Guy Ngan 顏國鍇 (3 February 1926 – 26 June 2017) was a New Zealand artist. He worked across a large range of media, including

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, drawing,

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, and is known for his incorporation of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

motifs such as the

tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden, ...

. Many of his works are in prominent places, such as the tapestry in the

Beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

and sculpture at the

Reserve Bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

, while many others are dotted around the country in smaller towns and suburban locations such as Stokes Valley.

Biography

Ngan was born in 1926 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

to Chinese parents Wai Yin and Chin Ting, but he called himself “Pacific Chinese”. During his young years, he was educated in China. In 1938 a Japanese bomb dropped next door while they were having breakfast. Ngan's father took Guy and his brother to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and put them on a boat to New Zealand and they never saw him again. Guy Ngan attended Newtown School but he was unhappy and then stayed with relatives in Miramar. At 17, he began night school at Wellington Technical College with sculptor Alex Fraser. Under the advice of Fraser, Ngan travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1951 to continue his education Goldsmith's School of Art at the University of London. In the same year he was allowed entry to the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

, in London. In 1954, he graduated and was given the Royal College Continuation Scholarship for one year. He was paid £600. In 1955 the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

awarded him with a scholarship and an allowance of £12 a week and all travel expenses paid for. In 1956 he returned to New Zealand. He worked as a consultant at the architecture division for the Ministry of Works. He worked here until 1960 and then went to work for Stephenson and Turner Architects until 1970. Ngan then became the director of

New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in Wellington in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters William Beetham (first president of the Ass ...

for 20 years. During this time he encouraged New Zealand artists to promote their art talents at museums. He also encouraged

and cultural art. Ngan married Jean Wong, and they had two children. Ngan and his family lived in Stokes Valley, in the house that he designed and built himself. In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ngan was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the arts. He died in Lower Hutt on 26 June 2017. In October 2019 Cordy’s in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

held an auction of Guy Ngan's collection and estate.

Works

Ngan worked as a painter, artist, architect and designer. Many of his work are displayed in important and historical buildings across New Zealand. He lived in Stokes Valley for 50 years and created the sculpture that resides at the entrance to Stokes Valley 'Mating Worms', installed in 1976. More recently, as part of E Tu Awakairangi Public Art Trust, 'Elevating Worms' was installed at the Scott's Court Shopping Centre, also in Stokes Valley. Other public works include an untitled bronze sculpture installed outside the

Building,The Terrace,

; relief work adorning the New Zealand Archives Building, Thorndon Quay, Wellington. Ngan was also responsible for designing a tapestry for the

, Parliamentary Buildings in Wellington 'Forest in the Sun'.(1976). The piece was commissioned for the

's central stairway. Joan Calvert along with Dorothea Turner and Ngan's wife Jean took 18 months to construct the tapestry. It hung in the Beehive until 2003, when it was gifted to

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring f ...

. One of Wellington's earliest modern public sculptures, 'Geometric Growth' is installed near the Michael Fowler Centre. Initially sited on the corner of Victoria and Mercer streets, it was removed for the Civic Square precinct in 1989. It was damaged upon removal, then restored and reinstated to its new site in 2006. Ngan's collaborations with architect

Ron Sang Ronald Fong Sang (11 July 1938 – 11 June 2021) was a New Zealand architect, art collector, art exhibitor and publisher of New Zealand art books. Early life Sang was born in Fiji in 1938 to parents who had migrated from southern China. He rece ...

have led to some important large scale works including the Newton Post Office mural, now in the Auckland Art Gallery collection.

Exhibitions

Ngan, although a prolific artist, did not exhibit frequently in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. However, towards the end of his life and posthumously several significant exhibitions explored his career and legacy. The first major exhibition of Ngan's work was held at

City Gallery Wellington City Gallery Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. History City Gallery Te Whare Toi began its life as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block located at 65 Victoria Street, now ...

in 2006; it was his first exhibition in a public gallery since 1979. When approached about mounting the exhibition Ngan declared he was "too young for a retrospective" and asked instead to "develop a project on his long-held fascination in the history of early Pacific settlement". Titled ''Guy Ngan: Journey: Aluminium Panel, Tiki Hands, and Anchor Stones'' the exhibition was curated by Heather Galbraith and was born from exploring the connections between Asian southern migration, birds and connections to Pacific cultures. In 2019 a retrospective of Ngan's worked titled ''Guy Ngan:Habitation'' was mounted at

The Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 2 ...

. The exhibition brought together paintings, prints and sculptures, including a special focus on the ""Habitation"" sculptures, in which Ngan carved forms from polystyrene which were then cast in aluminium or bronze. The exhibition also included the tapestry work ''Forest in the Sun''.

References

External links

Works in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaRetrospective exhibition reviewGuy Ngan tapestries hanging in the Beehive during the opening by Queen Elizabeth II

Guy Ngan and Joan Calvert wall hanging, Beehive, ParliamentGuy Ngan: Habitation
– major retrospective exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngan, Guy 1926 births 2017 deaths New Zealand sculptors Modern sculptors People from Wellington City People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand people of Chinese descent 20th-century New Zealand artists 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand artists 21st-century New Zealand male artists Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of the Royal College of Art