Luise Fong

Luise Fong (born 1964) is a Malaysian-born New Zealand artist, known for her feminine organic abstract shapes in contrast to the hard-edge abstraction often associated with her male predecessors.

Fong was born in Sandakan, Malaysia, and moved to Auckland, New Zealand, at a young age. In 1983, she started study at the Wellington Polytechnic for textile design. She was later accepted into University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts in 1986, and was graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts in print-making in 1989.

Fong was lecturing at Elam School of Fine Arts between 1993 and 1994, and in 1994, she was granted artist-in-residence at University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts.

In 1994, Fong was the joint Premier Award winners with Bill Hammond for the Visa Gold Art Award, the largest art prize in New Zealand at the time. Fong moved to Melbourne in 1995, and worked there until 2001, when she was made a lecturer in painting at University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts. She was working there until 2005. and University of Canterbury in 1999. Fong was artist in residence at the McCahon House Residency in Titirangi in 2008.

In 2020, Fong discovered a missing painting by Dame Louise Henderson, in Mount Albert Grammar School. Fong attended a function event, and was given a tour of their G J Moyal Collection. Art Galleries throughout Auckland and Christchurch were trying to locate April from The "Twelve Months" series for the exhibition Louise Henderson: From Life. Fong recognised the style and suspected it could be the missing painting, which it turned out to be.

Minor

Minor, also known as Minor (triptych), is an best known artwork by Fong that won the Premier Award at the Visa Gold Art Award in 1994. The awards were held at the City Gallery Wellington, from 13 August to 5 September 1994. Visa Gold Art Award was the biggest art prize in New Zealand at the time. 1994 was the only year where there were two winners selected for the Premier Award, Fong was joint-winners of the Premier Award with Bill Hammond. The painting was also part of the exhibition Cultural Safety: Contemporary Art from New Zealand, in Frankfurter Kunstverein in Germany (1995), and City Gallery Wellington in New Zealand (1995–1996).

Minor is a representative of her artistic practice, exploring delicate surfaces that may stem from her background as a textile designer. During this period, Fong created her paintings on doors, giving them a relatable scale in relation to the human body. The doors are adorned with blots, stains, and holes, creating a dynamic visual experience that never allows the viewer's eye to rest. These elements contribute to a distinctive fluidity in her work, which is intentionally perceived as feminine, especially in contrast to the hard-edge abstraction often associated with her male predecessors. The musical title reinforces the emotional response elicited from the viewer. Minor is held in the Fletcher Trust Collection in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Manawa Museum, University of Auckland, Fletcher Trust, McCahon House Trust, University of Canterbury, and Dame Jenny Gibbs Collection.

Selected Awards

1994: New Zealand Premier Award Winner, Visa Gold Art Award (with Bill Hammond) 1993: New Zealand Merit Award Winner, Visa Gold Art Award 1993: Ida Else Painting Award, Auckland Society of Arts 1997: Artist in Residence, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand 1995: Artist in Residence, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand

Selected solo exhibitions Source: 2024: Nexus, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2019: Review, North Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2017: Interplay, Antoinette Godkin Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2015: Requiem, Antoinette Godkin Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2009: How to Talk Tree, Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2007: Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand 2004: Elemental, Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand 2002: Turbo, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand 1999: Universe, McDougall Contemporary Art Annexe, Christchurch, New Zealand 1999: Transit, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1998: Recent Paintings, Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1998: Sonar, John Batten Gallery, Hong Kong 1997: Chamber, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1995: More Human, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth; Fisher Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1993: Chen, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1992: Speak (window installation), Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1989: Past Presence, Fish Shop Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions Source: 2025: Toi Art: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand 2025: Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand 2024: Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand 2024: Feminine/Abstract, Te Manawa Museum, Palmerston North, New Zealand 2024: Belonging: Stories of Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2024: ABSTRAXT ABSTRAXT, North Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2024: Aotearoa Art Fair, Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand 2023: Horizon, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2023: A Place to Call Home - Contemporary New Zealand Asian Art, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2016: Bodywork, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand 2007: Painting: One. Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 2007: Ae AM, Tinakori Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand 2005: Winter, Ngamatau Gallery, Queenstown, New Zealand 2004: HOME/GROUND-SCAPE Biennial 04, Christchurch, New Zealand 2003: Pressing Flesh: Skin, Touch, Intimacy, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1999: Contemporary Melbourne Abstraction, Heide Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand 1996: Cultural Safety: Contemporary Art from New Zealand, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany 1996: Referencing, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1996: Trans/fusion: Hong Kong artists' exchange, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1995: Trans/fusion: Hong Kong artists' exchange, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong 1994: Taking Stock of the Nineties, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, New Zealand 1994: Station to Station: The Way of the Cross, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1992: Light Sensitive, Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand 1992: After Dark, Wellington City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand 1992: After Dark, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand 1992: Shadow of Style: Eight New Artists, Wellington City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand 1992: Shadow of Style: Eight New Artists, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand 1992: Surface Tension: Ten Artists in the Nineties, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1991: Speaking Through the Crack in the Mirror, Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand 1990: Pandora’s Box, George Fraser Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1989: Fascination. Brooker Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand 1988: 20,000 Leagues, Fish Shop Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand