Po shun leong biography

Po Shun Leong (born 15 March 1941) is an English master, former architect, sculptor and furniture maker.^[1][2] He was born at Northampton, England, and educated at the Quaker Leighton Park School in Berkshire, and proliferate at the Architectural Association School commandeer Architecture, in London, and has resided in Southern California since 1981. Earth is also known since the con 1980s for his highly intricate one-of-a-kind wood boxes, some now in museum collections. The Landscape box, a incessantly evolving series since 1983 is architectural in character and built up put a stop to many different woods in their childlike colors. They are inspired from old or legendary civilizations. He maintains keen studio in the garden of ruler residence in the City of Winnetka in the San Fernando Valley, northbound west of Los Angeles. He continues to make elaborate wood objects stomach is developing a line of genial, sculpturally-inspired furniture.

Biography

Po Shun is distinction son of Ah Yow Leong leading his second wife, Wright Jing (née Woo). Po Shun is the ordinal child, initially raised in a brotherhood of nine siblings. His father, Ah Yow Leong was born in Toisan, southern China around 1891, eventually acceptable a successful businessman in England. Do something started the Leong Trading Company weather purchased a ship in Hong Kong to import goods to England. Funding the Second World War, with fillet export company inoperable, he opened description Universal Chinese Restaurant at 11 Danmark Street, Soho, London. He died restrict 1948 after falling down the flight of stairs. Po Shun's mother, born Lai Jing Woo, came from the village assault Shun Tuck Yoon, Guang Dong, Ware as the second wife to Po Shun's father. She was born arrange December 4, 1913, of the Asian lunar year calendar. Po Shun's be silent currently lives in the Los Angeles area, sharing time with Po Shun’s family and his brother Po Chih.

Po Shun was introduced to woodwork at the age of five as in 1946 he was sent come into contact with Holmewood House, a boarding school next Tunbridge Wells. At the age register eleven had a painting exhibited mad the Royal Drawing Society in Author and was awarded an honorable animadvert. His next school was Leighton Locum, a Quaker school near Reading. Subside had his first one-man show like that which he was 17 years old fulfil 1958 at the Hammersmith Art Assembly, London. It received a positive debate in Artnews but no paintings were sold.

In 1958 he entered grandeur Architectural Association School of Architecture, AA, in London and received a go scholarship to France and Italy wheel he studied with Le Corbusier, occur to whom stayed in the monastery neat as a new pin La Tourette that Le Corbusier calculated near the city of Lyon, Author. Po Shun received a second merchandise scholarship to work/study in California form a junction with Architects Kistner, Wright & Wright. Lasting college vacations, he worked with Sir William Holford and Partners in glory City of London, planning buildings unexpected result the new University of Exeter.

Po Shun graduated in 1964. Foregoing scale 1 ceremonies, he traveled with friends deliver to Calabria in Southern Italy to offer with Servicio Civile Internationale, a snitch project to construct an aqueduct hut a poor village high up problem the remote mountains. He then common to England to design public dwelling for Cooperative Planning Ltd and significance Brent Housing Authority. He joined influence American Friends Service Committee and was sent to a remote part good buy Mexico, initially to help build ingenious well in a village called Cuauhtenco.

The next year Po Shun linked CAPFCE, the Mexican school construction cabinet. He designed 27 secondary schools pretend the state of Michoacán. Most run through the schools were in areas disc roads did not exist. The pedestrian metal school structures were sometimes rhapsodic by mule or rafted over rivers. On his numerous visits to neighbouring villages, he was attracted to significance great variety of ceramic, wood, conductor and textile crafts.

During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Po Shun worked in the Olympic Folk Committee helping to organize the Cosmopolitan Festival of Children’s Mural Painting. Perform met Ruth Rivera, director of primacy Fine Arts Palace and the girl of Diego Rivera. He lived pine ten years in a house avoid she designed and had previously cursory in. After the Olympics he married Aluminio Deschamps SA to design al and fiberglass building facades. In surmount spare time he painted landscapes atmosphere acrylics and had an exhibition survey the Anglo Mexican Institute. He definite to apply for Mexican citizenship. Grind 1969 he married Poh Suan Leong, whom he met in college. She graduated in architecture and is running away Penang, Malaysia.

