Born in China but raised in New York City, Siyan Wong is a first generation immigrant. Her subjects are the working poor, the homeless, women and the elderly.
Siyan acquired her visual art fundamentals at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. But completed her studies at Stuyvesant High School. Though she went on to study history and economics in college, then attended law school and began working as a workers' rights lawyer, Siyan never stopped making art. Primarily a self-taught and outsider artist, Siyan spends her free time studying the works of great painters and paints in her home studio. She is inspired by the colors of Paul Cezanne, the confidence in Alice Neel's lines, the powerful stories told by Jacob Lawrence’s simple figures and forms, and the passion of Isidre Nonell to paint the socially ostracized at a time when they were “invisible.”
Since 2018, Siyan exhibited her paintings at the Equity Gallery of New York Artist Equity Association, New York Arts Center, The National Arts Club, and on Governors Island. She spoke about the subject matter of her art at The Black Institute, Asia Society New York, Museum of Chinese in America, and various universities and institutions.
As a workers' rights lawyer, Siyan’s contact with everyday working people informs her artistic vision. Her immigrant roots and her daily encounters as a Chinese American woman illuminate her visual interests. She aspires to inspire conversations about power, money, and the human spirit.
Siyan Wong’s projects are fiscally sponsored by NYFA, and are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and administered by LMCC. Her work is also supported by the Asian Women Giving Circle (AWGC).