# Ming Fay

Ming Gi Fay (Chinese: 费明杰; also Fei Mingjie; February 2, 1943 – February 23, 2025) was a Chinese-born sculptor and academic based in New York City. His work focuses on the concept of the garden as a symbol of utopia and the relationship between man and nature. Drawing upon an extensive knowledge of plants both Eastern and Western, real and mythical, Fay created his own calligraphic floating forest of reeds, branches, and surreal species. He was best-known for his sculpture and large scale installations and he haf recently taught sculpture at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.

## Background

Ming Gi Fay was born in Shanghai on February 2, 1943, and in 1952 moved to Hong Kong, soon after the rise of communism in mainland China. His mother was an artist, and his father worked in the then-burgeoning Hong Kong movie industry as an art director. Both were students of Shanghai-based sculptor Zhang Chongren, who had studied Western sculpture in Europe. Fay's mother taught him papier-mache.
Fay came to the United States in 1961 to study at the Columbus College of Art and Design, later transferring to the Kansas City Institute of Art, where he earned his BFA. He moved to New York City in 1973, finding an apartment in Chinatown. Fay earned a graduate degree in sculpture at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1975.
In 1981, Fay married Pui Lee Chang in New York. He had one son. Ming Gi Fay died on February 23, 2025, at the age of 82.

## Artistic career

In 1982, Fay and five other Chinese American artists founded the art collective Epoxy Art Group, which remained active until 1992. Fay was also a member of Godzilla: Asian American Art Network.
Fay completed numerous public art commissions, including a suspended glass and steel sculpture for a residential lobby in Philadelphia, a large scale tree sculpture in Puerto Rico, sculptural benches for New York City's Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, and glass mosaic murals for the Delancey Street – Essex Street New York City Subway station.
Fay received the 2007 NYFA fellowship in Sculpture.
Fay taught sculpture at the Pratt Institute (1978-1980) and at William Paterson University (1983-2016). From 2000 to 2014, he was an Artist-in-Residence at the Rinehart School of Sculpture, Master of Fine Arts Program, at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He retired from instructing in 2016.

### Style

Fay's early sculptural works used metal in abstract geometric forms. While living in New York City, Fay's style began to shift into mixed media sculptures, often depicting giant fruits and plants. Among the materials Fay used were "epoxy, paint, paper pulp, gauze, glass, polystyrene foam, [and] rice paper". He drew inspiration from the city's many fruit markets. Fay also referenced the Chinese folk deitities Sanxing in his works.

### Exhibitions

Fay exhibited internationally in numerous solo exhibitions. Exhibitions of his work have taken place at the Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris (New York, NY), the National Academy Museum (New York, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, Łódź Biennale at The International Artists' Museum (Łódź, Poland), Butters Gallery (Portland, Oregon), Ramapo Gallery (Ramapo, New Jersey), and the Hong Kong Museum of Art.
* Nature Reborn: From Archeology to Science Fiction, 1979-1990, Terry Adkins LedisFlam Gallery, New York City (1991)
* Butters Gallery, Portland, Oregon (2011)
* Grounds for Sculpture, New Jersey (2012)
* Sapar Contemporary, New York City (2019)
* Walking into Nature, Alisan Fine Arts Gallery, Hong Kong (2022)

### Public art commissions

Source:
* 2009 Chicago Public Art Program, O'Hare International Airport Terminal 2, Chicago
* 2005 Whitehall Crossing, Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, Cultural Affairs Department, New York
* 2004 Goldilocks, Tivoli Building, Redevelopment Authority, Philadelphia
* 2004 Pillar Arc, Federal Courthouse, General Services Administration, Seattle
* 2004 Delancey Orchard and Shad Crossing, Delancey Street/Essex Street station, Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York
* 2003 Arbol Magico, Lluberas Park, Department of Transportation and Public Works, Yauco, Puerto Rico
* 2002 Ginkoberry Gwa, Oregon Convention Center, Portland
* 1999 Lippmann Arcade Project, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Queens
* 1998 Staten Island Ferry Terminal Project, Cultural Affairs Department, New York
* 1997 Public Art Fund Project, Phipps Housing, The Bronx, New York
* 1995 Spiral Ears, Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia
* 1990 Leaf Gate, Keys Flight, Seed of Elm, The Spirit of the Elm, Elm in Bloom, Sprouting Buds, P.S. 7, Elmhurst, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens, NY

### Collections

Source:
* China Club, Hong Kong, CN
* Conrad Hilton Hotel, Hong Kong, CN
* J.P. Morgan, Hong Kong, CN
* M+ Museum, Hong Kong, CN
* Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
United States
* Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH
* Columbus Gallery of Fine Art, Columbus, OH
* Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO
* Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX
* Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, CN
* Howard Plaza Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan
* John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
* Mobil Oil Corporation, New York, NY
* Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA
* Prudential Insurance Company, Los Angeles, CA
* R.J. Reynolds Corporation, Salem, NC
* Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
* Ten Main Center, Kansas City, MO
* Sidney Lewis Foundation, Richmond, VA
* Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

## Awards and honors

Source:
* 2008 Sculpture Award, National Academy of Art, New York, NY
* 2007 Fellowship in Sculpture, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
* 2004 National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Commission Proposal Support
* 1995 Arts/ Industry Residency Program, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Kohler, WI
* 1994 MidAtlantic Arts Foundation Grant, Residency Program, Brodksy Center for Innovative Editions, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
* 1994 Residency Program, UrbanGlass: New York Center for Contemporary Glass, Brooklyn, NY
* 1992 Arts Partners Program, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, New York, NY