Ming Fay

FRUITS, VEGETABLES, ⁠ PLANT, ORGANISMS, ⁠ ROOTS, SPROUTS,⁠ PITS, SEEDS, ⁠ TEETH, BONES, ⁠ SKULLS, HORNS,⁠ SKINS, HIDES,⁠ MOLLUSCA, SHELLS,⁠ FOSSILS, SPECIMENS,⁠ CURIOS, OBJECTS,⁠ ANCIENT, MODERN, ⁠ L’EXISTÁNCE⁠ LA MORT⁠ L’AMOUR⁠ La Naissance⁠ ⁠ On view now: “Ming Fay: Midnite Porridge” at kurimanzutto New York, the first exhibition in the gallery dedicated to the Shanghai-born, New York-based artist whose work transforms the organic world into a sculptural language of scale, imagination, and cultural resonance. ⁠ ⁠ 📍kurimanzutto New York ⁠ 🗓️ until December 19 ⁠ ⁠ 📷 ⁠Zach Hyman Lightning designer: Natalia Priwin ⁠ @mingfaystudio #MingFay #kurimanzutto #NewYorkArt @hyman.zach @nataliapriwin

🌳 In commemoration of artist Ming Fay (1943–2025), we celebrate his extraordinary 1995 permanent public artwork commission “Enigma Elm,” created for Louis F. Simeone (P.S. 7) in Queens. This multi-part bronze and steel artwork weaves together nature, mythology, and human aspiration, transforming the school’s campus into a living sculpture garden that has inspired generations of students. Composed of six sculptural elements placed throughout the interior and exterior spaces, “Enigma Elm” forms a narrative—each piece encountered in its own context, inviting reflection and discovery. Together, they create a campus-wide exhibition that few schools can claim: a world-class public artwork integrated into daily life. Fay’s practice, rooted in Eastern and Western botanical studies and mythologies, reimagines natural forms as fantastical hybrid species. He once said, “the garden I have created is a mindset … a place for mystical forms to exist in a sculptural landscape.” Through “Enigma Elm,” he brought that garden to life, merging folklore and horticultural symbolism into a utopian space of learning and wonder. We honor Ming Fay for his exceptional artistry and lasting contribution to public art. “Enigma Elm” remains a profound gift, one that encourages students to slow down, look closely, and find joy and calm in the quiet language of natural forms. 🍃 “Leaf Gate” – Main entrance on Poyer Avenue, marking the threshold between daily life and the magic of nature. 🌱 “Sprouting Buds” – Schoolyard gate on Cornish Avenue, suggesting growth and potential of young minds. 🗝️ “Keys in Flight” – Side entrance, symbolizing knowledge taking flight and unlocking ideas. 🌰 “Seed of the Elm” – Playground area, a reminder of the continual cycle of growth and renewal. ✨ “Spirit of Elm” – Main lobby above the entrance, echoing the strength and legacy of elm tree. 🌼 “Elm Bloom” – Auditorium walls, drawing students into a symbolic space of creative blossoming. The artwork was commissioned by NYC School Construction Authority's Public Art for Public Schools in collaboration with NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ @NYCulture Percent for Art. #PublicArtForPublicSchools #MingFay

“Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden” has come to an end @gardnermuseum , and we are deeply grateful to the entire ISGM team for bringing Ming Fay’s vision to life. 🌿 Ming would have been so happy to see the installation—especially the joy and wonder it sparked for visitors and staff alike. For those who couldn’t join us, we’ve shared a few clips and photos here to give a sense of what it felt like to walk through the exhibition. Special thanks to: 💡 @art.with.me.g — for your brilliant curatorial vision and two years of inspiring collaboration. 🎨 @amcpstudio — for the beautiful design that guided us 🎤 @eugenie.tsai and Yng-Ru Chen @praise.shadows.art — for joining the opening night panel, where more than 200 people filled the hall, all the way to the 3rd balcony! We are grateful to everyone who visited and celebrated Ming’s work with us. Thank you. 💚

