Wallace Chan

Wallace Chan (b. 1956) is a Hong Kong-based, self-trained artist whose practice encompasses jewellery, sculpture, and carving. He has been carving gemstones since the age of 16, drawing his inspiration from nature and Chinese motifs. He developed his skills and learnt the art of

Western sculpture by visiting Christian cemeteries and admiring the marble sculptures of saints and angels. After six months of devoted monkhood in the early 2000s and having given up all his possessions, Chan found himself in the complete absence of artistic resources. However, his passion for sculpture compelled him to create works using affordable materials like concrete, copper, and stainless steel. After many years of careful research and experimentation, Chan developed a method of working with titanium, initially for his jewellery and more recently for his large-scale sculptures. 

Chan’s works are in the permanent collections of the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai (2024), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2024), Long Museum, Shanghai (2023), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2023), British Museum (2019), the Capital Museum of China (2010), the Ningbo Museum (2010) and more. 

He has had solo exhibitions at the Shanghai Museum (Shanghai, 2024), Pieta Chapel (Venice, 2024), Christie’s (London, 2023); Canary Wharf (London, 2022); Fondaco Marcello (Venice, 2021 & 2022); Asia House (London, 2019); Christie’s (Hong Kong, 2019; Shanghai, 2021), the Gemological Institute of America Museum (Carlsbad, 2011); the Capital Museum (Beijing, 2010); Kaohsiung Museum of History (Taiwan, 1999), and Deutsches Edelsteinmuseum (Idar-Oberstein, 1992) among others. 

Chan has given lectures and speeches at prestigious institutions, including TEDxNYU Shanghai (Shanghai, 2025), Harvard University (Cambridge, 2017, 2023 & 2025), Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (Beijing, 2024), Shanghai Museum (Shanghai, 2024), Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2016 & 2023), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong, 2022), DIVA Museum (Antwerp, 2021), Tongji University (Shanghai, 2021), Christie’s (Shanghai, 2020 & 2021), the De Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design (Maastricht, 2020), the British Museum (London, 2019), the Royal College of Art (London, 2019), the University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 2019), Christie’s Education (Hong Kong, 2019), the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (London, 2018), the Sarabande Foundation (London, 2018), Sciences Po (Paris, 2018), Central Saint Martins (London, 2017), and Christie’s (Paris, 2014).