Lot 1
WAYNE NGAN
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Wayne Ngan was born in Kwantung, China in 1937. During the Japanese invasion of China, he immigrated to Canada with his mother at the age of 13, and was sent to live with his grandfather. He grew up struggling with language and poverty in Vancouver. His personal and artistic achievements can undoubtedly be linked to the strength of mind and body that he developed through this struggle.
Ngan put himself through the Vancouver School of Art while working night shift at a local sawmill, graduating in Ceramics in 1963. He soon established his own pottery studio and taught at the art school and at the University of British Columbia, emerging as one of BC’s top ceramic artists. In 1965 Ngan had his first solo show at Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, displaying his paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics.
He subsequently moved to the rural community of Hornby Island, where he built a home and studio. Throughout his career, Ngan has led workshops and exhibited throughout the world. In 1983, the Palace Museum in Taipei exhibited some of his works, the first time in the museum’s history to exhibit a modern piece of pottery.
Ngan was one of three distinguished artists featured in the award-winning 2007 film Glimpses of Heaven. He continues to produce and exhibit his art, and recently had an exhibition of his paintings at the Granville Fine Art Gallery in Vancouver. He is the only potter to be given a one-man show at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and his pieces are frequently presented to visiting foreign dignitaries as official gifts from the Canadian government.