iPRECIATION is delighted to present Epiphany一念回首, a solo exhibition featuring Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960), commemorating a decade of Oh’s artistic exploration spanning from 2016 to 2024. From meditative black-and-white ink paintings to collages, and evocations of the oriental literati spirit, his practice has unravelled into myriad paths, offering multiple contemplations on the flux of life.
About the Exhibition:
The title Epiphany一念回首, signals a journey of quiet revelation, where enlightenment emerges not in grand gestures, but in the slow, persistent evolution of thought and form. Likewise, Oh’s work is a transcendental journey through the slow, transformative forces of nature, capturing the seismic shifts of tectonic plates in the textured markings of his ink paintings and the cracked, undulating surfaces of his ceramic sculptures and seals.
Each piece in this exhibition unfolds like a chapter of a story, revealing how his representations of nature are continually transformed, renewed and reinterpreted. Over the years, his art has never stood still; each exhibition of his revealing a different rhythm, a new breath. Through these ever-shifting forms, Oh’s works become more than objects and paintings. They are living traces of his desires and the path he walks as an artist, marking out his creative journey in ink and clay.
About the Artist:
Mr. Oh Chai Hoo is a Singaporean artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans a range of mediums including painting, sculpture, and ceramics. Since graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 1982, he has been an active and respected presence in the local arts scene, contributing to its growth through his involvement in artist collectives such as the Singapore Sculpture Society and Nanyang Clay Group. Over the years, his works have been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions across Singapore, Malaysia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Renowned for his distinctive artistic vision and mastery of material, Oh has received numerous accolades. These include the Siew-Tao Best Artwork Award (2013), the Siew-Tao Achievement Award (2009), the Highly Commendable Award for Abstract Medium at the 18th UOB Painting Competition (1999), and the Distinction in Visual Art Creation from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1992). His continued exploration of form, texture, and philosophy positions him as a significant figure in the development of contemporary Asian art in Singapore.
iPRECIATION is honoured to present “The Journey Continues: Lee Wen’s Exploration of Identity” at ION Art gallery (Level 4, ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801) from 13 to 17 February 2025, and at iPRECIATION (50 Cuscaden Road, HPL House #01-01, Singapore 249724) from 13 February to 29 March 2025.
This exhibition will showcase Lee Wen’s iconic works, which include fine art photography prints from his performance works, as well as performance paintings and drawings. Featured in the exhibition are some of his most important series, including “Splash!”, “Strange Fruit”, “Anthropometry Revision”, and “Yellow on Yellow Dreamboat” — works that have become landmarks in his artistic journey and have played a pivotal role in defining his legacy in the art scene. Many of these pieces, in their other editions, are part of the permanent collections of prominent local and international institutions.
No stranger to the arts scene in Singapore and internationally, Lee Wen(b. 1957 – d. 2019, Singapore) was a multidisciplinary artist and one of the country’s most internationally recognised contemporary and performance artists, playing a key role in shaping the development of performance art in Asia. He was known for challenging societal norms with works that were both thought-provoking and sharply satirical. In 1988, at the age of 30, Lee Wen discovered his true calling as an artist, which led him to leave his banking career and enrol at LASALLE College of the Arts, a decision made at a time when the professionalisation of art was still uncertain. One thing certain was that Lee’s belief in freedom was undeniable, and anyone who engages with his work can truly grasp the essence and determination that defined him. In the same year, he became a member of The Artist Village, founded by fellow artist Tang Da Wu. Lee later moved to London to pursue his studies in art at the City College of London Polytechnic in 1990.
Lee’s performances and work started as early as the 80s, he was ahead of the times in the bold social investigations and psychological interrogations of Asian culture and society. His work is complex, a mix of humour, criticism, sadness, and bitterness, with a depth that is not often found in the local art scene. Beneath the humour in his work lies the frustration and ingenuity of an artist who developed in a context where public self-expression faced significant challenges, such as the ban on funding for unscripted performance art in Singapore from 1994 to 2003. Despite this, Lee continued to perform both in Singapore and abroad. Highly respected internationally in his field, he was invited to perform on numerous international platforms, with appearances in cities such as Berlin, Glasgow, Venice, Brussels, Madrid, Tokyo, Toronto, Beijing, Santiago, Sydney, Dresden, Tel Aviv, Bern, Mexico City, Helsinki, and Havana, among many others, from 1998 to 2014.
Over the span of 30 years, Lee participated in more than 85 exhibitions and performances, both locally and internationally. His works have also been featured at prestigious art fairs, such as Art Basel Hong Kong in 2014, marking his debut at an international art fair, followed by Art Paris in 2015, Art Miami in 2017, and Art SG in 2024. Throughout his career, he has garnered numerous accolades and his works are part of the permanent collections at institutions.
Lee Wen passed away on March 3, 2019, in Singapore, but his legacy continues. His life and work reflected his belief that continuous learning and growth are fundamental to strength and progress—principles he embraced until his final moments. For Lee, art was not just about creation—it was about pushing boundaries and inviting others to join him on a journey of continuous growth and exploration.
About the Artist
Lee Wen (b. 1957 – d. 2019, Singapore), is a multidisciplinary artist and one of Singapore’s most internationally recognised contemporary artists. Best known for his Yellow Man series, painting his own body with bright yellow poster paint, he expresses an exaggerated symbol of his ethnic identity as a citizen of Singapore. Lee now lives and works extensively on a global circuit and is based between Singapore and Tokyo.
Lee Wen’s performances and installations often expose and question the ideologies and value systems of individuals as well as social structures. His work attempts to combine Southeast Asian contexts with international currents in contemporary art. His early practice was associated with the Artists Village, an alternative art group in Singapore and later forged a more individuated artistic career. (Lee officially resigned from TAV in 2011). Lee has been represented at the Singapore Biennale (2014), Busan Biennale (2004), the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane (1999), the Sexta Bienal de La Habana, (1997), the Kwang Ju Biennial (1995) and the 4th Asian Art Show, Fukuoka (1994).
Lee’s enthusiasm as an artist goes beyond his solo work and continues to be active and involved with the new generation in spawning possibilities of collaborations, network and discourse. In 2003 Lee initiated, with the support of the Artists Village, “The Future of Imagination”, an international performance art event and “R.I.T.E.S.- Rooted In The Ephemeral Speak” (2009), a platform to support and develop performance art practices, discourse, infrastructure and audiences in Singapore.
Since 1999 Lee has worked with Black Market International an innovative, ground-breaking, utopian performance art “group” comprising artists from various countries and cultural backgrounds. Lee initiated the Independent Archive in 2012 to develop documentation, research and resource sharing of ephemeral art manifestations in Singapore as well as internationally.
Artworks shown at ION Art gallery:
Splash! 潑！#5 & #6 (Edition 3 of 5), 2003, 109.2×109.2cm (Each),113x113cm (Framed Each), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper
Strange Fruit奇異果 (Edition 3 of 5), 2003, 109.2cmx109.2cm (Each), 113x113cm (Framed Each), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper
(Left to Right) Anthropometry Revision – JJ Series No. 02, 2008, 109x75cm,127×91.3cm (Framed) Anthropometry Revision – LW Series No. 01, 2008, 109x79cm,127×91.3cm (Framed)
(Left to Right) Anthropometry Revision – JJ Series No. 08, 2008, 110 x 75cm,127 x 91.3cm (Framed) Anthropometry Revision – LW Series No. 04, 2008, 110 x7 9cm,127 x 91.3cm (Framed) Anthropometry Revision – HLP Series No. 03, 2008, 110 x 75cm, 127 x 91.3cm (Framed)
(Top to Bottom) Journey of a Yellow Man No.7: Harvesting beauty in the fields (…walking) (Edition 1 of 5), 1995, 86.5×124.5cm (With Border), 100×137.5cm (Framed), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper Journey of a Yellow Man No.7: Harvesting beauty in the fields (…reflecting) (Edition 1 of 5), 1995, 86.5×124.5cm (With Border), 100×137.5cm (Framed), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper Journey of a Yellow Man No.7: Harvesting beauty in the fields (…following) (Edition 1 of 5), 1995, 86.5×124.5cm (With Border), 100×137.5cm (Framed), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper Journey of a Yellow Man No.7: Harvesting beauty in the fields (…sweeping) (Edition 1 of 5), 1995, 86.5×124.5cm (With Border), 100×137.5cm (Framed), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper
Yellow on Yellow: Dreamboat 黃人身上的黃色：夢之船, 1998 – 2014, 152.4×101.6cm, 155x106cm (Framed), Acrylic Print on Photograph, Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper (2nd Print)
Hard Rain, 1990, 87x60cm, Acrylic on Canvas
(Left to Right) This Blue Again No.11, 2014, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper, This Blue Again No.7, 2014, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper, This Blue Again No.2, 2014, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper, This Blue Again No.4, 2014, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper
(Top left to right) Pralaya Series No.13, 2002, 25x36cm, 48x59cm (Framed), Graphite on Paper,Pralaya Series No.14, 2002, 25x36cm, 48x59cm (Framed), Graphite on Paper (Bottom left to right) Pralaya series No.15, 2002, 25x36cm, 48x59cm (Framed), Graphite on Paper Pralaya series No.2, 2002, 29.8x42cm, 48x59cm (Framed), Graphite on Paper
(Top left to right) Struck, 2015, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper, Bay of Fire, 2015, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper (Bottom left to right) A New Vessel for the Ocean, 2015, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper, Light My Fire, 2015, 33x23cm, 57x47cm (Framed), Colour Pencil on Paper
Artworks shown at iPRECIATION Gallery:
(Top to Bottom) Call of the Red, When We Meet Again No.1, 2013, (Edition 1 of 5), 112x216cm, Giclee print on cotton rag paper, Call of the Red (When We Meet Again) No.2, 2013, (Edition 1 of 5), 112x112cm (With Border), 115×115 cm (Framed), Giclee Print on Cotton Rag Paper
(Left to Right) Anthropometry Revision, Ink Series No.02, 2008, 140x75cm, Ink on Rice Paper Anthropometry Revision, Ink Series No.08, 2008, 140x75cm, Ink on Rice PaperRed Dress with Leaves, 2013, 110x79cm, Pastel on Paper
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition with Mr. Li Xianting, a key figure in the development of Chinese avant-garde art and a highly respected independent art critic and curator, often referred to as the “Godfather of Chinese Contemporary Avant-Garde Art.” Mr. Li coined movements such as “Cynical Realism” and “Political Pop.” His curatorial work includes landmark exhibitions like China New Art Post ’89 and China Contemporary Art Exhibition, bringing Chinese contemporary art to the international stage.
About the Exhibition:
Mr. Li Xianting (b.1949, Jilin, China) graduated from Chinese Painting Department, Central Academy of Fine Art in 1978, he became the editor of Fine Art Magazine until 1983.
From 1985 to 1989 he was the editor of the authoritative China Fine Art Newspaper, and was active as an independent critic and curator based in Beijing henceforth. He devoted his career to writing, researching, and editing of contemporary Chinese art. He enjoys writing in bold characters, which have become a distinctive aspect of his personal style and expression.
This solo exhibition “Li • Tales in Calligraphy” marks Li Xianting’s return after years of seclusion, offering a rare opportunity to witness his inner voice. During the pause the world experienced amid the pandemic, Mr. Li found a moment of reflection. With the world seemingly on hold, he continued his passion for brush writing. His works serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience of art in the face of adversity. It offers a space for reflection on the broader cultural and societal values that shape us, while also honouring the legacy of a true pioneer in Chinese contemporary art. His brush writing reflects his inner thoughts, characterized by bold, rugged edges and expansive characters and style, diverges from traditional calligraphic practices, marking his unique artistic identity.
The works he presents, at first glance, seems to dwell in darker corners of the human experience: words like “Pain”, “Demon”, “Sickness”, and phrases such as “Falling Blossoms Fading Moon” or “Between Joy and Melancholy”. These words suggest a deep reflection on suffering, loss, and the struggle between opposing emotions. But to stop there, focusing only on the literal meanings of the characters, would be to miss the heart of the work. As Mr. Li has said, whether a piece of art is “good” or “bad” depends not on the work itself, but on the perspective of the viewer. How one perceives the art reveals more about the viewer than about the artwork itself. Rather than defining the work by the words themselves, we are asked to explore the space around the characters — to experience what is present in the silence, the gaps, the negative spaces. It is through this interplay between the written form and the space it occupies that the true nature of the piece unfolds. This subtlety reminds us that life, in its fullest sense, is not only made up of the high points of joy but also of the low moments that shape our growth and resilience.
There is irony in the act of writing these heavy words. Words like “Speech-less” or “Take a Step Back” inherently suggest an absence, a lack of expression. And yet, he has created these works, carefully choosing to write them. Reading these works, one might expect him to withdraw and cease all creative acts. Instead, his continued expression—his very act of writing these words—is a form of resistance, a refusal to be silenced. It is, in itself, an act of defiance against the gravity of these emotions.
For Mr. Li, it has been a period of reflection and regeneration. His works remind us that we all have our moments of challenges, but it is through these very experiences that we carve out our capacity for joy, strength, and meaningful moments. The act of writing these words is not an endorsement of their permanence, but a way of acknowledging their place in the ongoing path of life. This exhibition marks his return—not as a mere return to the spotlight but as a return to his own sense of being, a time of silence that now makes way for the resurgence of his work.
