Po Shun Leong Biography

Biography

Trained as an architect, even studying for a brief period with pioneer architect Le Corbusier, Po Shun has devoted his career to making things for people to use and enjoy, be it a building, something to sit on, or a box to store objects. His parents immigrated from China to England, where he was born. He worked in Europe and lived in Mexico for 15 years before moving to California in 1982.
The art has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. In 1998 his first book, "Po Shun Leong Art Boxes," was published by Sterling.

PERMANENT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

• Yale University Art Gallery,
• Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery,
• Minnesota Museum of Art,
• Mint Museum,
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
• Delaware Art Museum.

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

• MCI Collection,
• White House Craft Collection,
• Robin Williams,
• Ed Mouthrop,
• Scott Turow,
• Jim Carrey,
• John Cleese,
• Steve Martin,
• Martina Navratilova,
• Artie Shaw,
• Whoopi Goldberg,
• Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia,
• Henry Luce III,
• Jane & Arthur Mason,
• Rebecca Klemm,
• Joe Price,
• Brigitte Jodexnis,
• Hans-Juergen Kraushaar.
 

Po Shun Leong makes some of the most extraordinary boxes and furniture today. Their dramatic shapes and magical intricacy have been prized by institutions and private collectors throughout the world, and have made their creator, artist, architect and furniture designer one of America's most sought-after woodworkers. His work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the White House Craft Collection, and in 1998 a major object, an elaborate console table, was acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

As a self-taught woodworker, Po Shun uses many woods, some of which are scraps from other artists and fallen trees as a result of hurricanes or fires. This way of using the material is like giving the tree a second chance in life.
No two pieces are exactly alike. All are designed and handcrafted solely by Po Shun Leong. Actual details and woods (including colors) will vary, and sizes may vary slightly.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Dreaming of Ocean Liners…

When the sirens screamed in London during the Second World War, we headed underground for the deep shelters to avoid German bombs. To escape the dangers in 1944, my father sent me as a 3 year old child to live with a carpenter in the countryside until the end of the war. The carpenter had a hobby of making model ocean liners. One of them, a majestically long vessel filled his small parlor. When he carved the complex wood pieces, I crouched beside the liner and rolled marbles along the enclosed decks and into the maze of its inner chambers. Mr. Page and his wife were a childless couple and became very attached to me. When my parents came to collect me at the end of the war, Mrs. Page was devastated and had a nervous breakdown.

In 1964, I immigrated to Mexico after receiving an architecture degree cum laude in London from the Architectural Association. For the next sixteen years I designed department stores, schools and homes and produced low-cost furniture. My architectural models were important for clients to decide whether to make the projects possible. In Mexico I used to paint and had exhibitions, but I found that wood does not answer back in the way canvas does. Canvas loses its life very easily. You can work on wood indefinitely, strip it down and start all over again. Fifty-eight years later in California, that model wartime liner is still there to haunt my art.

- Po Shun
 
 

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