Call him the Dale Chihuly of Malaysia. Glass artist Fuan Wong has created one of Penang’s most magical spots: a tropical garden and open-air gallery where fused-glass plant sculptures mingle with some 2,000 species of flora and eclectic works by other artists. At times, it’s hard to tell where nature ends and art begins.
Set on Wong’s family durian farm in Teluk Bahang, a serene hillside village on the island’s northwest tip, Art & Garden opened to the public in 2015 after six years of work. The two-acre oasis blends vibrant colors, panoramic views, and paths decorated with mosaic leaf motifs.
Among Wong’s creations are silvery-blue leaves that shimmer in sunlight, fiery red stalks, and installations of Pi discs—flat, holed discs, traditionally carved from jade or soapstone in China as symbols of power, completeness, and the cosmos. Wong’s versions fuse glass into bold stripes and plant-inspired designs. Other artists on display include Ammar Khalifa, a Saudi-born painter of Sudanese descent, and Penang collage photographer Howard Tan.
“Lovers of beauty and plant-lovers adore Art & Garden, but even hardened urbanites enjoy it,” Wong says. Surprisingly, his work wasn’t inspired by US glass master Chihuly, despite similarities: “We use two divergent methods. His is glass blowing, mine is glass fusing.”
On my stroll, I admired rare bromeliads (a “passion of mine,” Wong notes), air plants like tillandsias, orchids including dendrobiums and bulbophyllums, staghorn ferns, and carnivorous pitcher plants—nicknamed “monkey cups” for the animals that sip from them. Just down the road stands a whimsical Pitcher Plant Roundabout, a landmark of Teluk Bahang, now a tourist hub with Penang National Park, Tropical Spice Garden, Entopia butterfly farm, beaches, and a batik factory.
For Wong, plants and glass are the “two great loves of my life.” But the pairing was hard-won. Once a florist and garden designer “in search of a medium,” he dabbled in painting and graphics before discovering glass. “I was instantly hooked,” he recalls. His growing plant collection pushed him to transform part of his family’s seven-acre farm into this living gallery. (And if the art and garden aren’t enough, crab laksa by his personal chef can be ordered in advance.) A gift shop sells art glass, jewelry, and woven bags.
“My ambition was to be a complete wastrel, but I ended up working harder than anyone I know,” he once told The Edge Malaysia. “My day starts at 4 AM and ends at 9 PM.” He also owns a glass gallery in George Town on Klang Street, a short walk from the luxury hotel Seven Terraces. After the success of his 2023 “Men With Plants” show with landscape architect Tan Wei Ming, Wong curated a 2024 group exhibition, “More Men (And a Woman),” at ChinaHouse, showcasing paintings, mosaics, metalwork, and jewelry.
Nearby, the Tropical Spice Garden sprawls across eight acres. On my guided tour, I learned the health benefits of cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, nutmeg, and more, and saw a pavilion for cooking classes. Exhibits trace the global spice trade: by the 10th century, Arabia was trading with Southeast Asia; Venice became Europe’s spice gateway in the 11th century; and the British East India Company established its first settlement in Malaysia at Penang in 1786. The Straits Settlements later grew to include Singapore, Melaka, and Labuan.