Win Ng

Win "Winfred" Ng (April 13, 1936 – September 6, 1991)[1] was a Chinese American artist, entrepreneur and decorative designer. Ng was known for working as a ceramist, sculptor, metal worker, industrial designer, painter and illustrator, but best known as the co-founder of the groundbreaking San Francisco based department store Taylor & Ng and his commercial ceramics work under the same name.

Win Ng
Born(1936-04-13)April 13, 1936
Chinatown, San Francisco, US
DiedSeptember 6, 1991(1991-09-06) (aged 55)
San Francisco, US
NationalityAmerican
Other namesWinfred Ng
EducationSan Francisco State University
City College of San Francisco,
Mills College
Alma materBFA San Francisco Art Institute
OccupationCeramicist, industrial designer, illustrator, sculptor, metal worker, painter
Known forCo-founder of Taylor & Ng

His artwork is in the collections of the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Victoria & Albert Museum, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Art and Design (MAD) and the De Young Museum.[1][2]

Early life

Ng was born in Chinatown, San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, Fook On Ng and Kow Yuan Ng.[3][4][5] He studied at Saint Mary's Academy and the City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. After serving in the United States Army he studied at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1959.[5] He began the Masters of Fine Arts program at Mills College in 1960 but did not complete the program.[6]

His early career as a ceramicist focused on abstract work influenced by Peter Voulkos and resulted in a one-man show in 1958 at the Michow Gallery in New York City. From 1958 to 1965, Ng worked as a gallery artist, producing abstract ceramics sculptures.[7] By the 1970s Ng had seven one-man shows to his credit in Paris, New York, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco.[8]

Taylor & Ng
Part of Ng's 1970s mural at BART Orinda station, photo taken in 2020.

Ng met artist Spaulding Taylor and shifted his focus toward utilitarian and functional illustration and design work.[5] In 1965 the two founded Environmental Ceramics (the precursor to Taylor & Ng) and moved into creating handmade art-ware and homewares.[9]

Taylor & Ng was founded during 1965 and, with the addition of Win Ng's brother, Norman Ng, as president, grew from a small ceramics shop on Howard Street (in San Francisco) into a major producer and retailer of housewares and owning a multi-level emporium shop at Embarcadero Center.[7] There were also stores at other Bay Area locations as well a Taylor & Ng shop inside Macy’s in New York.[7] These products sold heavily through Macy's and other major department stores and housewares retailers throughout the US during the late 1970s and 1980s.[7]

Win Ng's whimsical designs and animal drawings became a thematic focal point for many extremely popular Taylor & Ng products, from coffee mugs to kitchen aprons, pot holders, and dishtowels. Ng created pottery, book designs, and linens for over 20 years.

Through their own San Francisco department store and wholesale business, Taylor & Ng not only created a signature style still in demand by collectors, but helped to popularize Asian culture and cuisine. The Taylor & Ng company is credited with bringing the Chinese wok to the US and making it a common kitchen utensil. In the late 1970s, they expanded their line to include a wide range of kitchen products, including a clever wood-and-metal-hook pot rack called the "Track Rack" that is still sold today. In 1977, Taylor & Ng introduced one of the first knock-down furniture products, the award-winning "Chair-In-A-Box," designed by Don Vandervort (who later went on to found HomeTips.com). The Taylor & Ng department store closed in 1985 so that the business could focus on its wholesale activities.[6]

Late life

Ng was openly gay and artist and co-founder Spaulding Taylor had been his life partner.[4][5]

From 1981 until 1991, Win Ng would leave the retail design world to focus on his gallery work.[7]

Ng died on September 6, 1991, from AIDS-related complications. He was 55.[10] Ng's was represented posthumously by the Braunstein/Quay Gallery in San Francisco until the gallery closed in 2011.

Legacy

Ng's 1968 colorful, ceramic tile mural illustrating science is located at the Maxine Hall Health Center in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco.[11] This mural was produced by the San Francisco Art Commission.[11]

A 1970s mural, 100 by 16 foot by Ng graces the concourse level of the Orinda BART station in Contra Costa County, California.[12]

In April 2005, the Chinese Historical Society of America in collaboration with the Queer Cultural Center held a retrospective of Ng's work under the title of "The Art of Win Ng" as part of the National Queer Arts Festival 2005.[5][13]

Bibliography

Ng created illustrations for a number of books by Yerba Buena Press throughout the 1970s. These included collaborations with authors Violet and Charles Schafer.[14] Ng also illustrated publications by Taylor & Ng.

  • Schafer, Violet (1971). Herbcraft, A Compendium of Myths, Romance. Win Ng (Illustrator). San Francisco, California: Yerba Buena Press, Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 9780912738000.
  • Schafer, Violet; Schafer, Charles (1972). Wokcraft, a Stirring Compendium of Chinese Cookery. Win Ng (Illustrator) (1 ed.). Random House Trade & Taylor & Ng. ISBN 0912738014.
  • Schafer, Violet (1973). Eggcraft: A Compendium of Folklore, Fancies & Foods. Win Ng (Illustrator). San Francisco, California: Taylor & Ng, Yerba Buena Press. ISBN 0394709837.
  • Cox, Janet (1973). PlantCraft: A Growing Compendium of Sound Indoor Gardening with Sound. Win Ng (Illustrator), Spaulding Taylor (Photographer), Kenneth Ziegenfuss (Contributor). San Francisco, California: Taylor & Ng, Yerba Buena Press. ISBN 0912738022.
  • Schafer, Violet; Schafer, Charles Louis (1975). Teacraft, A Treasure of Romance, Rituals, and Recipes. Win Ng (Illustrator). San Francisco, CA: Yerba Buena Press, Random House. ISBN 0-91273806-5.
  • Gin, Margaret (1975). Ricecraft: A Gathering of Rice Cookery, Culture and Customs. Win Ng (Illustrator). Taylor & Ng. ISBN 9780394730509.
  • Schafer, Violet; Schafer, Charles (1976). Coffee, A Connoisseur View of Coffee, It's Lore, Varieties, Brewing Methods, Equipment, and Companion Foods. Win Ng (Illustrator). San Francisco: Taylor & Ng. ISBN 978-0912738086.
  • Yee, Rhoda (1977). Dim Sum: The Delicious Secrets of Home-Cooked Chinese Tea Lunch. Win Ng (Illustrator) (1 ed.). Taylor & Ng. ISBN 9780912738109.

References
  1. "Ng". The Marks Project. The Marks Project, Inc. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  2. "Win Ng". Museum of Arts and Design, Collection Database. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  3. Wokcraft by Charles and Violet Schafer. San Francisco: Yerba Buena Press, 1972. page iii.
  4. "Collection: Win Ng". The Enamel Arts Foundation. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  5. Hallmark, Kara Kelley (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 147–148. ISBN 9780313334511.
  6. "Win Ng". AskArt.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  7. "Win Ng". Rehistoricizing The Time Around Abstract Expressionism. Retrieved 2016-12-28. Taylor & Ng grew from a small ceramics shop on Howard Street, to a mega, multi-level emporium at Embarcadero Center.
  8. Herbcraft by Violet Schafer. San Francisco: Yerba Buena Press, 1971. page 88.
  9. Lynn, Martha Drexler (2015). American Studio Ceramics: Innovation and Identity, 1940 to 1979. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300212730 – via Google Books.
  10. San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 1991
  11. "Win Ng". Public Art and Architecture from Around the World. 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  12. Jones, Carolyn (December 13, 2002). "Putting the art in BART / Mosaics, murals and steel cows brighten up stations from SFO to Orinda". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  13. "The Art of Win Ng: A Retrospective". Queer Cultural Center. 2005.
  14. "The charming illustrations of Win Ng". Mr. Peacock. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
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