From January 2 to April 15, 2018, Museum Jan van der Togt presented the special exhibition "Walasse Ting: The Amsterdam Years."

Xiongquan Ding, better known as Walasse Ting (Shanghai, October 13, 1928 – New York, May 17, 2010), was a Chinese-American painter. He left China in 1946, lived briefly in Hong Kong, and settled in Paris in 1953. There he met Karel Appel, Asger Jorn, and Pierre Alechinsky. In 1957, he moved to New York, where his work was influenced by pop art and abstract expressionism.

From 1989 onwards, he lived alternately in New York and Amsterdam, where he shared a studio with Appel. In 2002, he fell into a coma after suffering a brain hemorrhage, after which he was cared for in Amstelveen. Ting died in New York at the age of 81.

The exhibition focuses on the years Ting lived and worked in Amsterdam. The work from this period is characterized by bright tropical colors incorporating Chinese symbolism, such as lotus flowers and patterns. This is the first time this period has been shown on such a large scale in a museum. Approximately 80 original works by Ting from various private collections are on display. The exhibition is complemented by never-before-seen personal postcards and photographs. It offers a glimpse into the extraordinary and flamboyant life of this colorful artist.