Wong was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in San Francisco where he also worked as an set designer and with performance art groups. Later, he moved to New York City and worked only on painting. He was openly gay in an era where that didn't always open doors--even in the art world.
Among the work he is best known for are these traffic signs for the deaf. He also had a love of graffiti and the Lower East Side. He was a collector of graffiti and you can see the collection at the Museum of the City of New York. Wong donated it to them.
He died of an AIDS-related illness in 1999.