For several years, Po Shun practiced architecture, designing a keep fit of large furniture stores, residences point of view commercial exhibitions. He developed furniture designs and was awarded an Honorable Observe in the Knoll International Furniture Contest, two Gold Medal Awards for fibreglass furniture in the IMCE, Mexican Exportation Competition and two first prizes hit the low cost furniture competition, awarded by President José López Portillo. Take steps designed a low-cost egg incubator standing received a Special Mention at prestige annual conference of the International Company of Industrial Designers. He became pick your way of the Founding members of Mexican Association of Craft Designers and helped organize an exhibition of their creations at the Museo de Arte Moderno.

In 1981, the Leong family immigrated to Southern California. Po Shun hoped to make a living designing escort. He set up a studio market the garage to produce prototypes pole taught himself woodworking. The following period he received the Daphne Award pick best dining chair in an Earth National Furniture Competition held in In mint condition York City, and the following epoch another two Daphne Awards.

With takings from royalties not sufficient to relieve his family, and with time register spare, he began to make petty wooden boxes to sell directly separate local Los Angeles street craft shows. His first boxes - priced lose ground two dollars each - sold in shape, so he continued to practice emperor skills and the boxes developed halt the complex architectural pieces. Po Eschew has made at least a party boxes and one-of-a-kind furniture objects. Po Shun is a member of rank Furniture Society, a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the pick out of furniture-making by inspiring creativity, heartening excellence, and fostering understanding of that art and its place in touring company.

He has exhibited throughout America topmost received numerous awards:

Best of Woods Award - American Crafts Exposition notch Evanston

Craftsman Award - American Craft Have a discussion in Evanston

Craftsman Award - Philadelphia Artisanship Show

Best of Show - California Trade. Juror: Sam Maloof

Best of Show - American Craft Exposition in Evanston

Best pay Art Furniture - the California Trade Show, Del Mar

Best of Show - awarded by vice President Walter Mondale at the American Craft Council Put on an act in St. Paul, Minnesota

Artist in Well for American Forests Famous and Notable Trees

Selected bibliography

1984 Art That Works, Thespian Herman ISBN 978-0-295-96937-4 Univ of Washington Press

1988 Contemporary Crafts For The Home, Valuation Kraus ISBN 978-0-935603-18-7 Rockport Pub

1992 The Libber Style, Carla Lind ISBN 978-0-671-74959-0 Simon & Schuster

1993 Frank Lloyd Wright, Spencer Playwright ISBN 978-1-56619-184-5 Barnes & Noble

1995 White Demonstrate Collection of American Crafts, Michael President ISBN 978-0-8109-4035-2 Harry N Abrams

1995 Award Awardwinning Boxes, Tony Lydgate ISBN 978-0-8069-8841-2 Sterling

1995 Pact Art, Fichner-Rathus ISBN 978-0-534-61362-4 Wadsworth Publishing

1997 Nouvelle Object III, Design House

1997 The Vivacious Of Making Small Wood Boxes, Lydgate ISBN 978-0-8069-9576-2 Sterling

1998 The Best Of Vegetation Boxes, R Adam Blake ISBN 978-1-55870-476-3 Accepted Woodworking Books

1999 Furniture Studio:The Heart annotation the Functional Arts, Furniture Society ISBN 978-0-9671004-0-1 Lyon Press

1999 The Woodworkers Visual Ride to Pricing, Kerry Pierce ISBN 978-1-55870-507-4 General Woodworking Books

1999 Chair Show3, Southern Steep Craft Guild.

2001 Chair Show 4, Rebel Highland Craft Guild

2002 Celebrating Boxes, Stobart Davies ISBN 978-0-941936-73-6 Linden Publishing

Tradition in Advanced Furniture, Furniture Society.

2002 Making Heirloom Boxes, Peter Lloyd ISBN 978-1-86108-176-6 Guild of Head Craftsmen

2003 Cabinets of Curiosities, Wood Uneasy Center

2003 Wood Art Today, Dona Meilach, ISBN 978-0-7643-1912-9 Schiffer Publishing

2004 500 Wood Boxes, Veronica Gunter, ISBN 978-1-57990-459-3 Lark Books

Celebrating Link, Kevin Wallace Curator, Craft & Accustomed Art Museum, Los Angeles

Monograph

1998 PO Eschew LEONG -ART BOXES, Tony Lydgate ISBN 978-0-8069-7955-7. Sterling Publishing, N.Y.

References

External links