About the Artist:
Li Xianting (b.1949, Jilin, China) is a key figure in the development of Chinese avant-garde art and a highly respected independent art critic and curator, often referred to as the “Godfather of Chinese Contemporary Avant-Garde Art”. As the magazine editor at Meishu magazine during Chinese economic reform, he introduced influential art movements such as “Scar Art,” “Rural Art,” and the modernistic “Twelve Artists Group Exhibition”, China’s first modernist show since mid-century. He was the only critic to positively review the “Stars Art Exhibition” in a state-owned art magazine. He was the editor of three influential art magazines in China: Meishu (1978-1983), Art Newspaper of China (1985-1989), and The Renaissance (Xin Chao) (2001), and also contributed in the editing of other journals such as Art Trends (Meishu Sichao). His contributions to the “85 New Wave” and his ongoing research and writing on Chinese art since the 1970s have solidified his status as a leading art critic. His articles, such as “Critique of the May Fourth Art Revolution” “What Matters is Not Art” “‘Postmodern’, ‘Nationalisation’ and ‘Straw’” “The Sense of ‘Boredom’ in Contemporary Chinese Art: Analyzing the Cynical Realism Trend”, are now essential references for researching contemporary Chinese art. In 1991, he published “The Sense of ‘Boredom’ in Contemporary Chinese Art: Analyzing the Cynical Realism Trend” on the Hong Kong academic journal, Twenty-First Century, giving Fang Lijun and his contemporaries’ new works a novel designation that had no precedent in modern art history. His article “Political Pop and Consumer Imagery” organises the artworks from Wang Guangyi and Zhang Pei li. On Chinese Calligraphy Studies, he published “Questioning ‘Modern Calligraphy’”, as a systematic exposition on the modernisation of calligraphy as a traditional art. In his spare time, he also finds joy in practising calligraphy. Graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the late 1970s, he has been using a brush as his writing tool since childhood, a skill he has honed for decades. He possesses the distinct characteristics of a traditional intellectual. Since 2006 he has founded and directed the Li Xianting Film Fund, a project dedicated to the screening, education, and archiving of independent Chinese documentaries. Despite his academic journey, he finds solace in brush writing. He has a passion in writing large and bold characters, distinct from the works of traditional calligraphers. In recent years, he has chosen a more secluded lifestyle, yet remains committed to his artistic endeavours.
Artwork:
“Speech-less” 無語, 2024, 157×48.5cm, Ink on Paper
Chaos 亂, 95x95cm, Ink on Paper
Between Joy and Melancholy 半悲半喜半顧影 半醉半醒半忘形, 180×23.5cm Each (Couplets), Ink on Paper
As we approach the end of another remarkable year, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our artists, whose dedication and talent continue to inspire us; to the scholars and connoisseurs for their unwavering support; and to those whose passion for art helps bring these works to life around the world, sustaining the creative ecosystem that inspires future generations of creatives.
In this festive season, iPRECIATION has carefully selected a diverse array of local artworks ideal for gift-giving—from drawings, paintings and prints to sculptures —offering something for every art enthusiast. Art is a gift that fosters lasting memories, connections, and meaningful conversations, opening doors to new ideas, stories, and perspectives—making it a timeless gift to cherish for generations as it continues to give long after it is received.
This showcase not only celebrates the talent within our local art community but also sets the stage for exciting years ahead, highlighting how each individual and their contributions play a vital role in the growth of our art community. Every “piece” adds to the beauty of our shared journey, offering a unique experience with its own character.
In addition to the works featured in this showcase, iPRECIATION is excited to announce that some of our showcased artists will also have their works displayed at the overhead link bridge connecting VOCO Orchard Singapore and Four Seasons Hotel Singapore (190 Orchard Boulevard, Singapore 248646).
May this festive season be filled with beauty, joy, and unforgettable memories, as you discover the perfect piece to add to your collection—or to gift someone special.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to an even more exciting year in 2025.
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce our highly anticipated group exhibition, “Refrain,” curated by Dr Vincent Leow, offering a unique opportunity to explore works created exclusively for this exhibition by Ee Poh Kiat (b. 1965, Melaka, Malaysia), Ye Shufang (b. 1971, Singapore), Jonathan Nah/Kiat (b. 1972, Singapore), Willy Tay (b. 1974, Singapore) and, Li Jiacheng (b.1995, Singapore), all of whom are exhibiting at iPRECIATION for the first time.
About the Exhibition:
Dr Leow, a prominent artist and educator, curates this exhibition featuring talented artists he has long admired. As a key figure in Singapore’s contemporary art scene, his unique perspective invites us to engage deeply with their work.
The title “Refrain” draws inspiration from the concept of repetition and recurring themes, akin to the repeated lines in a poem or song. Just as a refrain recurs in music or poetry, this exhibition features artworks that explore variations on common themes, highlighting how each piece harmonises with each other, much like how each verse and word comes together to create a cohesive melody in a song or poem.
In this exhibition, over 40 new artworks will be shown, featuring artists from diverse backgrounds who employ a variety of styles and techniques, weaving their personal narratives into their work. Among these artists is Ee Poh Kiat, who wears many hats with finesse. Not only is he an artist who has participated in notable exhibitions, including one at Parco Urban Art Tokyo, selected by the Singapore Art Museum, but he is also a trained architect and contractor who founded his own design and construction services company. This unique combination of skills allows him to blend creativity with practical application, resulting in art that is rare and distinctive — an approach that is seldom encountered in Singapore.
Ye Shufang’s upcoming series, “Exercises in Saturation,” marks an exciting new chapter in her long-standing exploration “Exercises in Colour,” which she has been developing since 2009. This new series promises to be a compelling evolution, going deeper into her fascination with colour and form. Through overlapping lines and a structured framework of angles and colours in “Exercises in Saturation”, she seeks to understand the boundary between “paper” and “drawing,” contemplating how many lines and repetitions are needed for a drawing to emerge. Utilising a basic 12-color watercolour palette, she crafts an infinite spectrum of colours, guiding us to discover the extraordinary beauty within the ordinary. This series raises intriguing questions about the nature of creation: how many lines and repetitions are necessary for a drawing to truly emerge? She enjoys highlighting the significance of the small and ordinary, leading us to appreciate the often-overlooked aspects of daily life. With her previous series, “Exercises in Shape,” she transformed kitchen tools like cookie-cutters and baking moulds into artistic motifs, celebrating their potential beyond utility. In her installations, she uses perishable materials like agar-agar and sweets to explore concepts of the ephemeral, prompting reflection on how we assign value to fleeting experiences and simple pleasures.Similarly, PK examines materials found at construction sites, reimagining and repurposing discarded elements. Together, they highlight how overlooked materials can be reinterpreted to reveal new dimensions of beauty and meaning.
Jonathan Nah, often referred to as Kiat, seamlessly blends his passions as an electronic music artist and painter, employing a shared philosophy of creating visual harmony that reflects his musical practice of reprocessing both old and new elements. He paints only with his non-dominant hand, which enables him to disconnect from his conscious mind and explore new mark-making techniques without judgement. “Flanging Breaths”, delves into the interplay between the fleeting and the eternal, inspired by the rhythmic pulses of life, moving further into abstraction compared to his previous exhibition, emphasising the layering textures and rhythms to create a sense of blurred time and space, blending organic forms with spontaneous, gestural strokes. The theme focuses on exploring the space between inhale and exhale—stillness and motion—drawing parallels to both music and mindfulness, particularly influenced by the fluid, meditative nature of Chinese calligraphy. Kiat references calligraphy for its mindful practice of breathing with each stroke, prioritising the mental state over the visual outcome. For him, the process and intention take precedence, rather than the outcome, a guiding principle he intends to carry forward in this set of works.
A prevalent theme in Willy Tay’s new works is the lack of singular notions, rooted in his belief that art reflects society. As an artist within Singapore’s diverse community, his work is closely tied to it. He chooses topics based on peculiar antiquities as well as current and past events, aiming to examine how we interact with visual fragments that lead to reconstructed narratives. This approach uncovers visual tensions that bridge the mundane with the magical, providing alternative perspectives and an escape from reality. Li Jiacheng, a young emerging artist currently pursuing his studies in painting at Städelschule in Frankfurt, Germany, demonstrates a remarkable level of skill and creativity that belies his years of experience. His vibrant works draw inspiration from European masters of the Fauvist, Expressionist, and Neo-Expressionist movements.
Both Tay and Li explore themes of cultural displacement, the interplay between reality and myth, and the impact of historical contexts. Tay reflects on Singapore’s colonial legacy, using local events to create narratives that blend the ordinary with the extraordinary. Similarly, Li examines the coexistence of past and present, crafting dynamic visual stories that blur the lines between high and popular culture. Both artists engage with the tension between familiarity and the unknown; Tay addresses societal issues through visual fragments, while Li merges European art influences with his Southeast Asian roots. Together, their works reveal how personal and cultural histories shape our understanding of existence. As you engage with the artworks of these five talented artists With Dr Leow’s trusted vision shining a spotlight on their talent, you’ll appreciate their journeys and find connections to your own.
About the Artists:
Ee Poh Kiat (b. 1965, Melaka, Malaysia)
Ee Poh Kiat, also known as PK, is a Kuala Lumpur-based artist and architect whose unique artistic practice is deeply intertwined with his experience in construction and design. Born in 1965 in Melaka, Malaysia, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Louisiana State University in 1990. After working in architectural firms in Singapore and a brief stint in New York, he returned to Malaysia in 1999 to establish his own design and construction services company. His work is characterized by a profound engagement with materials, particularly those found on construction sites. He is captivated by the textures and inherent beauty of construction debris and leftover materials, often overlooked by workers. By skilfully manipulating and reconstructing these remnants, he transforms them into compelling abstract art pieces that invite viewers to reconsider the value and potential of what is typically dismissed as waste. Through his work, he challenges conventional perceptions, revealing new dimensions of beauty and significance within objects originally designed for functional purposes. In 1996, he was selected by the Singapore Art Museum to participate in a group exhibition at Parco Urban Art in Tokyo, followed by a group show, “Not Painting,” at Plastique Kinetic Worms Gallery in Singapore in 1998. After a long career in architecture and design, he held his first exhibition in Malaysia in 2020 at Artas Gallery.
Ye Shufang (b. 1971, Singapore)
Ye Shufang is an artist and educator whose art practice spans over two decades, primarily focusing on installation and drawing. With a keen interest in ephemeral materials, she explores the value of small and ordinary things that surround us, allowing viewers to appreciate the often-overlooked beauty in everyday life. She has held solo exhibitions at notable venues, including The Private Museum in Singapore in 2011, 2013, and 2016, the Belgrade Cultural Centre in Serbia in 2004, Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta in 2004, and Plastique Kinetic Worms in Singapore in 2004. Her work has also been featured in several curated exhibitions, such as “Medium At Large” at the Singapore Art Museum in 2014, “City-Net Asia” in South Korea in 2007, the World Exposition in Japan in 2005, and “Feminine Imaginaire” in Venice in 2002. In 2021, she was the keynote speaker at the International Symposium on Children’s Art Education, organised by the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan. Her insights into art education are further reflected in her article, “Junior Roundtable: Children Talk About Art in Singapore,” published in “New Museum Practice” in Asia by Lund Humphries in 2018. One of her notable works, “Exercises in Shape (II)”, was selected as one of the 100 favourite artworks globally in the January 2012 issue of Bazaar Art (China). In 2001, she was honoured as one of the ten recipients of the inaugural Singapore President’s Young Talents Exhibition award. Currently, she serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and is pursuing her PhD at the Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. Through her art and teaching, she continues to inspire a deeper appreciation for the subtle intricacies of our surroundings.
Jonathan Nah/Kiat (b. 1972, Singapore)
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Jonathan Nah, referred to as Kiat, has explored innovative and resourceful ways of creating art in response to lockdowns and limited access to materials. This journey has led him to develop a hybrid technique that combines digital and analogue mediums, inspired by his method of resampling material in music. The adventurous themes in Kiat’s work are closely linked to his fascination with emotions and the concept of freedom. His freeform creative approaches have enabled him to work across multiple mediums, from painting on walls and canvases to composing music for dance floors, theatrical stages, and art installations. He also creates works that blur the line between art and design for various brands and cultural institutions. Kiat has developed projects both locally and internationally for notable organisations, including Cake Theatre, The Peranakan Museum, Swarovski, Adidas, ArtScience Museum, Dazed Online, Versus, Dior, Selfridges, the Singapore Tourism Board, Nike, Beams, and SHOWstudio. His recent presentations include “Antinodes” during Singapore Art Week in 2022, “Sonic Sessions” at Singapore Art Week in 2024, and his first solo exhibition, “I Against I,” at Art Outreach in 2024.
Willy Tay (b. 1974, Singapore)
Willy Tay graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts in 1994 with a Diploma in Fine Art (Painting). He continued his studies at RMIT University, completing his Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) in 1998 and a Master of Arts (Fine Art) in 2004. With a dynamic artistic practice, he has participated in both solo and group exhibitions in Singapore and internationally. Notable exhibitions include “Do You Believe in Angels?” at Equator Art Projects in Singapore and Mo_Space in the Philippines in 2014, “The Realm in the Mirror, the Vision out of Image” at Jinji Lake Art Museum in Suzhou, China, in 2013, “Moments on White” at Osage Gallery in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2007, and “A Matter of Time” at SooBin Art Gallery in Singapore in 2007. His most recent group exhibition took place in 2023 at the Impression Culture and Art Festival in the Wenjiang Art District of Chengdu, China. He views art as a reflective medium, offering a mirror to society and emphasizing the artist’s role in interpreting and narrating the cultural and aesthetic narratives that shape our collective understanding. His paintings demonstrate a delight in the application and layering of paint, showcasing his engagement with the evolving art scene. Currently, he lives and works in Singapore, where he continues to develop his artistic practice.
Li Jiacheng (b.1995, Singapore)
Li Jiacheng is a painter whose work reflects on themes of history, identity, and myth. Born to Mainland Chinese parents from Xi’an and Shandong, Jiacheng’s upbringing in Singapore and his travels have significantly influenced his artistic journey. He began at the School of the Arts in Singapore, initially focusing on wood sculpture before pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, graduating in 2023. His shift to painting drew inspiration from memories of Southeast Asia and the complexities of belonging, heightened during global lockdowns. Jiacheng’s vibrant works are shaped by diverse sources, including photographs, films, and oral histories, which he transforms into imaginative narratives that intertwine personal and cultural experiences. Currently based in Frankfurt, Germany, he is furthering his education as a Meisterschüler at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule under Willem De Rooij. His recent exhibitions include “Fresh Power” at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2023 and the “Young Artist Autumn Saloon” at the Phoenix Center in 2021.
