Da wei kwo biography

• Da Wei Kwo also known as David Kwok was an exceptionally talented artist. I met him when I was fifteen year old at his studio on 57th Street. I just recounted our memorable meeting on Facebook today. It was when I had showed Betty White an original Da Wei Kwo painting of a Pekingese. "Betty had 3 dogs and in addition to Brandy the Saint Bernard, an a Poodle, Betty had a cute little Peke. My mother bought an original painting of an adorable and very sad looking Peke from an artist named David Kwok whose Chinese name was Da-Wei Kwo (Google his name) At that time in 1959, I wanted to show Betty the painting, and I was in the high school "camera club" so the photo is terrible. She was coming into New York to do a live soap opera, so she called me to meet her in NY and she was delighted to see the Peke painting by Da-Wei Kwo. But some time after, I was walking along 57th Street and spotted a small brass sign that said DAVID KWOK. I walked into his tiny office and said he had to make reprints of his Peke and I drew it for him and he was OVER THE MOON! 5 years later, I was in England in the town of Sutton going up an escalator in a department store and when I got to the second floor the wall was lined with Da-Wei Kwo Peke prints in a bunch of frames. I wanted to buy one but I had 6 more countries to see! Here is the photo of me showing the print to Betty White. She was 5'4" and weighed 110 lbs. She was very kind to me, and that helped me cope with being unpopular. To be successful, you have to go through it alone. Life is a PYRAMID. The special people are at the top of the pyramid trying to bring you up! And the losers are on the bottom, trying to keep you down. Betty is a Pyramid person. To have known her was a blessing that affected my whole life." Da Wei Kwo's books are in my art library. His daughter is a plastic surgeon. I will fill in more details. And I have given him and his art a fitting tribute.

• Birthdate

  Beijing, Beijing China

  Birthplace

• Chinese. Then an American Citizen.

• Famous Artist. He first studied art at the Art Institute of Nanjing and later under the tutelage of the late master, Qi Bai-Shih. He held his first art exhibition in Hong Kong in 1952.
• Famous Chinese Artist. Brush Painting. See photos. About Artist and teacher Dr. David Kwo Da-Wei (1919-2003) became renowned for his Chinese brush paintings of his black cat, Kim. He also pioneered in using complete strokes to create impressionistic images. His limited edition lithographs are stamped in color and signed by the artist. Born in Beijing, 1919, he first studied art at the Art Institute of Nanjing and later under the tutelage of the late master, Qi Bai-Shih. He held his first art exhibition in Hong Kong in 1952. Since then, he had held over 20 one-man art exhibitions at leading art museums in US, Europe and Asia. He died in the United States in 2003.
• Kwo, Da-Wei 1919- Overview Works: 107 works in 177 publications in 3 languages and 1,246 library holdings Genres: Guidebooks Maps Tourist maps Exhibition catalogs Criticism, interpretation, etc Juvenile works Children's television programs History Animated television programs Children's films Roles: Author, Editor, Illustrator Classifications: DC708, 745.

