Koon Wai Bong, an ink artist based in Taiwan and Hong Kong, is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University. He previously taught for over fifteen years at the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University. Koon earned his Bachelor of Arts (1996) and Master of Arts in Fine Arts (2002) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and his Doctor of Fine Arts (2012) from RMIT University, Australia.
Koon's artistic oeuvre focuses on landscape painting and the aesthetics of ink painting, encompassing history, modern viewing experiences and perceptions of landscapes in ink art. He relishes exemplifying his ideas by his participation in landscape-based projects such as ''Here & There'' (HK, 2023), ''The Islands and Other Places'' (Taipei, 2019), ''Hong Kong Waters and Korean Mountains'' (HK, 2019), and ''Picturing Hong Kong'' (HK, 2017). His solo exhibitions include ''Rêverie'' (Taipei, 2025), ''Watching the Clouds Roll By'' (Shanghai, 2021), ''Shén Yóu'' (Beijing, 2019), ''In the Breeze'' (Taipei, 2017) and ''TRANSpose'' (UK, 2013), while notable group exhibitions include ''Into View: New Voices, New Stories'' (US, 2024) and ''The Weight of Lightness'' (HK, 2017). His works are housed in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum, M+ and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Rêverie: Koon Wai Bong Beneath a Solitary Canopy, Asia Art Center, Taipei
2021 Watching the Clouds Roll By: Koon Wai Bong Solo Exhibition
2019 Shén Yóu: Koon Wai Bong Solo Exhibition, Asia Art Center, Beijing
2017 In the Breeze: Koon Wai Bong Solo Exhibition, Asia Art Center, Taipei
2013 Koon Wai Bong: Now and Then, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong MINDSCAPE: Koon Wai Bong, AO Vertical Art Space, Hong Kong TRANSpose: Contemporary Ink Paintings by Koon Wai Bong, Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, U.K
2011 Sauntering around…… : Chinese Paintings by Koon Wai Bong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Koon Wai Bong — Picturing Mountains and Streams, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong
2010 Guohua: A Contemporary Interpretation, Blue Lotus Gallery, Hong Kong
2009 Past Becomes Present, The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, Hong Kong
2010 Koon Wai Bong: Reworking the Classics, Blue Lotus Gallery, Hong Kong
2002 Lift up My Eyes to the Mountain, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Group Exhibitions
2021 Transgression throughout the Volatile World Inaugural Exhibition of Asia Art Center Taipei New Flagship Space, Asia Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan
2019 Classics Remix, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Waters and Korean Mountains, Hong Kong Culture Festival, Hong Kong
National Exhibition of Fine Arts, China, University City Art Museum of Guangzhou, Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou
Together We March Forward: New Asia Seventieth Anniversary Art Exhibition, H Queen’s, Hong Kong
The Islands and Other Places – The Geographical Structures of Ink Paintings in Taiwan and Hong Kong, DaGuan Gallery, Taipei
2018 False‧Beijing, Hong Kong and Macao # ink new media, Yan Huang Art Museum, Beijing
2017 The Weight of Lightness: Ink Art at M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong
Contemporary Neoclassic — Hong Kong Ink Art, DaGuan Gallery, Taipei
Picturing Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
‘Art as Cultural Observatory’, Feature Exhibition Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Department of Fine Arts, CUHK, Cattle Depot Arts Village, Hong Kong
2016 Oriental Charm, Liu Haisu Art Museum & Xuzhou Art Museum, Shanghai & Xuzhou
Chinese Contemporary Ink, Christie’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2015 A Tale of Two Cities, Shanghai Wenyi Fazhan Zhongxin, Shanghai
Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Hong Kong
Contemporary Ink Art, Sotheby's Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Plentitude in Commonality, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The Past is Continuing, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Water and Ink, Chinese Ink Painting Institute Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Wearing Our Identity, Grotto Fine Art, Hong Kong
2014 Wearing Our Identity, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen
Naturescapes – A Global Perspective, Parkview Art Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The Enchantment of Neoteric Chinese Ink, China Guardian, Hong Kong