Artworks
Ee Poh Kiat, Composition X, 2024, 38.5(W)x31.5(H)x6.5(D)cm (Diptych), Oil Stick and Pigment on Plywood
(Top Left to Right) Ye Shufang, Exercises in Colour-Old school Wafer roses (II), 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on Paper, Exercises in Colour-Rarest gemstones (III), 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on Paper, Exercises in Colour-The Blue Pea, 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on Paper
(Bottom Left to Right)Ye Shufang, Exercises in Saturation-Orange, 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on Paper, Exercises in Colour-The Bougainvillea, 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on Paper,Exercises in Saturation-Rainbow, 2024, 35x35cm, Watercolour on PaperKiat, Eternal Impermanence, 2024, 120x 120cm, Acrylic on LinenWilly Tay, Uncharted, 2023, 91x73cm, Acrylic and Oil on CanvasLi Jiacheng, Moments Before, 2024, 190x190cm, Oil on Canvas
In the month of October, iPRECIATION is showcasing “Asal-Usul,” which translates to “From Where It Begins” in Bahasa Indonesia. This showcase offers a rare glimpse into the early works of nine contemporary Indonesian artists: Nasirun (b.1965, Java, Indonesia), Budi Ubrux (b.1968, Yogyakarta, Indonesia), Yunizar (b.1971, Talawi, Indonesia), Edo Pop (b.1972, Palembang, Indonesia), Alfi Jumaldi (b.1973, Lintau, Indonesia), Gusmen Heriadi (b.1974, Pariaman, Indonesia), Riki Antoni (b.1977, Yogyakarta, Indonesia), Samsul Arifin (b.1979, Malang, Indonesia),and I Made Aswino Aji (b.1997,Silakarang, Indonesia).
About the Showcase:
Through these early works created between 2001 and 2009, we gain a window into their initial explorations that shaped their paths, capturing a period of raw discovery and reflecting the genesis of their remarkable artistic career today. Each work reflects the artist’s engagement and curiosity with the modern world, driven by personal experiences and a deep exploration of socio-political and cultural issues affecting their society. While all nine artists explore similar themes, they do so through a diverse array of styles and techniques. The meticulous care in detailing makes each work uniquely individual and original, such patient meticulousness is increasingly uncommon among contemporary artists.
For instance, the use of vivid headlines and images on newsprint, along with the intricate folds and twists of the newspapers that complement each character’s posture in Budi’s works showcases the painstaking effort he invests in his art. Riki’s work employs massive, animalistic characters as a central theme in his artworks, these quirky protagonists are swathed in a palette of vibrant colours, to establish a paradoxical stance on the country’s political and social climate. Samsul’s iconic Barbie Doll series stands as a unique and valuable commentary in his oeuvre and is particularly noteworthy due to its limited run of only six pieces, making each artwork extremely important and valuable to collectors. In this showcase, we will be showing three of these six works, each demonstrating Samsul’s meticulous approach to manipulating objects, color, space, and composition to critically examine the impact of imported cultures on local identity. Hence, the intricate and time-consuming nature of these creative practices across the showcased artists renders such works increasingly scarce and highlights their exceptional significance.
In addition, our showcase will feature works from three significant series that Alfi began in early 2005: Meditation, Postcards, and Sign series. These series are integral to his ongoing exploration into the search for the real self. The pieces we are showcasing represent the foundational stage of this discovery, illustrating the initial concepts and themes that Alfi later expanded upon. Through these works, visitors will gain insight into the early development of his search for the real self and the evolution of his vision.
Yunizar’s works, created in the early 2000s, stand out for their simplicity compared to his more recent creations. These early pieces, while seemingly straightforward, are essential to understanding his current works. The simplicity of his early visual elements expresses his aim to capture intuition and instinct. Recognizing these early pieces is crucial for appreciating how they laid the groundwork for his evolution as an artist.
There is something profoundly special about an artist’s early works. They hold a special place in the hearts of collectors, not only because of their rarity but also because they capture the artist’s purest state of mind—driven solely by passion and creativity, free from the constraints that may often develop later. During these formative stages, artists are exploring and creating without knowing exactly where their path will lead or how their work will be received; it is a genuine adventure. For the viewer, it’s a privilege to see such early creations on public display. The rarity of earlier works—many of which are typically found in private collections—adds an extraordinary dimension to this showcase, a chance to appreciate the beginnings of creative minds that would go on to shape their artistic journey.
About the Artists:
Nasirun (b.1965, Java, Indonesia)
Nasirun was born in 1965 in Cilacap, a port town on the south coast of Central Java Indonesia, and currently lives and works in Yogyakarta. A graduate of the Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta, Jawa, Nasirun is fluent in painting, carving, sculpture, drawing, installation and more. conceptualisation in his creations often stems from the spiritual and cultural realms that resonate strongly with him. Infused with themes reflecting his deep belief in Muslim spirituality, he specialises in creating large-format paintings based on his extensive knowledge of Javanese wayang.
Budi Ubrux (b.1968, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Budi Ubrux was born in 1968, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. One of the most progressive and radical new artists to emerge from Indonesia, he is less a visionary than an acerbic social reactionary. Prior to winning the Philip Morris Indonesian Art Award in 2000, Budi was a billboard artist and painter based in Switzerland. His paintings are powerful satirical observations on social degeneration through the alarmingly haunting aesthetic of faceless figures mummified in newsprint. Attempting to locate “the ulcer of corruption” – as quoted from the artist himself – in the heavily politicized agenda of contemporary society, Budi explores the concept of a mediated reality through the role of newspapers.
Yunizar (b.1971, Talawi, Indonesia)
Born in 1971 in Talawi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. A member of the Jendela Art Group, Yunizar’s work embodies the beauty and purity of human creativity, emerging spontaneously from what appears as his unconscious mind. Intentionally uses simple subject matter, objects which surround his daily life, and a simple painting and sketching technique to focus almost entirely on creativity and inventiveness. The childlike quality of Yunizar ’s work belies a complex narrative, through the recurring themes on his canvas including stiff figures, mask-like portraits, mythical creatures and floating objects; which are intimately linked with a timeless dream world and a poetic and somewhat quiet presence. In these playful and beautifully balanced compositions, there is a spiritual searching of the mind, a journey in a quest for self and identity.
Edo Pop (b.1972, Palembang, Indonesia)
Edo Pop, or Eduard was born in 1972 in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. He was educated at SMSR Palembang (1989 – 1993) and later on at the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta (1995 – 2000). He has been involved with various artists’ organisations in Palembang and Yogyakarta since 1990, including the Sanggar Bidar Sriwjaya which he co-founded in 1998, and Rumah Seni Muara, Yogyakarta, which he co-founded in 2003. Edo Pop has had solo exhibitions in Copenhagen, Denmark, Yogyakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia. He has also participated in group exhibitions in the USA, Canada and Singapore over the last twenty years.
Alfi Jumaldi (b.1973, Lintau, Indonesia)
Alfi Jumaldi was born in 1972 in Lintau, West Sumatra, Indonesia. After studying at the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta in 1999, he co-founded and became a member of Jendela Art Group, a prominent contemporary artist collective. In 2010, he co-founded the Artists Collective, Office: For Contemporary Art International in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Alfi was nominated for the 10th Indonesian Art Awards (2003, Finalist) and the 5th Indonesian Art Awards, The Best Painting Awards, Indonesian Institute of Art (ISI), Yogyakarta, Indonesia (1998, Finalist). He currently lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Gusmen Heriadi (b.1974, Pariaman, Indonesia)
Gusmen Heriadi was born in 1974 in Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Having graduated from the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta in 2005, he works as an illustrator at Tabloid Altternatif Pualiggoubat Mentawai in his hometown. Concurrently, Gusmen actively exhibited his work throughout the past two decades. He was the recipient of the Space and Image Award in Indonesia, which was exhibited at Ciputra World Marketing Gallery. Gusman was also a finalist of both the Philip Morris and Indofood Art Awards (2000 and 2002) and has been honoured with a Special Appreciation at the Jakarta Art Awards in 2006. Most of the works by Gusman are products of his dreams, his responses to life, and his philosophical views. In turn, these are the result of cultural development and family habits, as well as influences from the breadth of his artistic life and pursuits.
Riki Antoni (b.1977, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Riki Antoni was born in 1977 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. As an artist, he employs massive, animalistic characters as a central theme in his artworks and these quirky protagonists swathed in a palette of vibrant colours, to establish a paradoxical stance on the country’s political and social climate. Obtaining inspiration from the realm of the phantasmal, Riki has infused this mystifying theme with his fascination for the proverbial, enabling the artist to create wild new-fangled characters that ironically, possess an inherent shade of humanity that is aptly reflective of the nuances of urbanised, ‘civilised’ behaviour.
Samsul Arifin (b.1979, Malang, Indonesia)
Samsul Arifin was born in 1979, in Malang, Indonesia. He established himself as a multi-talented artist. In 2001, Arifin won both Indonesian Art Institute awards for the Best Watercolour Painting and Best Sketching Work. The artist often employs, with astute awareness, artistic signifiers in various combinations to construct meanings in his creations. In his series of Barbie Dolls paintings, he has invested much deep thought to effectively manipulate object, colour, space and composition in his works, criticizing the penetration of imported cultures.
I Made Aswino Aji (b.1997, Silakarang, Indonesia)
I Made Aswino Aji was born in 1977 in Silakarang, Gianyar, Bali to a family of wood carvers, sculptors and painters, for Aji, drawing and painting were part of daily life even before he started school. Aji attended the High School of Fine Arts in Denpasar, Bali (1993 – 1996) as well as the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta (1996 – 2006). Aji’s works reflect a distinctive point of view towards the phenomenon of modern life, depicting themes reflecting ostracisation and isolation. Since 2002, he has been the Director of the Ruang per Ruang Project. He became a member of the Playboys Collaboration Project in the following year. Aji has had two solo exhibitions in Yogyakarta and has participated in group exhibitions in Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Solo, Magelang, Malang and Bali since 1995.
Nasirun, Interior Klenteng, 2005, 200x145cm, Oil on Canvas
Budi Ubrux, Meeting, 2007, 150x200cm, Oil on Canvas
Yunizar, Sebulum Hajan Datung, 2003, 65x75cm, Acrylic and Pencil on Cardboard
Edo Pop, Penganaktirian Status Kelamin, 2001, 140x160cm, Acrylic on Canvas
Alfi Jumaldi, Meditation No.12, 2005, 130x180cm, Acrylic and Pencil on Canvas
Gusmen Heriadi, Big City Night, 2004, 100x200cm, Oil on Canvas
Riki Antoni, Kylie The Gold Digger, 2005,120x150cm, Oil on canvas
Samsul Arifin, Barbie, 2006, 150x120cm, Acrylic and Colour pencil on canvas
I Made Aswino Aji, After Midnight, 2004, 160x120cm, Oil on Canvas
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce the latest exhibition by one of the most highly regarded calligraphers and contemporary ink artists Wang Dongling, titled “ The Joy of Being信可樂也,” scheduled from 7th to 28th Sept 2024.
About the Exhibition:
Celebrated internationally for pioneering the “Chaos Script” and infusing ancient calligraphy with contemporary vitality, Wang Dongling stands at a unique intersection of tradition and avant-garde exploration. His contributions have revolutionized the art form, bridging the gap between historical reverence and modern experimentation, distinguished by his roots in traditional calligraphy while also underscoring his contemporary and inventive approach, embracing its evolution rather than defying them, as a new art form, reflecting both the deep-seated essence of traditional cursive script and a progressive vision that breaks away from its rigidity. This exploration of calligraphy is not merely a reinterpretation of tradition but a profound contribution. Honouring the over two millennia history of calligraphy, he recreates his unique form of art.
The Chinese title of this exhibition, “信可樂也” (xin ke le ye), translates to “a moment of complete delight or joy” in English. This choice of title is profoundly intentional. It encapsulates the emotional landscape conveyed by the works and offers insight into Wang’s state of mind at this significant juncture in his journey. “Joy” is a deliberate choice, highlighting the contrast between fleeting happiness and enduring inner fulfilment. It is a reflection of the soul’s resilience and serenity amidst life’s tumultuous rhythms.
In this exhibition, Wang Dongling’s new series includes pieces featuring lotus ponds of Hangzhou, serving as a poignant backdrop to his “Chaos Script.” The serene imagery of lotus ponds creates a powerful dialogue between chaos and order; emerging from the muddy waters untainted symbolizes spiritual enlightenment and triumph over adversity. This imagery serves as a metaphor for the artist’s journey and a reminder to recognize and appreciate the purpose of each season in our lives, transforming adversity into something beautiful and meaningful.
These works highlight the act of painting as a dynamic expression of the relationship between art and the body. Wang’s process is deeply meditative, characterized by an expressive and rhythmic quality, and rooted in the tradition of Chinese poetry and calligraphy. By placing poetry at the heart of Chinese culture, his art connects the past to the present, evolving in tandem with the ever-changing world we live in today.
About the Artist:
Wang Dongling（b.1945, Jiangsu, China）is one of the most highly regarded contemporary ink artists. He is best known for his public performances involving large format “wild cursive” script, a Chinese calligraphic style characterized by its erratic and dynamic strokes. His works are often deeply rooted in the ancient philosophies of Buddhism and Daoism, as well as Chinese poetry. Wang graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from the Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing, China) in 1966 and a Master’s Degree in Fine Art from the Calligraphy Department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (Hangzhou, China) in 1981.
Wang’s works have been prominently exhibited at institutions and several international venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, USA), Guggenheim Museum (New York City, USA), National Art Museum of China (Beijing, China), the Palace Museum (Beijing, China) and Asia Society Museum (New York City, USA). They can also be found amongst others in the collections of the British Museum (London, UK), Hong Kong Museum of Art (Hong Kong), the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, USA), the Zhejiang Museum of Fine Art, (Hangzhou, China), the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, USA), Harvard University (Cambridge, USA), and the University of California, Berkley (Berkley, USA).
李商隱詩，竹坞無塵水南鸽子檻清, 2024, 43.5×65 cm, Ink on Paper蘇束坡詩，水光瀲艷晴方好, 2024, 79×60 cm, Ink on PaperA Joyous Occasion信可樂也, 2017, 45x49cm, Ink on PaperLi Yu – Looking at Jiang Nan . Dream Afar 李煜《望江南·閒夢遠》,181×97.5cm, 190x102cm (Backing Paper), Ink on Paper鳥語花香, 2023, 66×65 cm, Ink on Paper
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition, “ Echoes and Reverberations: The Interconnectedness of Being and Becoming,” featuring over 30 artworks by five eminent artists— Milenko Prvački (b. 1951, Yugoslavia/Singapore), Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960, Singapore), Chiew Sien Kuan (b. 1965, Singapore), Boo Sze Yang (b. 1965, Singapore), and Raymond Yap (b. 1966, Malaysia / Singapore) — providing a profound opportunity to explore the intricate relationship between life, meaning, and art. Drawing from diverse sources of inspiration, including nature and urban landscapes, the exhibition invites contemplation on themes of memory, belonging, self-actualization, and transformation. The creative processes and artistic concerns of these artists reflect the philosophical idea of the interconnectedness of being and becoming, capturing the dynamic interplay between existence and change, the individual and the environment, and the subjective and the collective.
About the Exhibition:
Interconnected Worlds: Navigating the Layers of Visual Experience
The exhibition “Echoes and Reverberations” draws an interesting parallel between Eastern philosophy and contemporary artistic expression. The Buddhist concept that “Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form” resonates deeply with the approaches taken by the artists in this exhibition. This idea, emphasizing the interconnectedness and mutual dependency of material existence and voids, is reflected in how these artists treat the traditional figure-ground relationship within their works.
Much like how traditional Chinese ink painting leaves parts of the rice paper unpainted to suggest natural elements such as water, skies, or land, these artists use the figure-ground relationship to explore the fluid boundaries between presence and absence. In Chinese ink painting, the blank spaces are not mere voids but integral parts of the composition that evoke the vastness of nature and the continuity of the environment. This allows the viewer to imagine the unseen and appreciate the balance between what is depicted and what is left to the imagination.
Similarly, in “Echoes and Reverberations,” the artists challenge traditional approaches by creating layered, non-linear visual experiences. Their paintings feature a rich tapestry of dots, lines, shapes, and colors that float, overlap, and clash in ways that defy straightforward interpretation. These elements do not follow a sequential or hierarchical order but instead interact in ways that create a sense of chaos and multiplicity. This approach suggests that reality is a complex web of interconnected elements rather than a series of discrete objects.
Viewing the paintings can be likened to surfing through the internet, where each mark, shape, and symbol represents a node in a vast network of visual data. The viewer is invited to navigate this network, discovering connections and meanings that may not be immediately apparent but emerge through deeper engagement. The overlapping windows and interwoven visual elements suggest a universe of possibilities, echoing the concept of multiple universes or dimensions coexisting and interacting.
Together, the artists in “Echoes and Reverberations” offer a meditation on the nature of existence, perception, and reality. Their works encourage viewers to contemplate the fluid boundaries between form and emptiness, the real and the illusory, and to find beauty and meaning in their interplay. This exhibition is not just a visual experience but an invitation to a philosophical journey, where viewing becomes a meditation on the interconnectedness of all things.
Art as a Mirror: The Subjective Nature of Interpretation
At its core, all art is abstract. Art transcends literal representation to convey ideas, emotions, and experiences through various mediums, whether it be painting, sculpture, music, or literature. Even realistic or figurative art embodies abstract elements such as symbolism, metaphor, or subjective perspectives. The essence of art lies in its ability to evoke deeper meanings beyond the surface, engaging viewers in a process of interpretation that reflects their own experiences and thoughts.
This exhibition “Echoes and Reverberations” invites viewers to engage with the artworks on a personal level, emphasizing the subjective nature of interpretation. This approach aligns with Friedrich Nietzsche’s notion that meaning is created through our own experiences, not given to us. Nietzsche’s concept of the “Übermensch” or “Overman” suggests that individuals must transcend traditional values to create their own meaning. Similarly, in the context of art, viewers bring their own experiences, thoughts, and emotions to their interpretation, creating personal meanings that reflect their unique perspectives.
The viewer’s engagement with art is a co-creative process where the artwork acts as both a mirror reflecting personal desires and fears, and a bridge connecting them to new perspectives and experiences. Art offers a space for introspection and self-discovery, inviting viewers to explore their own inner landscapes while also engaging with the artist’s vision and broader human experiences. Through this dynamic and reciprocal relationship, art reveals its depth and significance, transforming the artistic experience into a meaningful journey of personal growth and universal connection.
Ultimately, the exhibition underscores the idea that meaning is not something to be discovered but something we create through our engagement with art and the world around us. As we navigate the complexities of existence, art remains a crucial medium for exploring, understanding, and expressing the multifaceted nature of our lives.
In an interview for Milenko’s monograph, artist Ian Woo asked what keeps him returning to painting with such fervor. Milenko replied, ‘The unfinished, endless job! The painting process is never finished. To be engaged again and again is a perpetual motivation. Every evening when I leave my studio, I am a genius. The next morning, when I step into my studio, I feel dissatisfied and unhappy with what I did. All my life I am attempting to touch a truth. And when I am almost there it will move away again and again. It is an exciting exercise. It is a journey without destination.’
About the Artists:
Milenko Prvački (b. 1951, Yugoslavia/Singapore): Abstraction as a Cultural Language
Milenko Prvački has embarked on his “Abstraction for Beginners” series since 2017, exploring painting as a language and cultural system, reflecting Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy that meaning arises from context and use. His work harmoniously integrates geometric, expressionist, and associative elements to invite reflections on the coexistence of diverse ideas and cultures.
Emerging from the fractured political landscape of the former Yugoslavia, Milenko Prvački’s artistic journey is deeply influenced by his experiences of political turmoil and cultural transition. His paintings seek visual equilibrium through the interaction of form and color, symbolizing a metaphorical journey toward reconciliation and understanding on both personal and universal levels. By juxtaposing contrasting elements, his art embodies the notion that balance and order can emerge from chaos, reflecting a broader philosophical exploration of unity and diversity.
Chaos is represented through abstract forms, unpredictable patterns, and dynamic compositions that evoke a sense of movement and instability, serving as fertile ground for new meanings and reflecting life’s unpredictability. In contrast, order is depicted through deliberate compositions, harmonious color schemes, and geometric shapes that provide stability. The interplay between these chaotic and orderly elements reflects a philosophical view that true balance is achieved not through the elimination of chaos but through its integration into a cohesive whole.
Oh Chai Hoo’s ink paintings are deeply influenced by Chinese philosophy, capturing the essence of natural rock formations and the cyclical patterns of existence. Taoism, as expressed by Laozi in the “Tao Te Ching,” emphasizes harmony with the Tao (the Way), the fundamental principle underlying and unifying the universe. Oh’s art serves as a visual meditation on life’s interconnectedness and nature’s impermanence, aligning with the Taoist concept of wu wei, or effortless action, where one harmonizes with life’s natural flow.
Oh reflects on Eastern thought’s view that nothing has eternal, substantial existence, and that truth exists between the real and the illusory. He also draws on Buddhism’s idea that “Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form,” suggesting that material things and voids are inseparable. Oh’s work is guided by the pursuit of spiritual existence beyond appearances, as illustrated by a Zen koan he shares: Three practitioners see a flag fluttering in the wind. One says the flag is moving, another says the wind is moving, and the third says neither; it is the mind that moves. Oh believes that all forms of expression depend on inner needs, with art being a means to achieve balance and fulfilment.
For the paintings in this exhibition, Oh introduces a new element of disruption to his traditionally serene visual renditions of natural rock formations. While Oh’s previous work captured the tranquil beauty of these structures through soft, flowing forms, this series explores a provocative contrast between the organic and the artificial.In these paintings, sharp-edged, blade-like geometric shapes intrude upon and cut through the naturally rendered rock forms. These geometric elements, defined by precise lines and stark edges, stand in striking contrast to the fluidity of the rocks. Despite this discord, Oh creates moments of harmony where sharp lines and soft curves meet, inviting viewers to reflect on the complex relationship between human intervention and the natural world. His work suggests that beauty and meaning can be found in the interplay between contrasting elements.
Chiew Sien Kuan (b. 1965, Singapore): Introspection in the Urban Landscape
Chiew Sien Kuan explores the subconscious response to urbanization and modernity through introspective mixed media works and assemblage. His art resonates with the Christian tradition of self-examination, akin to Augustinian inner reflection, exploring transformative changes in urban environments and their impact on inner lives.
As both a Christian and artist, Chiew grapples with imitation, creation, and purpose in art, drawing inspiration from Makoto Fujimura’s exploration of Christian doctrine. Fujimura views the tension between creation and brokenness not as a barrier but as integral to life’s rhythm. In “Culture Care,” he advocates for nurturing culture through creative generosity to foster healing in a fractured world, challenging art’s role beyond escapism to a transformative force engaging human suffering and seeking redemption. Fujimura’s philosophy underscores how art can mirror divine creativity, aiming to restore all to intended wholeness.
Conceptually, Chiew draws from Duchamp’s ‘contra-venture,’ James Hyde’s exploration of ‘places of painting,’ and El Lissitzky’s concept of the ‘interchange station between painting and architecture,’ moving from isolation towards integration. These influences evoke reflections on presence and absence, exploring one’s connection to place, time, space, and thought within the urban ‘city machine.’
Inspired by the historical significance of Singapore’s Ulu Pandan Railway Bridge, his ‘Bridges Assemblages’ series symbolizes both past and potential connectivity, blending physical and spiritual dimensions. Chiew’s mixed media works on paper also feature bridge-like structures integrating wood or aluminum pieces into their surfaces, resembling trusses, and one piece includes a miniature train atop. Interestingly, despite the presence of bridges throughout history, bridges are not mentioned in the Bible.
Boo Sze Yang (b. 1965, Singapore): Urban Transformation and Environmental Reflection
Boo Sze Yang’s exploration of the tension between human progress and environmental conservation resonates with existential responsibility. His semi-abstract paintings of urban spaces—like shopping malls and construction sites—reflect the complex relationship between human development and the natural world. By juxtaposing the tangible and the imaginary, Boo’s works compel viewers to confront the consequences of unchecked progress and to find personal meaning in balancing urbanization and nature.
Central to Boo’s work is the theme of transience and transformation, exploring reality’s fleeting and ever-changing nature. His technique of using thin, translucent oil paint washes creates an ephemeral quality in his subjects, reminiscent of reflections on modern glass buildings that offer both transparency and reflection. In his series on water reflections, Boo examines life’s aspirations—both visible and elusive, tangible and intangible—inviting viewers into a space where reality and fantasy merge in a harmonious and imaginative disarray. His paintings transcend mere depictions of moments or memories, offering glimpses into alternate realities and transforming perceptions through light and movement.
Chiew and Boo both explore urban transformation and its impact on the human experience, though they do so from distinct perspectives. Despite their different methods, both artists use their work to prompt viewers to consider the deeper implications of urban transformation, highlighting its effects on personal identity and environmental sustainability.
Raymond Yap (b. 1966, Malaysia / Singapore): Chance and Intent in Artistic Expression
Raymond Yap, born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, studied and lived in London for 18 years before settling in Singapore, where he holds both UK and Singapore permanent residency. As an artist with extensive travel and diverse experiences, Yap believes that art is boundless. He recognizes that any concept can be expressed in many ways depending on one’s background and location. This understanding of art’s endless possibilities drives Yap to pursue his own artistic path and contribute his unique perspective to the vast field of art.
Central to Yap’s exploration is the interplay between intentionality and unpredictability. His textured paintings examine nature’s patterns and the role of chance in the creative process. This approach aligns with Gestalt psychology’s emphasis on holistic perception, inviting viewers to perceive his artworks as cohesive wholes rather than mere collections of textures. Each layer of paint contributes to the overall composition, encouraging viewers to discover familiar shapes and forms within the abstract textures and colours. Yap’s approach highlights the human tendency to seek patterns and experiment with the unfamiliar, blending structured methods with the spontaneity of chance. His creative process integrates the conscious and unconscious aspects of the self, resulting in multi-layered paintings inspired by natural forms and landscapes. These works serve as a meditation on the subconscious mind’s potential and the evolving nature of artistic expression in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
The common thread between Milenko Prvački, Oh Chai Hoo and Raymond Yap is their exploration of the dynamic interplay between chaos and order through their art. Each artist approaches this theme through unique philosophical and aesthetic lenses, yet all reflect on how diverse elements can create harmony and balance.
Artworks
Milenko Prvacki, Abstraction for Beginners, 2024, 30X30cm, acrylic on linen
Oh Chai Hoo, 塔尖上的光影, 2024, 67x137cm, 墨、金色宣纸、金箔
Chiew Sien Kuan, Iron Bridge in Island Landscape, 2023, 122x93cm, Mixed media on paper
Boo Sze Yang, The Promised Land #5. 2023, 70.5x55cm, oil on linen
Raymond Yap, Petalscape, 2024, 30cmx30cm, Mixed media on canvas
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce Metamorphosis of Ink, showcasing the transformative power of ink art in the hands of four internationally renowned artists: Zhuang Shengtao (b. 1944, China), Wang Tiande (b. 1960, China), Jennifer Wen Ma (b. 1973, China/USA), and Chui Pui Chee (b. 1980, Hong Kong).
With a rich and vibrant history, particularly within Chinese culture, ink has served not just as a medium for artistic expression, but also as a powerful medium for written communication and documentation. Traditionally, ink art has been defined by meticulous brushstrokes and washes adorning sheets of rice paper. Old masters honed their craft in calligraphy and paintings, creating works that transcended mere characters and images. Through subtle variations in line and tone, they captured the essence of nature, human emotion, and philosophical thought.
Metamorphosis of Ink embraces this remarkable legacy and ignites a transformative journey. This captivating exhibition showcases four international artists who are not content with simply replicating tradition. They are actively reimagining the possibilities of contemporary ink art. Their works embrace innovative techniques, unexpected tools, and mediums, pushing the boundaries of what this ancient practice can achieve.
iPRECIATION is delighted to present Teko 壺說八道, a group exhibition featuring eight Singaporean ceramic artists: Han Sai Por (b. 1943), Suriani Suratman (b. 1959), Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960), Chua Chon Hee (b. 1960), Ahmad Abu Bakar (b. 1963), Chor Mui Ling (b. 1969), Chua Choon Lims (b. 1972), and Loy Yan Ling (b. 1974). iPRECIATION has invited these artists to come together for this unique exhibition, celebrating their individual voices and creative interpretations.
About the Exhibition:
The title beautifully combines Malay and Chinese languages, symbolising the diverse yet harmonious spirit of the exhibition. “Teko,” which is Malay for “teapot,” immediately grounds the title in a familiar and accessible object. The playful twist comes with the Chinese characters “壺說八道” (hú shuō bā dào), where “壺” (hú) translates to “vessel,” while the remaining characters echo the Chinese idiom “胡说八道” (meaning “to talk nonsense”), reinterpreting it into “teapot talk.” This witty adaptation embodies the collaborative spirit of the artists and celebrates multicultural voices and artistic expressions using the familiar form of the vessel as a springboard for creativity.
The initial spark for Teko ignited from conversations between Oh Chai Hoo and Chua Chon Hee. Inspired by the vessel’s potential as a platform for artistic expression, they envisioned an exhibition that pushed the boundaries of ceramic creativity. This collaborative spirit extended to the selection of artists, each chosen for their unique voice and perspective. The curatorial vision prioritised “depth (思想性)” in interpretation, encouraging artists to approach the theme with individuality. The resulting collection showcases a spectrum of narratives and technical mastery, a testament to the “eight not the same voices (八把不一样的声音).”
Teko 壺說八道invites viewers to see the artworks not just as utilitarian objects but as a creative medium for captivating narratives. It exalts the remarkable potential of ordinary clay, undergoing a metamorphosis in the hands of skilled artists into contemporary sculptures. Each piece whispers tales resonating with history, cultural heritage, and the enduring human spirit. Like heirlooms transcending time, they carry echoes of ancestral wisdom, sparking conversation on our collective identity and shared narrative.
About the Artists:
Han Sai Por 韩少芙(b. 1943, Singapore)
Han Sai Por is one of Asia’s leading modern sculptors. She is a recipient of Singapore’s Cultural Medallion Award (1995). She has participated in numerous international exhibitions and projects around the world. Her works can be found in the collections of many international institutions, public spaces and private collections from Singapore, Malaysia, India, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and United Kingdom and the United States. Such as the collections of National Art Gallery, Singapore Art Museum, National Museum in Beijing, Australia Parliament, Chancery of the Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations, New York, Singapore Embassy, Washington DC, Istana Singapore, Changi Airport Terminal 3. Her education in Fine Arts and Landscape Architecture has established the knowledge in understanding of nature and its environment that affected her work. Most of her organic works are inspired by the flora and fauna in tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Her work comments on the changing landscape in the region and the deforestation that adversely impacts the environment and ecosystem. “The Black Forest” installation is a series of works that comment on the bleak consequences of deforestation.
Suriani Suratman(b. 1959, Singapore)
Suriani Suratman, a social anthropologist, is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore. She started pottery classes in 2001 at the Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore under the tutorship of Master Potter Dr. Iskandar Jalil. She continued to study with Iskandar at his studio in Jalan Senyum from 2003 and at Jalan Bahar Clay Studios from 2005. She currently practises at Jalan Bahar Clay Studios where she also teaches ceramics. Suriani is inspired by the stories of peoples, places and the past. She hopes that her works will evoke ideas, memories and feelings that will be a starting point for a journey of reflection. Suriani has participated in many group exhibitions including “Shaping Clay” (Singapore Clay Festival, 2023) and “Tribute to Local Clay: A Pottery Exhibition (Maya Gallery, 2015). Her third solo exhibition, ‘Pusat: Conversations with my mama Saerah’ was held at The Arts House, Singapore in July 2022. She has done several commissioned works including a ceramic mural and installation called “Apollo’s Dream” (Nanyang Technological University Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, 2016). Her artworks are in the National Gallery Singapore collection.
Oh Chai Hoo财和胡(b. 1960, Singapore)
Oh Chai Hoo is a Singapore artist who works extensively with various mediums. Since graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1982, Oh remains an active member of the local arts scene. He was the vice-president (2013 – 2021) of Singapore’s Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society and had held various exhibitions locally and in South Korea and Japan. He has received a Distinction in Visual Art Creation by the NAFA Alumni Association (1992), Highly Commended in Abstract Medium at the 18th UOB Painting of the Year competition (1999), the Siaw-Tao Achievement Award in 2009, and the Siaw-Tao Best Artwork Award in 2013. Oh’s ceramics exhibitions include “Marks on Earth – Ceramic Seals by Oh Chai Ho (iPreciation, 2021). His works are well collected privately and also permanently collected by the National Museum of Singapore and The Istana, Singapore.
Chua Chon Hee蔡春喜(b.1960, Singapore)
Chua Chon Hee is a local artist who works extensively with various mediums. Graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts with an Advanced Diploma in Western Art in 1982, she was involved in fine arts education for many years, and is now dedicated to her artistic creation. In recent years, she has focused on ceramics and prints as her main mediums of creation, and is largely inspired by nature. She is also open to different art forms and mediums, and has explored seal carving and ink painting. Chon Hee has held solo exhibitions, and has also been involved in many group and major overseas exhibitions. Her artworks have been acquired by many hotels, corporations, as well as by private collectors. In 2016, she initiated, and was part of an exhibition called “A Thousand Cups and Maybe More” – the first of its kind – with 7 other potters and ceramics enthusiasts, bringing 1000 ceramic cups to the audience. Her most recent solo exhibition comprised of ceramics and prints in 2023 was titled “The Long Gaze” (ArtCommune Gallery AC43). She also regularly organized annual showcases with her students such as Taking Roots to Rise (Stamford Arts Centre) in 2022
Ahmad Abu Bakar (b. 1963, Malaysia)
Ahmad Abu Bakar graduated from LaSalle SIA College of the Arts with a Diploma in Fine Arts (Ceramics) in 1989. He received his Bachelor of Fine Art (Sculpture) from the University of Tasmania (Australia) in 1995. Upon his return to Singapore in 1996, Ahmad joined LaSalle College of the Arts as a full-time lecturer until 2008 where he taught ceramics and 3D studies. He also pursued his Master of Fine Arts with RMIT / LaSalle–SIA during his teaching period in the college. Since 2009, Ahmad has dedicated his time to working with the Singapore Prison as an art instructor, where he mentors the inmates in an Arts programme (3D studies). He is also currently an adjunct lecturer at NIE (NTU). Ahmad has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, The Philippines, Korea, Australia, France and Indonesia including the Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale (2009) and the International Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition: Asian Ceramics Network and Selsius, held in the National Art Gallery, Malaysia (2007). Ahmad has also co-curated a showcase of Singaporean Malay artists entitled Tok Selampit Millenniumin 2004 at the Jendela art space (Esplanade, Theatres by the Bay). In 2019 Ahmad had his third solo exhibition at Chan+Hori Contemporary titled LANGIT, BUMI, TANAH aka THE LAND OF THE HEAVENLY SKY. In 2021 he did an installation at work at the Concourse Esplanade and donated 200 pcs of the works to Esplanade and Harun Ghani Foundation for charity.
Chor Mui Ling美玲曹(b.1969, Singapore)
Mui Ling’s artistic journey began at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1991, where she graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art. Since then, Mui Ling’s commitment to art education has been unwavering. From imparting knowledge as a part-time art teacher in various educational settings to assuming the role of a course coordinator at Gradsign Art School, In 2014 she earned a Certificate in Ceramic from her alma mater. Mui Ling’s fascination with clay goes beyond the technicalities; it is a nostalgic reverie to carefree childhood days. The transformation of a lump of clay on the wheel echoes the simplicity and happiness of playing barefoot in open fields. Mui Ling has been part of several group exhibitions. This includes “The Promise, A Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition” (Gallery, Singapore 2022) and “A Thousand Cups and Maybe More” (The Art Space @ Suntec, 2016).
Chua Choon Lims春玲蔡(b. 1972, Singapore)
From the delicate artistry of leather crafting to the rustic embrace of wood, and now immersed in the world of pottery, Chua Choon Lims is a Singaporean artist working with various mediums. Under the tutelage of Chua Chon Hee and the late Chng Seok Tin, Choon Lims began nurturing her skills in both printmaking and ceramics. In her art creation process, Choon Lims strives to capture elements of imperfection and impermanence in the fleeting moments of life, creating works that are organic and raw. She also aims to reflect a profound connection to nature, echoing the simplicity and authenticity inherent in wabi-sabi. Choon Lims has participated in group exhibitions including “Pottery Parlour – Moon Jar Edition” (Potters by the Hill, 2023) and “Taking Roots to Rise” (Stamford Arts Centre, 2022).
Loy Yan Ling黎燕玲(b. 1974, Singapore)
Loy Yan Ling took her first lesson in clay in 1999 and was under the tutelage of Jessie Lim till 2012. Her subsequent relocation to Kuwait (2006 to 2009) and travelling experiences brought about further opportunities to learn from ceramics artists such as Mohd Esa (Kuwait), Douglas Philips (UK), Candone Wharton (US, Bali) and Hiroshige Kato (Japan). In 2012, she left her teaching career and started Euphoramics from her home studio. Currently Euphoramics is a 1000 sq ft creative space and Yan Ling conducts ceramics courses and provides guidance to other potters there. The learning experiences gleaned from the different artists have shaped Yan’s understanding when working with clay. Yan draws on emotions and memories when she creates her works. She believes memories connect people and hopes through her works, they can rekindle our fondest memories and experiences. She has participated in ‘The Promise’ a group exhibition at Artcommune, Singapore in June 2022 and ‘Shaping Clay’ of Singapore Clay Festival in Nov 2023.
Artworks:
Han Sai Por, 2024, Liquid Jar Series 1, 24x9x15.5cm, Black clay (unglazed)
Suriani Suratman, 2024, Pandanglah. Lihatlah1 (Look at me. Watch me1), 14x8x21.5cm, Mixed raku clay, Red iron oxide oxide, Shino glaze
Oh Chai Hoo, Beyond Capacity超載, 2024, 31.5x30x16cm, Stoneware with color slip
Chua Choon Hee, Cryptic Conversation 晦涩的对话 #1, 2024, Cryptic Conversation (晦涩的对话): #1(A) 29x16x22cm, #1(B) 16×18.5x12cm, Local clay with iron oxide and glaze
Ahmad Abu Bakar,Borak Borak ‘O’ (A Casual/Empty Talk) – Clay #1, 2024, 45cmx16cmx48cm, Clay (mixed), Wood, Glaze
Chor Mui Ling, Neeuq, 2024,23.5x18x13cm, White stoneware, Underglaze, Glaze
Chua Choon Lims, Equilibrium, 2024, 26×26.5×15.5cm, PF670 black clay, Porcelain slip, Lava glaze, Spectrum gold rain glaze, Amaco honey flux and blue midnight glaze
Loy Yan Ling, Chasing Tales, 2024,14x14x18cm, White stoneware, Metal oxides ceramic ink, Slip, Underglaze, Glaze
iPRECIATION is delighted to announce the latest exhibition by renowned Singaporean contemporary artist Tay Bak Chiang, titled “Fragments of Life 生活碎片,” scheduled from 18th May to 1st Jun 2024.
About the Exhibition:
Life, as we know it, comprises countless indescribable fragments. Within these fragments lie stories of the past and narratives unfolding in the present, filled with joys, sorrows, and regrets, eventually forming the tapestry of one’s life.
The upcoming exhibition, aptly titled “Fragments of Life,” draws inspiration from the reservoir of memories stored in the depths of Tay Bak Chiang’s soul. Some reflect everyday experiences, transient and fleeting yet resonating deeply within, evoking vivid imagery and vibrant colours.
Creativity often arises from unexpected encounters, surpassing meticulously planned deliberations, leaving artists pleasantly surprised.
On a particular day, while purchasing paint supplies, the sight of a vibrant shade of purple sparked memories of an untouched piece titled “Purple Dragon King,” envisioned with a majestic, soaring figure in shimmering purple and gold. Excited by the impulse to capture this vision, the artist eagerly experimented with the new colour, translating inspiration onto canvas.
With colours imbued in their vision, the artists sought to enhance vibrancy, creating “Equality of Life,” depicting stones of different hues symbolizing the intrinsic equality of all individuals, transcending distinctions of wealth and status.
In a world where light and darkness coexist, the ravages of conflict manifest in harrowing images of civilian suffering, incessantly relayed by modern media. How can one remain indifferent amidst such turmoil, amidst the relentless tide of human hypocrisy and greed?
“Enclosure” reflects the persistence of barriers, even in today’s civilized society, erecting walls that divide worlds. Meanwhile, “Devouring the Weak” exposes blatant exploitation and encroachment upon the vulnerable.
Throughout history, the world has witnessed cycles of repetition. Who can remain apathetic amid such turbulence?
Fortunately, the artist’s brush serves as a conduit, transposing feelings of unease onto canvas while capturing and preserving moments of rare tranquility and happiness amidst life’s chaos.
About the Artist:
Tay Bak Chiang (b. 1973, Malaysia/Singapore), a Malaysian-born artist now residing in Singapore, is one of Singapore’s most sought-after painters for his contemporary Chinese ink works. The critically acclaimed artist graduated with a Diploma from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore in 1995 and studied at the China Academy of Art (Hangzhou, China) in 1997. In 2002 he was awarded the Young Artist Award for Visual Arts by the National Arts Council and later won the first prize for UOB Painting of the Year (Traditional Chinese Medium Category) in 2000 and 2003.
Tay’s works have made numerous appearances at international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Stage Singapore, Art Miami, Art New York, Art Paris, Art Taipei and Edinburgh Art Fair. In addition, his works are in the collection of many prominent public and private institutions, including The Istana (Singapore); Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore); Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations (New York); National Gallery Singapore; Simmons & Simmons Contemporary Art Collection; Singtel; SC Global Developments; Swiss Re; OCBC Bank; United Overseas Bank; Mandarin Oriental (Singapore); Shangri-La Hotel (Singapore); and Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, London.
Equality of Life 生命皆平等, 2024, 100×220 cm, Pigments and Acrylic on Canvas
Devouring the Weak 蚕食鲸吞, 2024, 170x170cm, Pigments and Acrylic on Canvas
Enclosure 围墙, 2024, 180x160cm, Pigments and Acrylic on Canvas
Purple Dragon King 紫衫龙王, 2024, 160x220cm, Pigments and Acrylic on Canvas
Zhuang Shengtao Unveils “The Hours 日居月諸: Recent Ink Works” at iPRECIATION
Renowned Singaporean contemporary ink artist Zhuang Shengtao presents his latest exhibition, The Hours 日居月諸: Recent Ink Works, at iPRECIATION from 20th Apr to 4th May. This captivating collection explores the passage of time through a series of ink paintings, each titled after a specific hour of the day.
About the Exhibition:
The Hours 日居月諸 delves into the evocative nature of time through Zhuang’s mastery of ink and brushwork. Each painting captures the essence of a particular hour, conveying its unique character and atmosphere. From the quiet contemplation of dawn to the vibrant energy of midday, and the introspective stillness of dusk, Zhuang’s works transport viewers on a meditative journey through the day’s cycle.
Beyond the literal representation of time, the exhibition also explores deeper philosophical concepts. The title itself, The Hours 日居月諸, translates to “sun resides, moon resides,” referencing the ancient Chinese belief in the circular nature of time and the harmonious balance between day and night.
Zhuang’s signature style, characterized by bold brushstrokes and a fusion of traditional and contemporary aesthetics, takes centre stage in this exhibition. Abstract forms and expressive gestures evoke the emotions and energy associated with different times of the day. Through his innovative approach, Zhuang redefines the possibilities of ink painting and challenges viewers to contemplate the profound significance of time in our lives.
About the Artist:
Zhuang Shengtao, a prominent figure in Singaporean contemporary ink art, embarks on an enthralling artistic journey that transcends geographical boundaries. Born in China in 1944, he relocated to Singapore with his family in 1955. Currently residing in Suzhou, China, Zhuang’s artistic roots run deep in classical Chinese traditions, coupled with a profound understanding of Chinese literature, culture, and philosophy.
Zhuang laid the groundwork for his artistic pursuits with a Foundation Class at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1964. Under the tutelage of renowned calligrapher See Hiang Tho, he honed his artistic prowess, refining his skills to reach new heights of expression and creativity.
His academic journey is notable, with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), First Class, from Nanyang University, Singapore in 1974, and a subsequent Master of Arts from the same university in 1977. Seeking to expand his horizons, Zhuang pursued higher education abroad, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, in 1990. His time in the USA exposed him to Western artistic influences, leading to a transformation in his painting style upon his return. Incorporating elements from the West, Zhuang’s art evolved, blending Eastern and Western aesthetics into a unique and captivating expression of contemporary ink art. This rich academic and artistic background has greatly contributed to Zhuang’s significant presence in the world of contemporary Chinese ink art.
Throughout his career, Zhuang has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally. His works have garnered critical acclaim for their innovative approach to ink painting and have been acquired in prestigious institutions like the National Gallery Singapore.
iPreciation is delighted to announce the upcoming exhibition of esteemed Chinese contemporary ink artist Chen Xinmao’s latest ink works, scheduled to debut on March 16th, 2024. Titled “Revisiting Peony Pavilion,” the exhibition promises to offer new perspectives on Chen’s exploration of this timeless classic.
Chen Xinmao (b. 1954, China), a Shanghai-born artist celebrated for his groundbreaking contributions to ink art, continues to push the boundaries of artistic expression, drawing inspiration from cultural heritage, personal experiences, and the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art.
American leading art historian, contemporary art critic and curator, Mr. Wu Hung, has recognized Chen Xinmao as the experimental artist of the “Post-Cultural Revolution” generation. This recognition underscores Chen’s pivotal role in reshaping the artistic landscape of contemporary China, as he navigates the complexities of cultural identity, memory, and artistic innovation.
Chen Xinmao’s first series of paintings on the romantic tragicomedy play, “Peony Pavilion” written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598 which captivated audiences for centuries, debuted at iPreciation in 2019, marking the beginning of a transformative exploration into the depths of imagination and cultural symbolism. Since then, Chen has continued to delve deeper, infusing his latest works with a sense of free play. His strokes are bolder, his compositions more dynamic, and his use of symbolism more nuanced than ever before. Each painting serves as a window into Chen’s subconscious, inviting viewers on a journey of discovery and introspection.
Through his masterful use of ink, colors, and text, Chen Xinmao creates a visual language that transcends cultural boundaries, inviting viewers to explore the intersections of East and West, tradition and modernity, dream and reality. His latest series, “Revisiting Peony Pavilion,” promises to captivate audiences with its evocative imagery and exploration of humanism.
About the Artist
Born in 1954, Chen embarked on his artistic odyssey in the Art Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1978. He later pursued a master’s degree from Nanjing University of the Arts in 1987. Chen is currently a professor at the College of Fine Arts, East China Normal University, where he oversees the Chinese Painting Studio and serves as a supervisor for graduate students. He has participated in numerous exhibitions locally and internationally, including in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Come see the tales of people come to life in the form of rustic wood sculptures that may remind you of perhaps someone and somebody. The Legend 傳·說 is a showcase featuring new works by one of Singapore’s most known sculptors, Lim Soo Ngee who consistently delights viewers with his thought-provoking works.
In this exhibition, Lim gives ‘legends’ a playful spin by interrogating the hearsay aspect of such narratives in today’s world. With an extensive collection of anecdotes heard elsewhere and anywhere, Lim creates captivating figurines that are packed with emotive stories of people and their lives through the lens of others. It is important to understand that these sculptures are shaped by the accounts of people, as the artist attempts to pivot the discussion to the rudimentary formation of stories.
When looking at Lim’s sculptures, we often find ourselves being reminded of an individual that we know of or someone we didn’t know and could only guess. Past and present alike, the narratives largely stayed the same, stemming from reality, stirred with perceived truth and a spoonful of imagination. While a story begins with telling, the multitude of ways of interpreting and re-telling give rise to fascinating variations that are somewhat similar and/or different. This common amnesia and/or collective memory in Lim’s works is an embodiment of the nature of narratives.
Lim has brilliantly conceptualized a blend of heterogeneity and homogeneity to highlight that our perception is very much influenced by the world around us and is fluid as we move on to different stages in life. The titles may have indicated who the person could be. Perhaps they are a commendable person, or not at all. Regardless, it doesn’t matter. Because the persona that surfaced in our heads will never be a shared experience.
As he traces the inkling of a legend and challenges the notion of what should be a legend, Lim invites viewers to relook at how stories are being told and reconnect with the humans present in these tales.
Moments of Serene Contemplation – A Showcase of Ashley Yeo’s Works
Showcase opens: 2 Sept – 16 Sept, 2023
iPreciation takes pleasure in presenting the exquisite artistic expressions of Ashley Yeo, a name that resonates profoundly in the Singaporean art milieu. Renowned for her mesmerizing paper cut-out works and pastel-pigmented drawings, Ashley Yeo stands as a visionary artist whose works have captured the hearts of many. These artworks offer an in-depth exploration of Yeo’s distinctive artistic voice, particularly her mastery of the meticulous and delicate art of paper cut-outs for which she is renowned.
A highlight of the showcase is Yeo’s series of three pigments on paper drawings – a medium that marked the inception of her artistic practice. Although rarely exhibited, these drawings profoundly mirror the significance of natural elements and the symmetrical allure of flowers within her body of work. Each drawing is a labour of love, meticulously developed over months with an almost mechanical precision that defies their hand-drawn nature. This manifestation of Yeo’s unwavering dedication to her craft across diverse materials vividly underscores her artistic ethos.
These drawings are not mere artworks but an in-depth exploration of conscious deceleration. In her retreat to nature, Yeo finds her muse in vast landscapes, from the gentle hues of the Arctic Circle’s summer solstice sky, where she undertook a residency in 2014, to the intricacies of floral symmetry. This harmonious juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity, fragility and durability, resonates deeply within her creations. The form and presence of natural elements provide Yeo with a rich palette from which she sculpts her meticulous and ethereal objects. Each piece emanates from meditative pigments on paper drawings, a tribute to her devotion to her art. Patiently and diligently hand-drawn over months, this process demands extended periods of solitude and patience. Yeo invites you to embark on a journey where you, too, are encouraged to slow down, bask in life’s smaller wonders, and experience an innate sense of calm.
In perfect harmony with her gentle-hued nature drawings, Ashley Yeo’s hand-cut paper works create an immersive experience that transports her audience into a realm of delicate beauty and meticulous craftsmanship, evoking a profound sense of tranquillity. Every intricate detail within these paper works is a testament to Yeo’s unwavering commitment to her skilful technique. Executed with utmost precision, each contour and curve are the results of painstaking effort, often involving the deft manipulation of a sharp scalpel. The artist’s touch, guided by patience and dedication, brings forth these exquisite masterpieces that stand as an embodiment of her artistic vision.
This showcase provides a rare opportunity to witness the evolution of Ashley Yeo’s artistic prowess as she seamlessly intertwines nature’s grace with her own, delivering moments of serene contemplation to all who encounter her masterful creations.
Singapore Kaleidoscope 2023: Celebrating Local Artistry
Exhibition Opens:Aug 5 – Aug 19, 2023
In celebration of Singapore’s fifty-eighth National Day, iPreciation is delighted to present Singapore Kaleidoscope 2023: Celebrating Local Artistry, a Singapore-focused art exhibition featuring uniquely Singaporean works.
Step into the vibrant world of Singapore through the eyes of six esteemed local artists: Wee Shoo Leong (b. 1958), Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960), Lim Soo Ngee (b. 1962), Tay Bak Chiang (b. 1973), Wang Ruo Bing (b. 1975), and Lim Jia Qi (b. 1997). This captivating exhibition invites viewers to immerse themselves in the diverse and rich tapestry of Singapore’s landscapes, culture, and everyday life, depicted through a myriad of artistic expressions.
Singapore Kaleidoscope 2023: Celebrating Local Artistry presents an eclectic fusion of artistic expressions, capturing the city’s essence through diverse lenses. Through these artworks, viewers are invited to see Singapore anew, appreciating its many facets and the talent of these exceptional local artists who breathe life into their chosen mediums.
iPreciation is proud to present Abstraction for Beginners, a solo exhibition by Milenko Prvački(b. 1951, Singapore), featuring Milenko’s ongoing series that surveys his evocative visual vocabulary.
Abstraction for Beginners is an ongoing series since 2017 that traces Milenko’s development in abstraction, the paintings and unique prints on handmade Japanese papers will showcase Milenko’s continued expansion in his visual lexicon. The artist repeatedly alludes his integration into a new domain to learning a new language, twice – first when he studied in Romania without knowing how to speak Romanian, then coming to Singapore without any knowledge of English. Having learned many entries that have their origin and meanings, Milenko discovers that the alphabetical structure of a dictionary has not allowed any narrative or story to dominate the notation. A concept he absorbs, Milenko presents multifaceted works. A myriad of elements that may not necessarily complement each other are often randomly placed together, then leaving assorted interpretations to be derived from different perceived possible combinations.
As Milenko constructs or perhaps more aptly, reconstructs his memories and life events, fragments of past return as memorandums for the future, albeit the fluid nature of remembering means this act of retrieval will constantly change and never stay the same. Collectively, the anamorphic figures, mosaics of colours, alphabets, wild strokes and blobs of paint, and geometrical as well as deformed shapes, reject any bucketing or categorisation. As small details get littered and scattered on the plane, a wealth of information gets compressed and packaged into a bizarre configuration of things that seem confusingly readable and unreadable at the same time. The dynamic interaction between these elements hence invites creative associations from different angles, backgrounds and understandings. Such a bold composition of the ambiguous and indicative, challenges the notion of abstraction and highlights Milenko’s remarkable pursuit to expand the boundaries of abstraction.
About the Artist
Milenko Prvački was born in 1951 in the former Yugoslavia. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts (Painting) from the Institutul de Arte Plastice “Nicolae Grigorescu”. Milenko moved to Singapore in 1991 and became a Singapore Citizen in 2002. Between 1998 and 2010, Milenko was the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Singapore’s LASALLE College of the Arts. He currently holds the post of Senior Fellow at the institution since 2011. In 2005, he also founded Tropical Lab, a global programme for students from art institutions worldwide.
