
Owen Fu, 2025. Photo by Shi Huijun.
In the paintings of Owen Fu (b. 1988), often depicting surreal domestic scenes cast in a nocturnal glow, ghostly figures and inanimate objects merge as the distinctions between reality, dreams, and memory disintegrate. Drawing from centuries-old traditions of ink wash painting, Fu’s works expose the mysterious emotional landscape residing beneath the surface of ordinary life. Fu was born in Guilin, China. He completed his MFA in 2018 at the ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA, preceded by a BA in Philosophy from the Stony Brook University, New York, NY, and a BA in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL. He has presented solo exhibitions at Balice Hertling, Paris, France; Antenna Space, Shanghai, China; O-Town House, Los Angeles, CA; Gallery Platform LA, Los Angeles, CA; Mine Project, Hong Kong, China; Art Center Main Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; and New York Art Expo, New York, NY; among others. He has been featured in group exhibitions at Marian Goodman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Antenna Space, Shanghai, China; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Gagosian Hong Kong, China; and Balice Hertling, Paris, France; among others. His work was included in the 2022 Beijing Biennial, Magic Square: Art and Literature in Mirror Image at Friendship Art Community, Beijing, China. His works belong to the collections of numerous international institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Domus Collection, New York, NY; K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China; START Museum, Shanghai, China; George Economou Collection, Athens, Greece; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; G Museum, Nanjing, China; and the Juan and Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina; among others. Fu presented his first solo exhibition with P·P·O·W, Own Alone, at the start of 2025. His work is currently included in Surface Streets, a group exhibition curated by Russell Ferguson at Marian Goodman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, through October 18, and in Owen Fu: Wang Lai, his second solo exhibition with Antenna Space, on view through October 26.
Owen Fu
b. 1988, Guilin, China
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
2018
MFA ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2016
BA Philosophy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
BA Fine Art, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Wang Lai, Antenna Space, Shanghai, China
Own Alone, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
2023
Last Summer, Balice Hertling, Paris, France
2022
Ordinary Things, O-Town House, Los Angeles, CA
Stealing Beauty, Antenna Space, Shanghai, China
2021
After Hours, Balice Hertling, Paris, France
2020
6 self-portraits and one lamp, Gallery Platform LA, Los Angeles, CA
Bubbly Hills, Mine Project, Hong Kong, China
Small Talk, O-Town House, Los Angeles, CA
2018
No Story, Art Center Main Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Body Obsession, Art Center PPR, Pasadena, CA
2017
Happy ever after, TaXue Gallery, Shanghai, China
2016
Emoji Expression, New York Art Expo, New York, NY
Group Exhibitions
2025
Surface Streets, Marian Goodman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2024
Project Space Opening: Antenna-Tenna, Shanghai, China
Dance This Mess Around Curated By Richard Hull, Patient Info, Chicago, IL
2023
Horizons: Is there anybody out there? Curated by Robin Peckham, Antenna Space, Shanghai, China
Palai Project, Balice Hertling, Lecce, Italy
Together in Time, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Beijing Biennial: Magic Square Art and Literature in Mirror Image, Curator BoLiang, Shen, Beijing, China
Uncanny Valley, Curator Yang Zi, Gagosian, Hong Kong, China
2022
See You Through It, The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
Space, Laurel Gitlen, New York, NY
Inner Dims, Sifang Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Trace Image, Deborah Schamoni, Munich, Germany
Exposition N°120 (maybe), Balice Hertling, Paris, France
2021
The Going Away Present For Bruce Hainley, Organized by Kristina Kite and Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Kristina Kite Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Palai Project, Balice Hertling, Lecce, Italy
Who's Afraid of the Great Indoors, Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
Pathologically Social, organized with Mark Verabioff, O-Town House, Los Angeles, CA
2020
Winterfest, curated by Saim Demircan, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
Gennariello (part II), curated by Daniele Balice, Balice Hertling, Paris, France
About FACE: Cover Me, Curator Ali Subotnick, Gallery Platform LA, Los Angeles, CA
David Zwirner Platform: Los Angeles, CA
2019
Condo Complex: Lomex Gallery hosting O-Town House, New York, NY
2018
Just Edging 2, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2016
BFA Graduation Show, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
Selected Bibliography
2023
Alvin Li. "Emerging painters from the Chinese world, the new generation is redefining lineages and styles.” ArtBasel.com.
2022
Ren Yue. "The Geisttiere Dwell in the Void." LEAP, Fall/Autumn 2022, pp. 104-113.
Permanent Collections
Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Domus Collection, New York, NY
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
George Economou Collection, Athens, Greece
G Museum, Nanjing, China
Juan and Patricia Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
START Museum, Shanghai, China