Ming Fay () is a

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

-born and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

-based

sculptor 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 sc ...

and professor. His work focuses on the concept of the garden as a symbol of

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

and the relationship between man and nature. Drawing upon an extensive knowledge of plants both Eastern and Western, real and mythical, Fay creates his own calligraphic floating forest of reeds, branches and surreal species. He is most well known for his sculpture and large scale installations and he currently teaches sculpture at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

in Wayne, New Jersey.

Early life and education

Ming Fay was born in

in 1943 and late moved 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 ...

in 1952, soon after the rise of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

in mainland China. His mother was an artist, and his father worked in the then-burgeoning Hong Kong movie industry as an art director. Both were students of Shanghai-based sculptor

Zhang Chongren Zhang Chongren (27 September 1907 – 8 October 1998), also known as Chang Chong-jen, was a Chinese sculptor best remembered in Europe as a friend of Hergé, the Belgian cartoonist and creator of ''The Adventures of Tintin''. The two met ...

, who had studied Western sculpture in Europe. Ming came to the United States in 1961 to study at the

Columbus College of Art and Design Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCAD ...

and later at the Kansas City Institute of Art. Subsequently, Fay earned a

graduate degree Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

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 ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

in 1975.

Artistic career

Ming Fay has exhibited internationally in numerous solo exhibitions, and his work has frequented important group shows throughout the world. He was also a founding member of an art collective called, Epoxy Art Group in the 1980s, which included other Chinese American artists. Exhibitions have taken place at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

at Phillip Morris (New York, NY), the National Academy Museum (New York, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art in

, Łódź Biennale at The International Artists' Museum (

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), Butters Gallery (

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

), Ramapo Gallery ( Ramapo,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

), and the

Hong Kong Museum of Art The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is the first and main art museum of Hong Kong, located in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government. HKMoA has an art collection ...

. Fay has also completed numerous public art commissions including a suspended glass and steel sculpture for a residential lobby in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, a large scale tree sculpture in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, sculptural benches for

Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal The Whitehall Terminal is a ferry terminal in the South Ferry, Manhattan, South Ferry section of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the corner of South Street (Manhattan), South Street and Whitehall Street. It is used by the Staten Island Ferry, ...

, and glass mosaic murals for the Delancey Street – Essex Street New York City Subway station. He is also the recipient of the 2007 NYFA fellowship in Sculpture.

Public Art Commissions

*2009 Chicago Public Art Program, O'Hare International Airport Terminal 2,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

*2005 Whitehall Crossing, Whitehall Ferry Terminal,

Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...

, Cultural Affairs Department, New York *2004 ''Goldilocks'', Tivoli Building, Redevelopment Authority,

*2004 ''Pillar Arc'', Federal Courthouse, General Services Administration,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

*2004 Delancey Orchard and Shad Crossing, Delancey / Essex Subway Station, Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York *2003 Arbol Magico, Lluberas Park, Department of Transportation and Public Works, Yauco, Puerto Rico *2002 ''Ginkoberry Gwa'', Oregon Convention Center,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

*1999 Lippman Arcade Project, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Queens *1998 Staten Island Ferry Terminal Project, Cultural Affairs Department, New York *1997 Public Art Fund Project, Phipps Housing, The Bronx, New York *1995 ''Spiral Ears'', Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia *1990 ''Leaf Gate'', Keys Flight, Seed of Elm, The Spirit of the Elm, Elm in Bloom, Sprouting Buds, P.S. 7, Elmhurst, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens, NY

Collections

*M+ Museum, Hong Kong, CN *China Club, Hong Kong, CN *Conrad Hilton Hotel, Hong Kong, CN *

Daum Museum of Contemporary Art State Fair Community College is a public community college in Sedalia, Missouri, adjacent to the Missouri State Fairgrounds. In addition to the Sedalia campus, there are extended campus locations in Boonville, Lake of the Ozarks, Clinton, Wars ...

, Sedalia, MO *Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, TaIwan *Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, CN *Howard Plaza Hotel,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, Taiwan *

, Columbus, OH *Columbus Gallery of Fine Art, Columbus, OH *

Del Mar College Del Mar College (DMC) is a public community college in Corpus Christi, Texas. Founded in 1935, DMC encompasses two primary campuses and one campus annex with combined physical assets of more than $99 million. As defined by the Texas Legislature ...

, Corpus Christi, TX *

John Michael Kohler Arts Center The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is an independent, not-for-profit contemporary art museum and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.Mobil Oil Corporation Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

, New York, NY * J.P. Morgan, Hong Kong, CN *

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, CA *Prudential Insurance Company, Los Angeles, CA *R.J. Reynolds Corporation, Salem, NC *

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, Providence, RI *Ten Main Center, Kansas City, MO *Zimmerli Art Museum,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

New Brunswick, NJ New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Selected works on Art Asian AmericaSelected works from Lesley Heller Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Ming William Paterson University faculty Living people 1943 births Artists from Shanghai Hong Kong artists University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Columbus College of Art and Design alumni Chinese Civil War refugees