Remembering George Wong, the Kidult of Contemporary Art
At 9:15 am on 2nd December 2017, Mr. George Wong, famous art collector and chief executive of Parkview Group, Hong Kong, passed away. The successful property tycoon with his long hair fluttering, was commonly known as the ‘Kidult of the Contemporary Art Kingdom’ due to his joyous & energetic nature and his passionate love for contemporary art, amassing the world’s largest private Salvador Dali collection: around ten thousand works of Chinese contemporary art and countless antiques, Buddha statues and ancient scrolls.
Mr. George Wong, Parkview Group
Today, let us re-cap his art empire, the Parkview Group of Museums, in memory of its legendary founder.
A Path to Collecting Art
George Wong’s art collecting path was gradual. From some watercolor works during his youth to a growing interest in different medias of art and finally studying architecture in the UK, his love for art was accumulated little by little. “In 1972, my dad bought me an old European painting from the early 19th century, at which time it was possible to buy a house with that price. Since then I took stronger notice of artworks and slowing progressed on the collecting path”.
The Parkview Mall, Beijing
In the 90s, apart from involving in his property business, George gradually devoted his energy and money to collecting art. At that time, he purchased a lot of ancient ink paintings, from masterpieces of the Ming & Qing dynasties to Zhang Daqian from the modern era and established a system of modern Chinese painting collection. He started to get in touch with Chinese contemporary art around the year 2000. “After 2000, I started visiting the 798 art district often. At that time, the works were reasonably priced. He bought a lot of works and his collection grew tremendously within a short period of time, becoming a very powerful & special collection. George Wong’s collection of contemporary art started with the purchase of the ‘Four Heavenly King’s’ works, Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun, Fang Lijun and Zeng Fanzhi. Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun’s works were bought very early and during the same period, Wang Guangyi’s seven-meter work was also purchased.
Chinese contemporary sculptor Zheng Lu’s solo exhibition was held at one of the Parkview museums.
Andy Warhol’s ‘Panda’
Shen Jingdong’s ‘Founding Ceremony’ is also part of George Wong’s collection
Since then, he was involved in the works of some of the most important artists in the contemporary Chinese art market. His collection of Chinese contemporary art was shown to public two years ago, including Liu Wei, Mao Lizi, Miao Xiaochun, Wang Guangyi, Wang Luyan, Yue Minjun, Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Xiaogang. A fantastic selection of blue-chip artists such as Shen Jingdong, Hua Qing, Wu Mingzhong, He Wenjue, Tamen, Pan Dehai, Ren Zhe, Zheng Lu and Wang Guofeng were also showcased. In recent years, younger artists’ works were also incorporated into his collection system.
Zheng Lu’s collection hanging in the office lobby
Yang Tao’s Buddha sculptures
Chen Wenling’s ‘Red Memory’
Liu Ruowang’s ‘Wolves Coming’ set
The Parkview Mall is located in Beijing’s East Second Ring area. Among the many nearby buildings, it is particularly outstanding and unique. This is not Beijing’s traditional business district but its high popularity proves that art and commerce can be perfectly integrated here.
The entire mall is like a large art exhibition hall, Salvador Dalí’s sculpture “Dolphin Rider” stands solemnly in the mall in front of the square. Chen Wenling, Zheng Lu, Xia Hang’s works are distributed throughout the mall. Contemporary Korean artist Jiang Hengjiu’s nearly seven-meter-high work, “Guan Yu,” was also placed in the mall’s hall. In addition to the exhibition hall of contemporary art, there is also a space in the mall that houses a large number of famous calligraphy and paintings of the Republic of China period by Hu Shi, Yu Da Fu, and Song Mei Ling and Lu Xiao Man.
Salvador Dali’s ‘Dolphin Rider’
Within the Parkview Shopping Mall
Central control room with a ‘Star Wars’ theme
And Geroge Wong was the curator of this large-scale ‘exhibition’. He devoted himself to the design of his shopping malls and exhibition halls, including a creative Star Wars themed central control room. Sculptures and installation artworks are to be changed around from time to time. He said: “Art has changed my taste of life and I am willing to share it with more people.”
Expansion of his Art Empire
Auction houses, galleries and artist studios are the channels through which he collected his works. In the recent Sotheby’s Autumn Auction before his passing, he purchased “Head” by Francis Bacon and after several rounds of intense bids, George did not hesitate to make a last-ditch effort at nearly US3 million to acquire it.
Francis Bacon’s ‘Head’
Wang Guangyi’s collection
Zwnfg Fanzhi’s ‘Mask’ collection (right)
More art adorning the spaces of the Beijing Eclat Hotel, also built by Parkview Group
George Wong also cultivated & encouraged his son’s interest in art collecting. “Now he has surpassed me in red wine, cigar and many other areas.” Last year, during an interview with Artron, he was asked what art collecting meant to him. He replied: “The collection itself is fun and it is a sense of accomplishment.”
