How Leo Wong brought Hong Kong’s forgotten history of ceramic making to Venice

Leo Wong, who is the only Hong Kong artist featured at Venice’s crafts festival Homo Faber this year, rediscovers his home city’s forgotten history of ceramic making, which had a major influence on Western and Japanese aesthetics

You may have come across huge crimson peonies last month in the windows of Van Cleef & Arpels’s boutiques in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui; they had previously appeared in the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre next to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in July 2023. Or perhaps you caught sight of a wall of blooming pink and white peonies at the Peninsula hotel in January 2023. Look closely: these vivid flowers which seem to sway in the breeze aren’t real—they’re ceramic works of art by Hong Kong artist Leo Wong.

Originally a landscape designer and arborist, Wong branched out into creating life-like floral-inspired ceramic sculptures ten years ago. As well as appearing in luxury brand and hotel collaborations, his work has been featured at art and design festivals, including Hong Kong’s French May in 2023 and Singapore’s Find Design Fair Asia in 2022.

This month, he has been invited to exhibit his work at Homo Faber, a contemporary craftsmanship festival curated by the NGO Michelangelo Foundation. He will be the only Hong Kong artist there, and will showcase his Peonies and Butterfly at Venice’s cultural centre, Fondazione Giorgio Cini. The festival, which runs until September 30, brings together 400 artisans and designers from 50 countries and territories.

Tatler caught up with Wong, who is now in Italy, on representing Hong Kong and how he wants to promote China’s porcelain craft to the world.

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Above Leo Wong and his artwork (Photo: courtesy of the artist)

Leo Wong and his artwork (Photo: courtesy of the artist)

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How does it feel to represent Hong Kong at a prestigious crafts festival in Venice?
Homo Faber’s theme this year is The Journey of Life. It showcases different types of craftsmanship and the evolution of human histories and cultures. About 700 years ago, ceramic art was first brought to Europe by Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer. Ceramic art shocked the western world with its “oriental” aesthetic, and [would go on to create] the chinoiserie trend. I’m very happy to bring ceramic arts to Venice again [as Polo did]. My artwork is a tribute to this long-lasting affinity between Venice and the Far East.

Why did you choose peonies?
Peonies are a symbol of the crossing point between east and west. Peonies are from Asia and were especially [adored] in the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), which is considered as the cultural golden age in China. They were brought to Europe in the 14th century. When the Homo Faber team invited me, they felt my subject symbolises this historic journey and their vision to bring global artists together.

Above ‘Peonies and Butterfly’ by Leo Wong (Photo: courtesy of the artist)

‘Peonies and Butterfly’ by Leo Wong (Photo: courtesy of the artist)

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How is your contemporary practice stylistically different from traditional Chinese ceramics?
[The style of traditional] ceramic sculptures under the Lingnan [southern China] style, which I used to practise, tends to be more conceptual and highlights the yijing [artistic or poetic mood] of the artist.

Because I’m also a landscape designer, I want to make my work realistic and natural. For Peonies and Butterfly (1831-32), I took inspiration from Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai’s famous woodblock print painting Flowers, Peonies and Butterfly. [Both his painting and my sculpture] imitate the movements of flowers and a butterfly being blown by a gust. By adding motion to still sculptures, you feel that the art piece is alive. It is organic. This painting inspires me to create something lively. I like using motion to depict the sense of tranquility.

Can you tell us about the history of making ceramics in Hong Kong?
[Many people know about] the imperial production sites in the central plains of China, [but] Hong Kong has [its own] interesting history of porcelain production. In the late Ming Dynasty to early Qing Dynasty (the 1600s), Wun Yiu Village in Tai Po was famous for producing porcelain rice bowls, so much so that they were exported to Guangdong and even [through] the rest of Asia, such as Japan and Thailand.

As well as [producing] its own [pieces], Hong Kong was also a port for porcelain. You can still find porcelain remnants on the seabed of Ma Wan, Penny’s Bay and Kap Shui Mun, which used to be the channel for ships that transported porcelainware.

Then 100 years ago, Hong Kong Clays and Kaolin Co was set up to run the kaolin quarry in Cha Kwo Ling, which products were exported to Japan. The mine stopped working in 1983, and this is now a forgotten chapter of history in Hong Kong.

Above ‘Flowers, Peonies and Butterfly’ (1831-32) by Katsushika Hokusai (Photo: courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

‘Flowers, Peonies and Butterfly’ (1831-32) by Katsushika Hokusai (Photo: courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

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What are your upcoming plans to promote Hong Kong’s ceramic art?
Only less than 10 per cent of the artists at Homo Faber this year are selected from Asia. While Homo Faber is a good opportunity to let the world see Hong Kong from the perspective of ceramic arts, I hope to do more: I’ve set up the Hong Kong International Ceramics Association this year to grow an art community and offer support to ceramics artists in the city.

I’ve also reached out to the [organisations] in Italy to connect with more Italian ceramic art societies. After Homo Faber, I’ll visit Limoges in France, which is known for its porcelain flower production. I hope to connect artists in Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

I’m not saying that I’m “Marco Leo”, but I wish to bring the beautiful ceramic arts from Asia to Italy and France again, 700 years later.

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Leo Wong Homo Faber Venice Art Ceramic

Tatler Asia

Like Marco Polo, Hong Kong artist Leo Wong brings ceramic art to Europe with an exhibition hosted by the Michelangelo Foundation in Venice