• August 11, 2003

  Death date

  New Jersey United States

  Death location

• KWO - David, of Nutley, on Aug. 11, 2003, beloved husband of Rita (nee Tang) Kwo, father of Dr. Sophia Kwo. Funeral services will be conducted from The BIONDI FUNERAL HOME OF NUTLEY, 540 Franklin Ave., on Saturday at 2 p.m. Pastor Betty Young officiating. Visitation Saturday afternoon 2-4 p.m Dynamics of Chinese brushwork; Chinese Brushwork: Its History, Aesthetics, and Technique, by Kwo Da-wei. Montclair, N.J.: Allanheld & Schram, 30 Park Street 07042. 204 pp. $37.50. April 28, 1982 By Mary S. Cowen For those of us who did not grow up using a brush to do our schoolwork, the appreciation of Oriental brushwork in painting and calligraphy may seem like a fine art in itself. There are many books and manuals on Oriental painting, including the classic ''Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting,'' known as ''The Way of Chinese Painting'' in English. Kwo Wa-Dei, however, a Chinese scholar, teacher, and artist who has been working in the United States for more than two decades, thinks most previous books in English do not sufficiently clarify the aesthetics or the relationship between calligraphy and painting. He has written this book to provide a compact guide that will permit Westerners to enter into Chinese paintings almost as if they were the artists. He gives a good idea of how the Chinese judge their own art. He says it helps to be able to classify a piece correctly, to evaluate its quality of line and composition while following the movements of the brush. He then proceeds to instruct us in this classification and analysis. Readers who follow his directions for manipulating the brush will have an even fuller understanding than those who just read the book, but even that gives quite an insight into what ''The Mustard Seed Garden'' sometimes dodges by saying, ''It can only be perceived, but cannot be conveyed by words.'' Granted, the whole point of painting is to convey that which cannot be conveyed by words, but when painting and writing are so intertwined as they are in Chinese art, it is worth a try to put words to the ineffable. The book's sections on history and aesthetics bring in the philosophic background and criteria, mainly Buddhist grafted onto Taoist, behind the art. The work involves a way of life and a search for essence, with the results evident in the brushwork. Fewer jobs at City Hall - one way Flynn can begin to arrest the deficit Kwo Wa-Dei explains that a springing, resilient force behind the brush is necessary to keep the line ''alive.'' Using both words and pictures, he illustrates how artists make the brush dance. He also takes issue with the classic Six Methods of painting. He argues that the classic first method of lively spirit, or Chi Yuen, is a result, not really a method. And he insists that the last of the Six Methods, tracing, should also be dropped, since it leads to sterile work. Dr. Kwo goes on to explain what distinguishes Ya (that which is elegant, noble, refined) from Su (that which is vulgar, ostentatious, artificial), quoting a famous 18th-century artist's thoughts on who is unfit to paint. These unworthy artists include ''those who have lost their child-like heart; those who are chasing money and profit; those who want to flatter others and those who are lazy and not hard workers. . . .'' This useful book has chronological charts of periods, calligraphic styles, and dominant painting subjects, plus a list of major terms in English and Chinese, a bibliography, and an index.

  ADVERTISEMENT BY

  Looking for more information?

• share

  Memories

  below

ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM

Friends of DavidFriends can be as close as family. Add David's family friends, and his friends from childhood through adulthood.

Add friend

ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM

Kwok, So (Sep 19, 1938 - Dec 22, 2006) Kwok, Koon (Nov 15, 1932 - Dec 25, 2005) Kwok, Mee Lee (Nov 12, 1937 - Jun 7, 1997) Kwok, Peggy (Feb 28, 1911 - Jul 15, 1995) Kwok, Emily (Mar 21, 1933 - Oct 26, 1989) Lipfert Kwok, Denise (Jul 3, 1960 - Sep 1, 2009) Kwok, Fean (Nov 19, 1962 - Nov 29, 1996) Kwok, Tak Wo (Sep 30, 1952 - Dec 19, 2001) Kwok, Hon (Aug 4, 1952 - Aug 25, 1995) Kwok, Mok Kan (Jun 2, 1930 - Mar 1, 1999)

Lo Kwok, Wan Ho (Jun 17, 1924 - Dec 4, 2003) Kwok, Grace (Jun 27, 1903 - Aug 1992) Kwok, Yuen Wah (Jun 9, 1920 - Nov 4, 2001) Kwok, Regina (Jan 17, 1919 - Oct 24, 2009) Kwok, Judy (Dec 13, 1958 - Jun 19, 2008) Kwok, Sai (Aug 23, 1938 - May 29, 2000) Kwok, Frank (Apr 5, 1927 - Jul 3, 2010) Kwok, Hing (Dec 9, 1920 - Feb 18, 2004) Kwok, Sau (Jun 4, 1935 - Feb 11, 2003) Kwok, Wingkong (Sep 25, 1950 - Nov 26, 1999)