Willy Wei Li Wang
1938 - 2021
Willy Wei Li Wang
1938 - 2021
Obituary
Guest Book
BORN
1938
DIED
2021
Willy Wang Obituary
1938-2021
World-renowned artist Willy Wei Li Wang, 82, passed away on January 7, 2021 from congestive heart failure after a lengthy stay at CHI St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was born in China and in 1981 moved to the U.S. and became an American citizen. He graduated from the prestigious 5 year sculpture program at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing in 1962. Only 7 students from throughout China were accepted into the program. He retained his deep love for China and returned home frequently to visit family and friends and to introduce art students and friends to his native country. He spearheaded tours to study art and art history not only to China but to countries all over the world. Willy was truly a renaissance man having mastered and excelled in drawing, painting and sculpture. He created movie and festival posters, painted murals and published a book of caricatures of famous Chinese and American actors several of whom were his friends. He was working on a second book of caricatures at the time of his death. He painted portraits and/or created sculptures of prominent Houstonians and World leaders including George H.W. and Barbara Bush, Doctor and Madam Sun Yat Sen, George R. Brown, actors Lily Chen Foster, Cary Grant and Lisa Lu. His sculptures are in museums and private collections worldwide. Among his creations here in Texas are the Jesus the Healer (the Great Physician) sculptures located in 8 Methodist Hospitals, the Nurse at CHI St. Luke's Hospital downtown, the Confucius in the Rose Garden in Hermann Park and the bas relief sculptures depicting George H.W. Bush's life in Sesquicentennial Park. Last year he completed a sculpture of the Jesuit missionary, scientist and cartographer Matteo Ricci for the museum on the grounds of Strake Jesuit in Houston. Knowing the importance of the ability to draw and formulate the ideas for sculptures Willy taught life drawing classes pro bono every Saturday at the Willy Wang Workshop for 28 years. He was a member of the Chinese Artists' Association and a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society headquartered in New York City.
He was predeceased by his parents Zhuting Wang and Peilan Xu. Due to the pandemic a memorial service will be held on a future date.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Carol Kearby Roberts
January 25, 2025
Willy was a friend, a teacher and a genius. We remember him with love.
Christian D. Kennedy
October 15, 2024
Had the great Honor of meeting & helping Mr. Wang get his roof replaced just prior to Covid. His genuine amiability and remarkable life experiences continue to inspire me to this day.
Thank you for sharing your amazing & memorable journey
so openly Willy. You left an indelible impression on more than just the arts... you touched our hearts. I miss you Friend, but someday we will meet again.
Lee Andersen
July 18, 2024
Thank you Willie for your kindnesss. I am so glad we were friends.
Kameka Valcin
July 17, 2024
I am in Baytown Methodist looking at one of his sculptures. It has been here since 2004 I´m seeing this on the sculpture along with his name so I decided to google him. To only find out he passed about 3 years ago.
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Lee Andersen
August 6, 2023
I am honored to have been Willy´s friend and student. His talent was awesome, but his kindness and generosity were his trademarks. He gave me his book of his art which I will always treasure.
Katy Haberman
March 18, 2021
Whenever I see a gorgeous sunset, I will hear a voice directing," Maybe a little more red here" and know that there is a master there somewhere, directing the production. Willy was my friend, my teacher, my inspiration and my example. He said to me one time that he felt that it was his responsibility to share the things he had learned from his masters to continue the knowledge and appreciation of art in the world. I think that he did a most remarkable job of it.
Willy shared his appreciation and love for all kinds of expression, from all forms of art, music and theater. He enlarged my experience and was my friend for over a quarter of a century. He was one of my family. I loved him dearly and will never forget him and the wonderful world he shared with us.
Peter Swetich
February 9, 2021
It is so sad that we have lost Willy. We had been friends for the last 40 years. It has been an honor to have known him with his kindness and incredible talent. So many great memories. Some years ago, we went on a road trip to San Antonio with his mother, father and sister. The family was such a joy to be with. Willy, you will forever be in our hearts.
Bujar Taullah
February 6, 2021
It was a profound despair the news for the lost of our beloved friend Willy!
We met for the first time in 1962 when we were students in Beijing. Together we created a close friendship. We had a lot of respect and consideration and that's why we never forgot him.
After 56 years of separation , in 2018, we met him again in Tirana, Albania. In his 80th birthday dinner we shared so many funny and unforgettable moments.
We were very honored to be his friends!
Rest in peace Willy Wang!
!
!
Mona
February 1, 2021
Here is a memory of the unveiling of one of his sculptures.
