Ming Wang

Ming Wang, born November 4, 1921, died peacefully on Sunday, June 26th in Bethesda. Ming Wang was born in Tianjin, China and was a pilot in Chinese Nationalist Air Force during WWII. He came to the US for further military training where he met his first wife, the late Suen Chin. In 1949, Wang went Taiwan to escape the Communist takeover of China. He rejoined his wife and young son in Washington DC in 1951. To support a growing family, Wang founded the National Art and Frame shop in Washington DC. He studied art independently and developed his unique artistic style melding modern art with traditional Chinese calligraphy.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Wang was represented by the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington DC. His works have been exhibited in the US and in China at galleries including The Art Society of the International Monetary Fund, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, National Academy of Sciences, Tianjin Museum of Fine Arts, National Gallery of Art, Beijing, and the Shanghai Art Museum. Most recently, his work was shown at the David Findlay Galleries in New York City.

Wang’s paintings evoke a sense of the lack of gravity and presaged photos of space from the Hubble Telescope. In a review in the New York Times in 1997, Holland Cotter called “Ming Wang’s ‘Respect for Tradition’ a calligraphic mandala in which writing and painting come indissolubly together.” In 1977, Washington Post’s Paul Richard stated that Wang’s miniature paintings look “…as if they were enormous. Actually they’re tiny. Wang Ming’s little paintings hint at skies and galaxies. He has looked at Jackson Pollack, and other action painters, but his splatters and his drips are governed by a calligrapher’s control…This is his finest show.” His most recent show was at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which showcased his work as an abstract representation of the infinite universe.

Ming Wang works are currently part of the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, National Air and Space Museum, Brooklyn Museum, National Museum of American Art, American Embassy in Beijing, Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Art Museum of China, The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland, and numerous galleries in the US and Asia.

Ming Wang leaves behind his beloved wife, Cynthia Brumback, his sons Alan (and wife Carol) and Whelan, and daughters Arleen, Cecelia, Cynthia (and husband Allan), Yvonne, and Lana (and husband, Kevin). A daughter, Karen, passed away in 1990. He also leaves behind 13 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren including the most recent addition, Harper, who was born on June 14th.

Relatives and friends are invited to call at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Avenue NW (corner of Harrison Street) Washington, DC (Valet Parking) on Thursday, June 30, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. A private interment service will be held at Parklawn Cemetery in Rockville, MD.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to the charity of your choice.

For additional information or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.josephgawlers.com.