Wilson Shieh
Over the past five years, Wilson Shieh has become one of the most important and best-known contemporary artists in Hong Kong—and an art auction staple. He recently took time out to walk Sean Hebert through his career retrospective exhibition at Osage Gallery, discussing his education, his influences and how he gives back to the city that raised him.
When I grew up in Hong Kong, it was hard to believe that you could survive as an artist.
In secondary school I thought that if I liked art I should study something related to art but that was practical, like architecture or design.
I studied architecture at the University of Hong Kong, but I quit after the first year. I found that with architecture, you can create, but only within certain limitations. You have to do something that is functional—I like to create something without any limitations, so I left.
I went to the Chinese University to study fine arts instead. My parents said nothing, which is good. It allowed me to feel like I could choose my path. Maybe they weren’t happy, but I didn’t know!
Telling my mother that I was leaving architecture to study fine arts was funny, looking back. She didn’t say anything at all, or show any emotion on her face! It was very strange. Many years later, my younger sister told me that my mother found a fortune teller—a very local style of Chinese fortune telling, using a tortoise shell—near my home, and the fortune teller told her that I would not stay in architecture for long. That is why she was so calm and showed no emotion. She knew it was going to happen!
I have been a full-time artist for 12 years now. I am surprised by my success, of course. Going back to even two years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine occupying a full gallery space for my show.