Mona Trevino-Deidehban
February 1, 2021
Mr. Wang’s exuberance attracted everyone to want to be around him. His exceptional skills as a sculptor were a wonder to behold. I am definitely grateful to have known him.
Zory n Franco
February 1, 2021
We miss you and always be in our hearts he was a great neighbor for over 20 years rest in peace willie. Will miss you always thank you for the memories and the times we had together Zory n Franco hope to meet again later
Mary Ju
February 1, 2021
I joined the Willy Wang Workshop in 2013 and was immediately embraced by Willy and his wonderful extended family members. Willy was equally kind and considerate towards everyone. He always kept his wonderful sense of humor even when he was feeling ill towards the end of his life.
Art was the most important thing in his life. I think he felt it was his mission to share and teach his knowledge and passion for art to those around him. Besides guiding our skills in art and teaching us how to see with an artist’s eye, he would periodically extract from his vast storage of great artwork photos to give us a lesson on a particular topic he felt was important for us to know and appreciate.
I was very fortunate to have gained his trust in managing his workshop, email and website for the past few years. He was always respectful of my opinions and was always there to offer help and support when needed. He had incredible people skills and knew exactly what to say and do to make sure everyone came out feeling good.
Willy was a giant in the art world which is brilliantly obvious through his artworks, but more than that he was a person who made everyone that knew him feel their lives had been enriched because of him. It had been truly an honor and pleasure to have shared part of my life with Willy, my good friend and master teacher.
Ricardo Sweatt Rodriguez
January 31, 2021
Willy was my elder brother, friend and teacher. I still feel his spirit and I am grateful for his presence and tremendous inspiration in my life. For 21 years he introduced me to the great masters of the art world and allowed me to assist him with his monumental sculptures. We were also travel companions to China in 2001, 2002 and 2004 visiting at least 16 cities and water villages. He has been the greatest artistic inspiration in my life and I look forward to when we meet again in spirit
Phillip Ward
January 31, 2021
He was a very kind and gentle individual. He treated everyone with respect and humility. He will be missed greatly.
Alexandra Quevedo
January 31, 2021
I am devastated by A great friend , mentor and wonderful human being death I know willy since 2000. I learned so much from him. I am going to missed him very much! He was one of the best artist of our time RIP dear friend
Lynne Skoyles
January 31, 2021
Rest in peace dear Willy. Thank you for being so generous with your talent and teaching me sculpture which gives me pleasure every day.
Heather Hwang
January 31, 2021
Willy, a great talented, devoted and passionate sculptor / artist, said “ Art is my whole life”. In his words, “What important is that we should not get lost in this kaleidoscope world but pursue our own art with honesty and good conscience “. His own creativity shone through his many art works.
I met Willy in 1994. Immediately, I became his faithful fan. I had taken his sculpture and drawing classes, studied art, art history and different cultures through going his annual art tour around the world. Willy had been my best teacher, master and friend. He had a great influence on my art conception and creation. Art becomes a part of my life and art enriches my life.
I am so grateful and honored to know Willy for past 27 years. I really thanked him for his caring and love, his trust and friendship, his inspiration and guidance, ......in many many ways.
My sadness is beyond the words. Wonderful memories he left will be my comfort. In my heart that he lives on. In my mind, his smiles and laughters will continue to linger on.
Heather Hwang
Student/ Friend
1/31/2021
Hazel Bartram-Birchenough
January 31, 2021
Hazel Bartram-Birchenough
January 31, 2021
With blessings and condolences to all who loved Willy, we all have wonderful memories of him. He was an exceptional gentleman, a great friend and mentor to me. He ran the Willy Wang Workshop, a huge extended family of artists, for over 26 years. His artwork, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and designs are world class. He made work at all scales, colossal sculptures in China and Africa, right through to table top pieces, of dancers moving through the air. There were subjects from all parts of life, world leaders, presidents, Hollywood stars, medics, philosophers and religious subjects, and ordinary people, fruit pickers, laborers, the salt of the earth, he saw beauty in all of them.
I think I first walked into his life drawing workshop in 2003, and immediately liked the atmosphere and concentration of everyone there. I remember drawing a group of artists doing tai chi movements, achieving balance before our class. Always resourceful, as the model couldn’t make it, Willy stepped out and quickly found a man with a characterful face from across the street, who walked right in and sat very still for three hours, Willy was so easily trusted. He provided an encouraging environment every week for us all to face our artwork in a calm, intelligent and often hilarious way. He knew how to make me laugh, I remember him whispering my artwork was so good he wanted to steal it. Other times he’d pull me up for not being big and bold enough. He could grab my attention and insist that I sing solos at the next workshop event, I felt a lot of pressure and got singing lessons and became a professional. He helped me think through my painting commissions and my art business. He was brilliant at giving us all individual attention, knowing what the next level of learning and support was needed for each of us.