Nature and Beyond, Leo Gallery, Shanghai
Visions of the Present, Christie’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Shanghai ‧ Hong Kong ‧ Macau: Exchange Exhibition of Modern Chinese Ink Painting, Esse Space, Beijing
OFF – Contemporary Art Fair Brussels, The a gallery, Hong Kong
Remaster vs. Appropriating the Classics, VT Artsalon, Taipei
Meditations in Nature: New Ink, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong
2013 Beyond the Landscape, YY9 Gallery, Hong Kong
Contemporary San Sui Exhibition, Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, Hong Kong
The Spirit of Ink, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong
New Ink, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Taipei International Modern Ink Painting Biennial, Taiwan Vanung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2012 LOUD: Mapping the Aesthetics of Visual Silence, The Visual Festival Fringe, Kassel, Germany
Contemporary Literati, Le Méridien Taipei, Taipei
Beyond Representation, Tiancheng International, Hong Kong
Taipei International Modern Ink Painting Biennial, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei
Landscape + the Urban Environment, Amelia Johnson Contemporary, Hong Kong
2011 Ink Art vs Ink Art, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
2010 Ink Art vs Ink Art, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai
International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen
Hong Kong ‧ Water ‧ Ink ‧ Colour, Beijing World Art Museum, Beijing
Tradition and Modernism, Luoyang Museum, Luoyang, China
Time Variant on Ink, Wan Fung Art Gallery, Hong Kong
2009 Hong Kong ‧ Water ‧ Ink ‧ Colour, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong
Min, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Painting, Shishi Museum, Shishi City; Xiamen Museum, Xiamen, China
Water & Ink Interpretations: Taipei Invitation Exhibition of Hong Kong Modern Ink Painting, National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei
Ink Contemporary: ReXPERIMENT, Artist Commune, Hong Kong
The 11th National Exhibition of Arts, Shantou L.P.Y. International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Shantou, China
Dao Revealed through Brush & Ink, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
2008 Hong Kong Arts Centre Thirtieth Anniversary Award, Hong Kong Art Center and Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong
Configurational Force, Blue Lotus Gallery, Hong Kong
Beyond the Surface: Chinese Abstract Art, Macao Museum of Art, Macao
2005 Hong Kong Art Biennial, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Beijing International Art Biennale Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
The 10th National Exhibition of Arts, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
2004 The 10th National Exhibition of Arts, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen
2003 Cheng Ming in All Directions, Hong Kong Art Center, Hong Kong
1998 Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
Awards & Achievements
2012 Invited to join Taipei International Modern Ink Painting Biennial
Selected to Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards
2010 Invited to International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen
2009 Attained Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards
Selected to National Exhibition of Arts, China
2008 Shortlisted by Hong Kong Arts Centre Thirtieth Anniversary Award
Selected to Beyond the Surface: Chinese Abstract Art
2005 Selected to Beijing International Art Biennale
Selected to Hong Kong Art Biennial
2004 Attained Merit from National Exhibition of Arts, China
2003 Attained Rising Artist Award from Hong Kong Art Development Council
1996 & 1998 Selected to Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial
1996 Attained Y. S. Hui Arts Collection Award
1994 Attained Distinction from Philippe Charriol
Art Fairs
2026 Frieze Seoul
2014-19 Art Basel Hong Kong
2015-19 Ink Asia
2015-17 Art Taipei
2014 Art Kaohsiung
OFF – Contemporary Art Fair Brussels
Art Stage Singapore
2012 Scope New York
2011 Art Asia Miami
2010-19 Fine Art Asia
Collections
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, Oxford
M+, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong
CUHK’s Art Museum, Hong Kong
Wharf Group, Hong Kong
J. Safra Sarasin Group, Singapore
Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong