Born in Madiun, East Java, on December 22, 1958. He studied art at STSRI "ASRI" Yogyakarta, which he could not finish because he was too busy with artistic agendas. Ong is a pioneer in book cover design, especially for books published by independent publishers, with illustrations and typography that are different from the books of major publishers. One of them is doing illustrations and cover designs for books (novels) by maestro Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Ong is active in fine arts, but is better known as an art director for a number of stage shows (for example in the Indonesia Kita show initiated by Butet Kartaredjasa, Djaduk Ferianto (atm.) and Agus Noor), various film productions. As an artistic director, Ong Hary Wahyu won the Best Art Director award at the Indonesian Film Festival for the film Daun di atas pillow, starring Christine Hakim and directed by Garin Nugroho. Furthermore, he is almost always involved as an art director for films directed by Garin Nugroho, including Kucumbu, My Beautiful Body, Soegija, Nyai, etc.
In 2022 Ong is in charge of making Archive Dioramas owned by the DIY Regional Library and Archives Service (DPAD), in the form of historical narratives of Yogyakarta from Mataram to the post-1998 reform era in the form of films, animations, works of art, and other artifacts, which are on the second floor of the DPAD Building DIY. This archival diorama project is the first in Indonesia.
Ong is also active in organizing community-based arts activities, including being involved in the river community, organizing community activities in Nitiprayan - a village in the Bantu! the northern edge - which is also where Ong lives, in the form of activities of women and the local community practicing performing arts. More or less the same activity, carried out with artists and the people of Pacitan, East Java, is in the form of a community art festival. In the midst of such busy activities, Ong juga is still involved in including his works of art in various exhibitions in various cities in Indonesia.
For all his work and role, coinciding with Bentara Budaya's 40th Birthday celebration, on September 26 2022, Ong Hary Wahyu received the Bentara Budaya Award - as an organic activator - along with three other artists namely Warsad Darya (from Indramayu), Sahilin ( South Sumatra), and Serang Dakko (South Sulawesi). This award is an acknowledgment of the existence of Ong Hari Wahyu for the umpteenth time.***