Bernice Bing

Early life Bernice Lee Bing, given the nickname "Bingo" as a child, was born in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, in 1936.

Bing's father was incarcerated before she was three years old, and her mother, who was at times physically abusive, died due to a heart ailment before she was six, leaving Bing with limited exposure to her traditional Chinese heritage. Raised in numerous Caucasian foster homes with her sister, Bing also lived in the Ming Quong Home, a girls' custodial home in Oakland's Chinatown, for some time. Bing occasionally stayed in Oakland with her grandmother, whose praises fostered Bing's interest in art. She attended school with fellow abstract expressionist painter George Miyasaki and sculptor Manuel Neri. During her time there, Bing was instructed by Nathan Oliveira (1928–2010), Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993), and Saburo Hasegawa (1906–1957),

Following college, Bing became involved in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene.

In addition to art, Bing was an educator, including at the California College of Arts and Crafts (her alma mater), In 1977, Bing created an art workshop with the Baby Wah Chings, a Chinatown gang, after the Golden Dragon Massacre in San Francisco. Her work in the community was recognized by awards in 1983 and 1984.

Later career and final years

After returning from her travels in 1985, Bing moved from San Francisco to Philo, a hamlet in Mendocino County, California. She initially worked as a waitress and cook in order to support herself. In 2023 her work was included in the exhibition Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-1970 at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. In 2024, Bing's work appeared in Bernice Bing: BINGO at Berry Campbell Gallery, which was her first solo show in New York.

Despite never reaching financial stability or fame during her lifetime, her work is considered as foundational to the development of Asian American painting.