This is the final weekend to visit @China.Institute ’s “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation,” an exhibition featuring works by 28 contemporary artists of Chinese descent, who explore themes of personal, cultural, historical, and physical metamorphosis. The exhibition highlights the works of three Department of Cultural Affairs #PercentForArtNYC artists who have been commissioned for permanent art across #NYC’s public realm: Ming Fay (@MingFayStudio ) The late Ming Fay’s “Garden of Wishes,” drew upon his knowledge of Eastern and Western horticultural traditions and folklore. His sculptural works, composed from papier-mâché, reflect on our relationship to nature. The exhibition also includes archival materials spotlighting three of Ming Fay’s NYC-based public projects. “Shad Crossing and Delancey Orchard,” as well as “Enigma Elm” and “Whitehall Crossing” - commissioned through the Percent for Art program - are showcased through a selection of photos, sketches, maquettes, and reproductions. Jennifer Wen Ma (@JenniferWenMa ) “Furious in Bloom III” is a photograph taken by Ma of a chrysanthemum blooming amid foliage blackened with ink. Rather than painting flowers on paper, Chinese ink (墨) is directly applied to the image of the plants, activating its three-dimensional space. Through the Percent for Art program, Jennifer Wen Ma was commissioned to design installations for the community building at 70 Mulberry Street and the welcome gateway, both in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Xu Bing (@XuBingArt ) Xu Bing is known for his calligraphic system called Square Word Calligraphy, in which English words resemble Chinese characters. In this piece, Xu Bing has inscribed the title “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation.” His work transcends established notions of Chinese and English, reshaping perceptual norms. His “Writings at Helin Temple” was commissioned through Percent for Art as a site for rest and reflection in Manhattan’s Forsyth Plaza. “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation” is on view through Sunday, January 11. Learn more at ChinaInstitute.org. #NYCulture 📷: Courtesy of China Institute Gallery. Photos by Perry Hu.

Tomorrow! FUTURE DIALOGUES on Ming Fay with Eugenie Tsai & John Yau, moderated by José Esparza Chong Cuy. With the support of Casa Dragones & Aeroméxico. ⁠🍑🍎🍃 ⁠ On the occasion of the exhibition “Ming Fay: Midnite Porridge” at kurimanzutto New York, the gallery presents a live conversation about Fay’s artistic legacy. ⁠ ⁠ Over five decades, Fay molded, sketched, and painted fruits, roots, vegetables, bones, shells, and seeds into both familiar and hybrid forms—at times faithful to their natural likeness, at others drawn from an internal, dreamlike botany. Playful yet monumental, these works evoke fantasies of growth and abundance.⁠ ⁠ 📍kurimanzutto New York⁠ 🗓️ Saturday, November 22, 4:30 pm ⁠ 🎟️ free admission, rsvp required through the link in bio 🔗 ⁠ ⁠ 📷 Zach Hyman⁠ ⁠ @mingfaystudio @eugenie.tsai @josesparza @casadragones @aeromexico @hyman.zach @nataliapriwin

Midnite Porridge by Ming Fay at @kurimanzutto Nov 6 – Dec 19 @mingfaystudio #MingFay #MingFayStudio . . . . #multidiciplinaryartist #contemporaryart #newyorkcity #nycart #nycarts #artsy #artnet #artforum #artdaily #artgallery #chelseaartdistrict #artlovers #artcollectors #timeoutnewyork #kurimanzutto #kurimanzuttonyc #kurimanzuttogallery #mingfayartist #mingfaymidniteporridge #midniteporridge #filmmaker #videography #artgalleryphotography #artgalleryphoto #artgalleryvideo #artgallerynyc

Save the date: “Ming Fay: Midnite Porridge” at kurimanzutto New York, the gallery’s first exhibition dedicated to Fay (1943–2025), the Shanghai-born, New York-based artist whose work transforms the organic world into a sculptural language of scale, imagination, and cultural resonance. Over five decades, the artist molded, sketched, and painted fruits, roots, vegetables, bones, shells, and seeds into both familiar and hybrid forms—at times faithful to their natural likeness, at others drawn from an internal, dreamlike botany. 🍑🐚 ⁠ 📍kurimanzutto New York ⁠ 🗓️ November 6 – December 19 ⁠ Opening: November 6, 6 – 8 pm ⁠ ⁠ @mingfaystudio #MingFay #kurimanzutto #NewYorkArt