Willy taught the refined qualities of some of the best representational artists, from ancient sculptors and painters to the present day. He showed us many of the thousands of high quality photographs he had taken of artwork on his trips all over the world. He had a wide and deep technical ability that explored anatomy and the form of the pose, the weight, the light moving across the form, the expressive marks we made and most importantly, the personality and spirit of our models.
I was lucky to do sculpture courses with him that completely altered my perception of how to represent the figure. I had been to art school for many years but no one had taught me in such depth before. I hadn’t really seen the relative proportions, complex shapes and form details before in three dimensions. It was very exciting.
The family of artists he created and nurtured was very inclusive of all our backgrounds, from many regions of the world. Each of us valued and honored for our contribution. Our exhibitions, music, ballets, recitals, parties, trips, openings, his unveiling’s and dinners will always be wonderful memories. We could talk about what mattered to us most, or just hang out sharing coffee or travel on the road to an event and have lots of fun with him.
When he was working on his final commission, a towering figure, I helped him with the clay, moving it, keeping it wet as he worked, making the molds and dismantling it. He gave me some large tubs of clay that he had handled and formed. Working with that clay will have greater significance now.
He was a tough, persistent teacher who inspired us to work every day and he supported me to become a better professional artist and singer. He always had humility and kindness, and I’m proud to have been his friend, he will always be near by as I work to remind me to see better.
Kim Overall
January 31, 2021
Thank you Willy for teaching us about art, but even more, giving each of us a part of yourself through art.
Xiaoshan Cao AKA Stan Cao
January 30, 2021
In January 7th, I lost a life long friend, brothet, teacher and idol. Since then I am not afraid of death because Willy is over there and it will be our happy reunion when time comes. Take a very good care of yourself, Willy, I am sure you will!
Liz Wright
January 30, 2021
I was proud to know he considered me a friend. He was indeed an exemplary artist, a kind and thoughtful gentleman, a generous man with his time and talent. He will be sorely missed.
Julie Deshotels Soldano
January 30, 2021
Willy Wang (Wei Li Wang) the great sculptor, my teacher and friend passed away Thursday afternoon , January 7, 2021 at the age of 82. It is hard to put into words how talented, generous and kind he was. He never stopped teaching. Even while I was driving him to various events he talked about art, about old masters and modern masters from the U.S. , China, Russia and Europe. I attended life drawing every Saturday morning with him for several years (he taught life drawing for 28 years and did not charge his students). He would show us slides and discuss the works of master artists during breaks in our life drawing sessions. In between these classes we went to numerous cultural events, museum visits, lunches with great friends, Christmas, Halloween, Chinese New Year and Fourth of July parties and traveled far and near. He introduced me to many new dear friends and my family and old dear friends became his friends and family. He taught me to see and not to see when creating art. He wanted us to notice the rosiness of the skin tones in an ear but to not get obsessed with recreating every wrinkle on a face I can hear him saying not necessary . I remember the first couple of years he would come over to where I was drawing and ask for my eraser, erase parts of what I had drawn, explain why (often I had drawn things too darkly or made a cheek too thin) and he would tell me to redraw it. He was always right. He reminded me a lot of my Dad. My Dad always wanted me to improve and learn more and had the best Cajun sense of humor. Willy was not Cajun but he certainly had an amazing sense of humor. He called me his little sister one day (he was too young to be a father figure, we all know he was only 29 and holding) and I was so touched. I will hear his words of wisdom and see his smile in my mind always. My friends and I have been greatly mourning our loss but he would want us to see the sunshine despite the rain. Our lives were truly enriched by having known him.
Mary powell
January 30, 2021
Willy had passion for life and curiosity for all that came in his path. He was always engaged in all the artsy world. He shared his knowledge in his weekend workshop. Thanks to his yearly tours many people enriched more their lives. Above all willy Will be remembered for endless qualities and assets he gave freely to the art.
Margrit Young
January 29, 2021
Willy was a wonderful, joyful, and beautiful person, in- and outside. My husband Ron and I shared special hours with him during 3 of his art trips. He always had nice stories to tell, and was kind to everyone.
I will always keep Willy in my memory.
My condolences,
Margrit Young , also in memory of my dear husband Ron who admired Willy greatly
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