He has been invited to hold solo exhibitions in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney Biennale, Beijing, Jakarta and more recently, Serbia in 2019. He was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2011, and Singapore’s Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 2012 by the National Arts Council for his contributions to Singapore’s visual arts scene. In early 2012, he also received the Silver Medallion for Knights in the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Embassy. In 2020 Milenko received the 22nd Sava Šumanović Fine Art Award, the Serbian national art award for Visual Arts.
Milenko’s art residencies include but are not limited to the Visiting Artist Programme at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore (2019), 1st Tao Hua Tan International Artist Retreat and Painting Residence in China (2017), 18th Street Art Centre in Santa Monica, USA (2013, 2016 and 2017) and Keppel Centre for Education at the National Gallery Singapore (2015). His works are permanently collected by museums and institutions worldwide, including the National Museum, (Belgrade, Serbia), Museum of Contemporary Art (Belgrade, Serbia), Museum of Contemporary Drawing (Nurnberg, Germany), Museum of World Portraits (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina), Museum of Contemporary Art, (Novi Sad, Serbia), National Museum (Pancevo, Serbia), Obalne Gallery Collection (Piran, Slovenia), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), National Gallery Singapore, Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), and ICAS, LASALLE College of the Art Collection (Singapore).
iPreciation is delighted to present Be Together, a solo exhibition by Justin Lee(b. 1963, Singapore), one of Singapore’s foremost contemporary artists known for his pop-flavoured works with an essence of our local culture.
In this new body of works based on the Nanyang Children Story Books (南洋兒童), travel back in time with Justin Lee as he reunites with his childhood memories and visuals. Be Togetherwill showcase 18 paintings of playful narratives, conceptualised sometime in 2019. In this series, his paintings are re-imagined as book covers as if they are all due for publication in today’s context. Having to rework this topic allowed Lee to expand on his painting language as he incorporates his style into the covers or rather add a uniquely Justin Lee mark on them.
Lee believes that art plays an integral role to help people grow, gain self-awareness, and understand the role they play in society. He hopes that Be Together can ignite the audience’s curiosity and playfulness of people, regardless of their upbringings, and bring out the hidden child in everyone. For the audience young at heart who is just Lee’s age, here’s a pool of collective memories to dive deep into. For the younger audience, who learns the Nanyang Children Storybook for the first time, now that’s a piece of yesterday worth picking up for comparison with today.
About the Artist
Justin Lee is a Singaporean visual artist and designer. Upon graduating with a Diploma in Fine Arts, in 2019, he was one of the selected local artists handpicked to be trained at the Tyler Print Institute in New York. He has participated in numerous artist-in-residence programs in Japan, such as Fukuoka, Studio Kura, Itoshima Art Farm, and Tokyo Youkobo. Over the years, he has participated in numerous exhibitions held in Singapore and internationally (2000-2002).
As one of Singapore’s foremost contemporary artists whose design projects reflect a sense of pop flavoured with an essence of Singapore traditions, Justin’s work reflects traditional techniques such as his ongoing series based on paper-cutting and Chinese woodblock printing styles. The themes and imagery with which he interprets his commissioned design work underscore familiar Asian cultures with a delightful twist of western pop treatment that celebrates Asian values in an endearing tongue-in-cheek manner.
In his earlier career, he was handpicked in 1999 as one of the first six interns from Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI) to work with world-renowned artists such as Frank Stella and Donald Sultan in the New York Studio. He believes that art plays an important part in helping people to grow and to see the critical role play and awareness of themselves. His works also reflect on words and images from the mass media like signage, billboards and consumer products which control our thoughts and expression.
The artist’s background in graphic design has greatly inspired his concepts of consumerism. He is well known for his paper-cut inspired paintings with a fusion of eastern and western elements that highlighted how Western consumerism-culture has infiltrated the East and his ancient Eastern figurines modelling western luxury products.
As the venerated artist Gao Xingjian (b. 1940) reaches the age of 83 in January this year 2023, he received the highly decorated Commander of the Legion of Honour (Le Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur) from French president Emmanuel Macron on January 27 in Élysée Palace. Internationally acclaimed artist and Nobel laureate (2000) Gao Xingjian is a novelist, playwright, poet, theatre and film director, painter, photographer and philosopher. iPreciation is honoured to present 28 important ink on paper paintings by Gao, of which 17 are new pieces of works created between 2020 – 2022. This exhibition celebrates this recent award and Gao’s lifetime achievements.
Born in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China in 1940, Gao moved to Paris in 1987 and became a French citizen in 1997. Touted as ‘the modern Renaissance man’ by the 2008 Milan Arts Festival, Gao paints solely and only with ink, an ancient medium said to be imbued with the spirit of the painter. Despite his departure from the western medium in the 1970s, traces of oil painting techniques such as the layering of several different inks still linger in his works.
Gao focuses on the intuitive depictions of his mindscape and inner vision. He listens to classical music before and during painting, allowing his consciousness to dive deep into the chords and transforms them into brushstrokes. Then he stops when his mind tells him to. At this point, the painting is far from complete. Gao would leave it on its own for days, months or even years. He would then come back to it someday to make edits as he deems fit, or perhaps never. Feeling satisfied, he mounts the painting, and it is finally realised with an extemporaneous title.
What the viewer sees is a visual illustration of the stream of consciousness – the blurry nature of the human mind as our thoughts surface and then quickly disappear; It is our state of mind at that particular moment that can’t be described in words. In the words of the artist – “painting begins where language fails” – while we may all be looking at the same piece of work, what is comprehensible is largely solitary and personal.
Over the years, he has received numerous awards, including Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (1992), Premio Letterario Feronia, Rome, Italy (2000), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (2002), The American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award (2002), Lions Award, New York Public Library, USA (2006), La Milanesiana Award, Italy (2008), Gold Award from the European Merit Foundation, Luxembourg (2010), and The gold medal of the French Renaissance (2012); At the Nobel Prize award ceremony, the Swedish Academy stated that Gao received the award “for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity”. His writings have been translated into 48 languages, and his plays continue to be produced in various theatres throughout the world each year. In 2003, the City of Marseille, France hosted “Year of Gao Xingjian” (L’Année de Gao Xingjian), a major event where his paintings, his play “August Snow” and other artistic creations were showcased. In 2008, he was a guest of honour at La Milanesiana, a prestigious annual international arts festival attended by around 100 distinguished writers, poets, musicians and film directors from all parts of the world. In the same year, Hong Kong held a Gao Xingjian festival to celebrate the spectacular achievements of this multi-disciplinary artist. Recently in 2019, Gao was awarded the distinguished Premio Roma for his book “Per un nuovo Rinascimento”.
Since 1985, more than seventy solo exhibitions of Gao’s ink paintings have been held in museums and galleries in Europe, the USA, and Asia; his works have also been selected for numerous group exhibitions and international art fairs. In 2005, a retrospective exhibition of Gao was held at the Singapore Art Museum. In 2015, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Museum of Ixelles held a double exhibition for Gao. The Museum of Ixelles held a major retrospective of his paintings, while the Royal Museums designated an exhibition room for six of his monumental paintings, which they have permanently collected.
His works have been collected by the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, United States), Musée Guimet (Paris, Italy), Maison de la Culture de Bourges (France), Bibliothèque de l’Université de Marseille-Provence (France), Muse-um of Far Eastern Antiquities (Stockholm), Krapperups Konsthall, Malmö (Sweden), Leibnitz Gesellschaft für Kulturellen Austausch (Berlin), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore) and National Museum of History (Taipei).
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Private Preview: Thursday, Jan 5, 2023 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Jan 6 – Feb 4, 2023 (*Extended by 1 week!)
In Conversation with Oh Chai Hoo: Jan 28, 2023, 2pm (Conducted in English, Limited Seats Available. Online Live also available @ iPreciation FB Page)
The artist will discuss his explorations in jinhuihui with Dr Hwang Yin, Art Historian and Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chinese Studies, NUS. To RSVP, please call +65 6339 0678 or email enquiry@ipreciation.com.
iPreciation is delighted to present Singapore artist Oh Chai Hoo’s recent works in a solo exhibition titled “Timeless Present 今夕何夕” featuring 38 mixed media works dating from 2019 to 2022, comprising two assemblages, 36 paintings and collages. Bringing a contemporaneity to his paintings of jinhuidui, Oh’s explorations in fragmentation, fissuring, rubbing and collage, as well as playful experiments with colours and motifs, have resulted in a highly personal interpretation of the genre. He seeks to bring a fresh eye and a new understanding to this traditional art form. Reflecting the artist’s catholic tastes in reading material, the inscriptions largely address the transient nature of human existence and the immutability of time. For him, jinhuidui does not need to look at the past but can develop as a lens for interpreting global issues and current events.
Jinhuidui, which means ‘a pile of brocade ashes’, is an art form of Chinese scholarly montage painting that might have originated as early as the late Ming Dynasty. The montage usually includes the depiction of ancient objects, paintings, calligraphy, rubbings and fragments of letters. In Oh’s new mixed-media works, the miscellaneous things he uses are torn, burnt, stained, and worn out, giving them a renewed sense of age and elegance. Oh also adopts a realistic painting method for some of the artefacts, and it takes a double take to discern which are painted on, and which are pasted on. The deliberate use of colours and intricate painting technique captivates the eye and encourages it to wander along the different objects to discover something new each time.
Oh Chai Hoo(b. 1960) is a Singapore artist who works extensively with various mediums. Since graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1982, Oh has remained an active member of the local arts scene. He was the vice-president (2013 – 2021) of Singapore’s Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society had held various exhibitions locally and in South Korea and Japan.
He received a Distinction in Visual Art Creation by the NAFA Alumni Association (1992), and Highly Commended in Abstract Medium at the 18th UOB Painting of the Year competition (1999), the Siaw-Tao Achievement Award in 2009 and Siaw-Tao Best Artwork Award in 2013. His works are collected privately and also in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Singapore and The Istana, Singapore.
For more information, please call +65 6339 0678 or email enquiry@ipreciation.com.
Private Preview: Nov 19, 2022 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Nov 21 – Dec 10, 2022 (By Appointment Only)
Artist statement:
When one thinks of “nature”, we often visualise spaces untouched by humans. In a dense city like Singapore, most nature we see every day are intertwined with our urban spaces. Occasionally, one can observe plants emerging through hidden corners like backyards of residential areas, cracks on concrete floors or creepers using the walls of pillars as scaffolding to climb and grow. However, nature is not alone in trying to survive our urban environment. Every so often, we observe infrastructure being built in a way that preserves existing trees and designated spots allocated for the growth of flora and fauna.
Urban : Backyard 《都市: 後院》is a series of works based on documentation of everyday spaces in Singapore. It aims to highlight this unique relationship between urban spaces and nature. Through the use of paint on carved wood panels, Lim hopes to shine a light on the mini garden in every corner of our neighbourhood.
Lim Jia Qi(b. 1997, Singapore) graduated with a degree in fine arts from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore in 2019. During her time in LASALLE, she was awarded the Ngee Ann Kongsi Scholarship (AY 2017/ 2018) and the LASALLE Award for Academic Excellence in 2017. At the same time, she assisted in conducting numerous printmaking workshops during her internship at Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI).
Lim had participated in various group exhibitions since 2016. She had also exhibited in “Concrete Encounters” at the Young Talent Programme 18/19 Winner’s Solo Exhibition in 2019, and at the Affordable Art Fair under the ʻYoung Talent Programmeʼ in 2018.
Unimaginative spaces in our urban environment, most commonly associated with the Singapore “lifestyle” are a key interest in Limʼs work. Similar to how people that grew up in the countryside recognise trees and forests as signs of familiarity, the banal architecture that surrounds Singaporeʼs housing estates and its cold concrete element has become an oddly familiar material that she finds herself drawn to.
Through passive observation of everyday life, Lim endeavours to capture the poetics of these spaces and structures, reconstructing them in terms of narrative and/or the absence of such. The breaking down of forms, shifting in perspectives and hinting of narratives in the works are presented in a bid to challenge viewersʼ emotional attachment and familiarity with these spaces.
Coming from a printmaking background, Jia Qi is interested in the advancement and explorative nature of this traditional medium; adopting techniques with other material adaptions such as carving on concrete slabs. With the architecture of housing flats her main subject matter, concrete material is also explored extensively through casting.
Private Preview: Oct 15, 2022 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Oct 17 – Nov 5, 2022
Artist Statement
‘Nine Abysses’ is a reflection of my life experiences and emotions. I encountered a series of difficulties in work and my private life in recent years and have been down in the dumps. But I managed to persist in the creation of art and the pine tree symbolizes this persistence. The dark background is intentionally set to represent the sadness I have been through.
On the other hand, the process of adding details with gongbi technique to depict the pine trees and jagged rocks to soothe my emotions. To me, it is a way of mediating and somehow I found inner peace. I hope the audience could feel the feelings in this painting.
I also hope the audience would look closer to see the details of the painting, especially the pine trees, and pine needles. The original colour of the paper is gold and silver. I used the traditional Chinese Ink (need grinding). To enhance the darkest part of the painting, I mixed the ink with charcoal powder so it would look darker and create a mysterious dark space. This is my unique technique. (The traditional method will use a very concentrated ink but when it is dried, it will look shiny.)
～Chui Pui Chee
About the Exhibition
iPreciation is delighted to debut Hong Kong artist Chui Pui Chee’s first solo exhibition titled Nine Abysses《九淵》 in Singapore.
Born in 1980 in Hong Kong, contemporary ink artist Chui graduated from Queen’s College, Hong Kong in 1999. Chui studied Calligraphy under Chinese contemporary artist Jat See-Yeu since young and graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2003. The following year, he then furthered his postgraduate studies at the Department of Chinese Calligraphy at the China Academy of Art where he obtained his Master of Arts in 2007, and subsequently his PhD under the tutelage of world-renowned Chinese contemporary artist Wang Dongling in 2010.
