout the 1970s. These included collaborations with authors Violet and Charles Schafer. Ng also illustrated publications by Taylor & Ng.

Death and Legacy

Ng died on September 7, 1991 from AIDS related complications. He was 55. [San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 1991]

A 100 by 16 foot mural by Ng graces the concourse level of the Bay Area Rapid Transit's Orinda station in Contra Costa County, San Francisco. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/13/CC62777.DTL]

His artwork is in the collections of the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Victoria & Albert Museum, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the De Young Museum

In April of 2005 the Chinese Historical Society of America in collaboration with the Queer Cultural Center held a retrospective of Ng's work under the title of "The Art of Win Ng." Ng was openly gay.citation |title=Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists |first=Kara Kelley |last=Hallmark |page=147-9 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2007 |isbn=031333451X ]

Ng's is represented posthumously by the Braunstein/Quay Gallery in San Francisco.

References

Bibliography

* "Dim Sum: The Delicious Secrets of Home-Cooked Chinese Tea Lunch" by Rhoda Yee. San Francisco: Taylor & Ng, 1977.
* "Coffee: A Connoisseur's View of Coffee" by Charles and Violet Schafer, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1976.
* "Ricecraft: A Gathering of Rice Cookery, Culture & Customs" by Margaret Gin, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1975.
* "Teacraft: A Treasury of Romance, Rituals & Recipes" by Charles and Violet Schafer, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1975
* "Eggcraft: A Compendium of Folklore, Fancies & Foods" by Violet Schafer, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1973
* "PlantCraft: A Growing Compendium of Sound Indoor Gardening with Sound" by Janet Cox, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1973
* "Wokcraft: A Stirring Compendium of Chinese Cookery" by Charles and Violet Schafer, illustrated by Win Ng. Yerba Buena Press, 1972
* "Herbcraft: A Compendium of Myths, Romance and Commonsense" by Violet Schafer. Yerba Buena Press, 1971

External links

* [http://www.sfai.edu/People/Person.aspx?id=1407&navID=6&sectionID=2&typeID=1 San Francisco Art Institute Win Ng page]
* [http://www.chsa.org/exhibitions/past_exhibits.php?event_id=112 Chinese Historical Society of America page on Ng Retrospective]
* [http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Media/QFest05Imgs/VisualArts.pdf Queer Cultural Center press release on Win Ng Retrospective]
* [http://www.taylorandng.com/ Taylor & Ng online retailer homepage]

Persondata
NAME=Ng, Win
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American sulptor
DATE OF BIRTH=1936
PLACE OF BIRTH=Chinatown, San Francisco, United States
DATE OF DEATH=September 7 1991
PLACE OF DEATH=United States