Jan 10, 2023 | Anna Truxes | anna@portlandchinatown.org

Wing K. Leong
60 Years: Painting & Calligraphy

(Portland, Oregon) The Portland Chinatown Museum is honored to present Wing K. Leong - Sixty Years: Painting and Calligraphy. The art exhibition opens Friday, February 10, 2023 with a reception from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The display includes traditional Chinese style paintings as well as Chinese and Western calligraphy. The exhibition continues into May 2023. Portland Chinatown Museum (PCM) hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Admission is $8.00 (Adults), $6.00 (Seniors) and $5.00 (Students) Children under 12 and PCM Members are FREE. Group tours are available by appointment. PCM is located at 127 NW Third Avenue in Portland’s Chinatown/Japantown Historic District within Old Town.

For the Chinese who track the passage of time in cycles, January 22, 2023 marked the beginning of the YEAR OF THE RABBIT (4720) and a new Lunar Cycle. The Chinese Lunar Calendar consist of the sequential pairing of two components to conclude a 60-year cycle which began over 2000 years ago. In Chinese culture the number 60 has cultural significance.

Wing K. Leong was born in 1934 in Canton, China. His father, Yin K. Leong was an immigrant living in the United States and worked as a welder at Kaiser Shipyards. Inducted into the Army, Yin served as a Combat Medic in the Battle of Normandy. With the 1943 Magnuson Act Chinese veterans became naturalized citizens providing them a means to reunite their family. Wing, his mother and sister survived the turmoil of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and after WWII they moved to Hong Kong where Wing attended school. He graduated from the New Asia College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a degree in Fine Arts. Despite the strict quota system in place since 1924, Yin K. Leong was eventually able to sponsor his family to join him. Married to his high school sweet heart, Yet Sim, Wing K. Leong with his family immigrated to the U.S. to begin his career. In 1962 Portland, Oregon became their home.

Having lived in the United States for the past sixty years- a proud citizen, a family man, a business man, a teacher and contributor to his community, the Portland Chinatown Museum recognizes the life-long career of Wing K. Leong. Together- family, friends and community have witnessed his path of learning and growth accelerated by the infusion of American life: learning English as a Second Language while working in a restaurant; attending Art Museum classes to learn new methods and media; teaching Western audiences the beauty of Chinese art; and between colleagues discussing Asian philosophy he became a business entrepreneur. In this sixty year cycle, Leong not only maintained his practice as an artist, he cultivated a legacy.

Wing K. Leong, a modest man with grand character, created beauty to surround him, including the friendships he built over the years. Since the mid-sixties, fellow calligraphers sought him out to deepen their own understanding between Eastern and Western life and aesthetics. Those discussions lead to collaborations. Between Leong and Lloyd J. Reynolds, the revered American calligrapher and professor at Reed College (1929-1969), a collaborative work, Heavenly Breadth Rhythm Vitalizes Movement was donated to Reed College in 2016’s International Calligraphy Conference.

Wing K. Leong, owned the Chinese Art Studio in downtown Portland (1967-1996) and the Chinese Art Gallery (1974-2003). He taught at Mt. Hood Community College, Portland Community College and Clark College, and accepted invitations to demonstrate Chinese painting and calligraphy at various venues. He was a regular participant in art shows throughout the Pacific Northwest and at Calligraphy conferences and gatherings. Wing K. Leong also published two books: Chinese Painting Step by Step and How to Paint Bamboo.

Wing K. Leong exhibited at Oregon School of Arts & Crafts, Marylhurst College, Western Forestry Center, Portland Community College, Portland Art Museum, Geme Art Gallery, Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, Edmonds Community College, and more recently at South Bellevue Community Center. The Portland Chinatown Museum’s 12 week exhibition starts at the beginning of the Chinese New Year and closes during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Wing K. Leong - Sixty Years: Painting and Calligraphy at PCM is shared with the community that. sustained him and PCM invites the public to absorb the essence of an artist steeped in his craft with an array of offerings to honor his tradition.