Passion to spread good taste

Visitors at Wong's private museum in Beijing for the ongoing show of his collection of contemporary Italian art.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

"My artist friends are all fond of me. I'm humorous, willing to talk to them about art and finally I buy some of their works."

Zhang Meng, who works in Wong's private museum in Beijing, says: "He is very funny. Every time we talk to him, it is like a talk show."

Demonstrating Wong's close ties with the artists, he pulls out a book on which Chinese oil painter Liu Xiaodong has written: "We all love you, boss Wong."

Wong bought two of Liu's works from his show in Florence a few months ago.

Wong has about 45 sculptures by Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

While some of the pieces are displayed in his Beijing shopping mall, others have been donated to the National Museum of China.

Wong, incidentally, is one of the few art collectors who has attracted media attention by donating his art to museums and schools even as other Chinese collectors are attracting attention with their big-ticket purchases of art by Western masters.

Among the recipients of Wong's generosity is the Nanjing University of Arts.

The academy now has about 60 contemporary pieces given by Wong.

"I want to cultivate a taste for art in the young. I also want to provide a channel for contemporary Chinese artists' works to be seen in schools," Wong says.

"I usually show them a list of works from my collection, and it is up to schools and museums to select the works they want."

Wong also loves to show his collection to the public.

That's why he keeps building exhibition spaces in different cities and countries.

Besides Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore－where he is opening an art space at the beginning of next year－Wong plans to add another two spaces－one in Taiwan and one in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Wong is so committed to showing his art that within 10 minutes of receiving a small horse painting by Chinese painter Xu Beihong, which he bought for HK$1 million ($128,900) in August, he had it displayed in his Hong Kong art space.

Wong is often referred to as an "old child" by his friends. He spends a lot of time meeting artists, and visiting art fairs and museums.

Speaking about his connection with art, he says: "I see myself as a versatile person rather than a collector. But art is part of my life. It's the source of my enjoyment and fun."