AAAinA is thrilled to collaborate with China Institute (@china.institute ) to bring together Asian and Asian Diasporic artists Bing Lee (@goldfedora ), Jean Shin (@jean.shin ), Saya Woolfalk (@sayawoolfalkstudio ), and Parker Fay (@mingfaystudio ) (who will represent Ming Fay) to share the stories behind their subway commission projects while addressing questions around the possibilities, promise, and practicalities of public art. The conversation will be moderated by Deputy Director of MTA Art & Design Yaling Chen (@yaling_nyc ). NYC’s subway stations have long been sites of large scale commissions, viewed on a daily basis by hundreds of thousands of city residents, commuters, and visitors. These artworks, commissioned by MTA Art & Design, are often linked to their location’s history, architecture, and/ or community context. Please join us on November 4th at 6:30pm at @china.institute for a deep dive into four select commissions and what they can teach us about shared commitment to community, artistic innovation, and site-specific storytelling. This program is in conversation with “Offering the Spiritual: A Selection Ming Fay’s Public Art Projects”, an archival display featured in the current exhibition “Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation.” This display, focusing on select NYC-based public artworks by Ming Fay, is organized by Asia Art Archive in America. RSVP and more info in our bio!!

Ming Fay: GoldenRain Pier 🌳✨ The proposal and prototype for Ming Fay’s permanent public art installation GoldenRain Pier (Flushing, Queens) is on view @paoartscenter until Oct 10. Inspired by the goldenrain tree—an Asian species that took root and flourished in Queens—Fay envisioned a tree spirit celebrating cultural adaptation, beauty, and renewal. During the late nineteenth century, Queens became a new frontier for horticulture, where trees and plants from around the world were introduced and thrived in new soil. Among them, the goldenrain tree’s yellow blossoms and lantern-like fruits still brighten the streets of Queens each summer. “The concept of a ‘tree spirit’ is the inspiration for this piece. I have selected the goldenrain fruit for its aesthetic shape, its resonant name, and the poetry that it will contain in its oversize rendition.” — Ming Fay You can see the realized permanent “GoldenRain Pier” installation in Flushing, Queens, at the intersections of 39th Ave & Prince St and 38th Ave & Prince St, where its sculptural forms echo the living trees that inspired it. You can also view Ming’s proposals for two other unrealized public art projects — “Monumental Fruits” and “The Bounty of Canal”, which envisioned Fay’s sculptures suspended from the ceiling of the Canal St ACE station — also on view at Pao Arts Center. This presentation is part of “Where We Meet: Imagining Gardens and the Future” a group exhibition curated by @art.with.me.g , which invites viewers to explore the ways gardens shape our lives through the work of artists Mel Taing, Yu-Wen Wu, and Ming Fay.

On this last day of summer, we close "Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden" with gratitude for our incredible partners at @MingFayStudio and @PaoArtsCenter . It took many hands to grow this exhibition--a true celebration of community. Thank you to everyone who explored Ming Fay’s gardens with us and found connection, inspiration, and hope for the future in Fay’s playful, contemplative works. 🌿 You can still see Ming Fay’s work @paoartscenter in the exhibition "Where We Meet: Imagining Gardens and Futures" until October 10th.

Find us at this year’s Armory Show (@TheArmoryShow ) with The Armory Spotlight booth awarded by the fair! 📍Booth NS 📍 This solo presentation is by New York artist Ming Fay (@MingFayStudio ), who used drawing, sculpture, and public installations to comment on the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Proceeds will fund our yearlong programs and operations, tap the link in our bio to learn more.

📍Now on view at The Campus: Ming Fay 🍊 🍐 🍒 🍑⁠ ⁠ Ming Fay creates large-scale sculptures inspired by plants and fruits, which come together in immersive installations that transform austere spaces into utopian gardens. ⁠ ⁠ In 1961, Fay moved from Hong Kong to New York City to study at the Columbus College of Art and Design. After settling in Chinatown, he observed that people often viewed fruit solely as food, overlooking its role in the plant life cycle. While many Western perspectives regard nature as something to control or reshape, Chinese philosophy—particularly Taoism—sees humanity as part of a larger, balanced natural order. This belief in mutual respect between people and nature became a guiding principle in Fay’s work.⁠ ⁠ He began researching the symbolic and mythological significance of various plants and fruits in Chinese culture and expressing these narratives through sculpture. ⁠ ⁠ Pears symbolize prosperity and enduring relationships; oranges, good fortune and wealth; cherries, love and femininity; peaches, longevity; and plums, resilience in hard times. Through these meanings, Fay explores a central theme in his art: the symbolic relationship between humanity and the natural world.⁠ ⁠ The Campus’s Second Annual Exhibition⁠ 🗓️ until October 26⁠ 🕛 Saturdays and Sundays: 12 – 5 pm ⁠ 📍Hudson, New York⁠ ⁠ 📷⁠ Installation views at The Campus by Guang Xu⁠ ⁠ @mingfaystudio #MingFay #kurimanzutto