Chui started off his artistic career in university with expressive calligraphy. However, he was not satisfied with merely engaging in formal learning of calligraphy, and desired more. During a stint at an auction house as a specialist in Chinese painting and calligraphy, Chui was exposed to many brilliant classical and modern Chinese paintings. He was thus inspired to study and explore the different techniques, skills and materials of Chinese painting, and he became especially fond of employing gongbi (literally “neat brushstroke”) as a form of artistic expression. 18 years on, Chui established himself as an experimentalist known for his thought-provoking paintings deriving from the structure of calligraphic fundamentals. The incorporation of Chui’s personal interpretation and compelling elements in his paintings such as insects, mythology and Cantonese pop songs, contribute to a refreshing and delightful twist to the traditional gongbi painting.
Nine Abysses《九淵》 showcases 13 recent works by Chui and spotlights his development in the Nine Abysses series – contemporary ink landscapes featuring pine trees rising above clouds, and out of steep rocky cliffs. Amid a global pandemic and several socio-political movements in recent years, Chui finds himself increasingly drawn to the tranquility of Northern Song-style landscape paintings. He has selected an atypical subject matter, the mythological Nine Abysses said to be a spring where a sacred dragon resides, or in Taoism, a metaphor for the nine ways of life to ultimate bliss. Leveraging such poetic imagery, Chui then employs the gongbi technique to create a magnificent landscape packed with exquisite details.
The arduous process Chui went through to contrive each painting is a parallel reflection of his uphill struggles in real life and an ongoing yearning to find inner peace. Rather than presenting the abyss as it is, Chui turned towards thriving pine trees (which are collectively a symbol of self-discipline and endurance) triumphing over the dark, a brilliant move to bring forth the tension existing within such a space. Against a dynamic background of expressively painted clouds and waterfalls on gold and silver paper, he arduously painted each delicate pine needle and fine lines, gradually actualising the monumental composition.
Upon a closer look, one would realise, unlike classical ink paintings where a high concentration of black ink would leave a sheen when it dries up, dark areas in Chui’s works are pitch black (as seen in Nine Abysses XLI 九淵之四十一, 2022). This is due to the artist’s unique method of mixing ink with charcoal powder to dampen the glow and bring more gloom that could encapsulate his sadness.
The absolute focus and precision required in the meticulous application of each brushstroke has turned the creation process into a mediative and introspective session, one that is laborious yet soothing to the soul. Condensing his emotions into superbly fine lines, Chui’s paintings exude a generous number of emotions waiting to be shared with and felt by us.
About the Artist
Hong Kong contemporary ink artist Chui Pui Chee (b. 1980) holds a degree from the Department of Fine Arts (2003), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and a Master of Arts (2007) and Doctoral Degree (2010) from the Department of Chinese Calligraphy, China Academy of Art.
Chui served as a programme coordinator at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, CUHK (2007-2015), taught calligraphy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2011-2012), a part-time lecturer at CUHK (2018-2020) and Hong Kong Baptist University (2019-2022). He also worked in the Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Department of China Guardian (HK) Auctions from 2015 to 2017. He was an Honorary Advisor of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, CUHK (2017-2018). Chui is currently an executive member of The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy and Friends of Shizhai (2000 to present), as well as a research fellow of the Modern Calligraphy Research Center of China Academy of Art (2000 to present).
In 2012, Chui received the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards – Young Artist Award, presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. He also received the Award for Young Artist (Visual Arts) at the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2015 organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. He was a finalist in The Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2015, 2018 and 2020. Chui has held various solo and group exhibitions in Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world. His works are permanently collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology of the University of Oxford.
To register for the artist’s talk, please contact us at +65 63390678 or enquiry@ipreciation.com
Exhibition Opens to Public: Sep 19 – Oct 1, 2022
iPreciation is delighted to present a solo exhibition titled The Hong Lim Series: Line and Fragments by Singapore artistJon Chan. This exhibition marks a new and ongoing series that Chan has embarked on as he surveys the connection, or rather disconnection, between the physical manifestation of the site and the symbolic presence of the person the park is named after.
About the Exhibition
TheHong Lim Series: Line and Fragments brings forth a two-fold exploration as Chan manoeuvres through Hong Lim Park, a site full of storytelling and political narratives and his ancestral relations with Cheang Hong Lim. Driving from an alienated perspective, Chan also integrates notions of time as a medium, often realised through fragmented imageries.
The act of naming forms an emotional and directive bond between Hong Lim the person and Hong Lim the Park. This orchestrated form of a binding power when displaced and resurfaced in conversations and research, often draws on a singular political association. Here, Chan takes on a different stance. He deliberately segregates the usual connotations attached to the park and seeks to study the facades of Hong Lim Park as a historical and functional space that has served not just the politicians (as many would assume), but also the arts, the sportsmen and the passerby.
Drawing inspiration from Sequential Art and Film, Chan paints ‘present-day’ Hong Lim Park and weaves in slices of reality that has been taken out from their respective timelines and social-political context. The juxtapositions of these fragments of space ruffle the linear presentation of the site and create tension as the space and agents of space attempt to establish their presence. When viewers are pulled into the scale of his works, they are yet clearly detached from the spacetime, witnessing the confrontation of time and its evolving development on the canvas.
As a continuation of his previous investigative viewpoints, a naturally recurring motif of dichotomic narratives and dialectical pulls are present in the zone that Chan has carefully contrived. Overlaying individuals of people at Hong Lim Park in a reconstructed image of Hong Lim Park, Chan has presented the possibility of reconfiguring elements that reflect on time and space. He has also subtly conveyed an inclination to reconcile conflicting units of time in an entirely different plane through the act of painting.
Between the moving lines (literally or figuratively) and fragments of existence lingering in Chan’s work, we invite you to contemplate the various dimensions that exist between perception and conception.
About Hong Lim Park
Most known as Singapore’s only designated Speaker’s Corner, Hong Lim Park has rich storytelling and political history. Originally named after the first Superintendent of Police, Thomas Dunman, it was later renamed Hong Lim Green, in honour of Cheang Hong Lim, a wealthy and influential Chinese businessman who bought the land and donated it to the government. It has served as an important space for many political rallies, performances and activities.
Artist Statement
“This new body of works marks a new and ongoing series that focuses on a two-fold exploration of both the physical site, Hong Lim Park and the person which that same park is named after, Cheang Hong Lim whom I share ancestry with.
Instead of approaching the project from the perspective of a descendant of Hong Lim, the artist approaches it from an alienated one. More specifically, a perspective that projects a sense of the divided self. This sense of a divided self is rooted in the very way he paints which at certain moments may seem like doubtful gestures; however, paradoxically, these doubtful gestures are also propelled by lively ones. The overall effect is paintings that look assertive yet restrained. This way of painting works as a metaphor for approaching and choosing the subject matter. Both Hong Lim the person and Hong Lim the Park are likewise ‘divided’, estranged from one another, making it an ideal terrain for my work.”
~Jon Chan
About the Artist
Jon Chan Weiwen (b.1982, Singapore) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in 2007, and a Masters of Fine Arts in 2008, from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. Chan is the winner of the Winston Oh Travel Award for the years 2003 and 2007. He was also awarded the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arts award in 2007. Chan has participated extensively in numerous group exhibitions since 2002 and has held various solo exhibitions in Singapore.
Private Preview: Saturday, Aug 20, 2022 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Aug 22 – Sep 3, 2022
Artist Statement:
There is nothing so wondrous as engaging in a dialogue with nature. If an artist manages to capture such beauty of nature on canvas as to captivate the minds of the viewers, in turn, he or she must deem that as the greatest blessing.
I have always drawn on local sources for inspiration. It is hence never a must to travel overseas to far-flung places, for anything here could well serve as my subject matter. It might be any tree on this island that catches my fancy, a rainbow of colours that comes and go amid the greenery of the reservoir, the distant horizon that is far beyond the shoreline and waves of the sea, or some cargo ships stopping by under the deep blue sky and passing clouds; in short, whatever catches my eyes, near or far. Even a bunch of bananas in the market, a bouquet of flowers, or some old ceramic bottles or vats, could easily be welcomed into my painting. My goal is to distil seemingly disparate elements into pictures without words, that yet remind us, like calligraphic wisdom, of “being gentle and quiet but going far”.
I count myself lucky, as someone born to a loving family and a metropolis at the crossroads of east and west, ever open to cultural differences. We not only possess the romantic sensibilities of the oriental society, but also the technological know-how of the western world, which together provides me with excellent inspiration. Being based in this region dubbed Nanyang or the ‘South Seas’, noted for its rustic character, I have developed a corresponding style in painting still life and landscape. My aim is to create a classic feel through a gentle equilibrium in composition, with a grounded and meticulous approach to attention to detail. It is my principle that every dab, every stroke and every extended surface in my oil painting must have its raison d’être, contributing to a contrasting effect or sense of harmony. In a departure from realism in my still life, however, my landscape paintings are much more relaxed and impressionistic. The pictures composed in my mind are always calm and quiet, with breathing space that affords room for imagination. While the colours are decidedly harmonious, the outlines are understated despite deeper sophistication, to create a sense of being and transcendence all at once…
I must credit my living environment, my upbringing and my training for nurturing my creative spirit. It is through such a broader cultural outlook that I have developed wings of imagination, allowing my art to take flight in free rein. For 40 years now! I have strived in constant exploration and hard work, in search of a ‘Shangri-La’ as befits my own temperament. It is my own world of beauty, a field in which I toil in creative work, but also a place where I am most free in spirit, a place where I find myself most unfettered and most rewarded: a bountiful land, truly my own.
About the Artist
Wee Shoo Leong(b. 1958, Singapore) is a Singaporean artist who paints primarily in oil. Most known for his oil paintings of identifiable everyday objects (such as birdcages, vases, earthen jars, flowers and fruits) set against blank backgrounds, his still life works bring forth the simplicity in things. This sense of quietness and harmony later also stretches into his later venture into landscape paintings, which takes on a more semi-abstract approach.
Shoo Leong graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1979. In 1984, he won the prestigious UOB Painting of the Year, followed by a silver medal from Salon 85 in Paris in 1985, and the 1st Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship, London in 1986.
Shoo Leong’s works have been exhibited worldwide, including in Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Europe and the United States of America. These include solo exhibitions at Art Forum, Singapore (2021 & 1992), Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney (1987) and National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore (1985). Selected group exhibitions include Rediscovering… Our Local Talents, Fullerton Hotel Heritage Gallery, Singapore (2015), Many in One: 25 Years of Singapore Art, Washington, DC (1991) and First Bru-Sin Art Exhibition, Brunei (1989).
Wee Shoo Leong’s works are also in the permanent collections of Agung Rai Museum of Art, Bali, Indonesia, Nordmann Rassmann GMBH & Co. Hamburg, Germany, The Istana, Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, National Art Gallery, Singapore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Citibank Singapore.
Many Singaporeans enjoy their meals at hawker centres and coffee shops, where the food is affordable and diverse. I’m no exception. If I’m not having home-cooked food, I always like to eat at the hawker centre or kopitiam. It’s an integral part of my day, a routine I don’t usually think much about.
For a period during the pandemic, dining in at hawker centres and coffee shops was disallowed. I realised then that the wonton mee, char siew rice, youtiao and other local foods I’d taken for granted had always been my dependable and comforting allies.
I have used local foods as the subjects of my recent works as a natural response to those days. It’s also my way of remembering how these foods have accompanied me during the different stages of my life.
The flavours of these foods – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy – are interwoven with the joys and sorrows in my life. Food needs to be chewed on and savoured slowly, as do happiness and sadness in life.
About the Artist
Tay Bak Chiang(b. 1973, Malaysia/ Singapore) is one of Singapore’s most sought-after painters for his contemporary Chinese ink works. The critically acclaimed artist graduated with a Diploma from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore in 1995 and studied at the China Academy of Art (Hangzhou, China) in 1997. In 2002 he was awarded the Young Artist Award for Visual Arts by the National Arts Council and later won the first prize for UOB Painting of the Year (Traditional Chinese Medium Category) in 2000 and 2003.
Tay Bak Chiang’s works have made numerous appearances at international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Stage Singapore, Art Miami, Art New York, Art Paris, Art Taipei and Edinburgh Art Fair. In addition, his works are in the collection of much prominent public and private institutions, including The Istana (Singapore); Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore); Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations (New York); National Gallery Singapore; Simmons & Simmons Contemporary Art Collection; Singtel; SC Global Developments; Swiss Re; OCBC Bank; United Overseas Bank; Mandarin Oriental (Singapore); Shangri-La Hotel (Singapore); and Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, London.
iPreciation celebrates the phenomenal achievements of legendary Taiwanese artist, Ju Ming(b. 1938, Miaoli, Taiwan) with his internationally acclaimed Taichi Series and Living World Series. We invite you to relish humanity as carved by Ju Ming.
This retrospective solo exhibition, titled “Art: a Human Practice”, sheds light on Ju Ming’s creations made of different mediums over half a century, and his views on the aesthetic experience in everyday life, formulated by years of practice. Though already a formidable figure in the eyes of young emerging artists, Ju Ming has never been bogged down by his sparkling accomplishments. In his eighties, the artist still pushes himself to unlearn, relearn and create. Walking a path of his own, Ju Ming continues to preserve the wide spectrum of life in our wonderful world.
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Private Preview: Thursday, Jan 13, 2022 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Jan 14, 2022 – Jan 29, 2022 (Due to social distancing, prior viewing arrangement is recommended. Please call 6339 0678 or email Brian at brian.foong@ipreciation.com)
To welcome the start of 2022, iPreciation is delighted to bring to you 35 pieces of important recent works by 7 prominent contemporary artists from China and Singapore, namely Wang Dongling, Wang Jianan, Zhang Jian-Jun, Wang Tiande, Han Sai Por, Zhuang Shengtao and Oh Chai Hoo. All the artists have received formal academic art training with a solid foundation and later carved out a path like no other. These groundbreaking works are testaments to their tireless search for originality and creativity in their thinking process and symbols of a distinctive identity.
Arguably one of China’s greatest living contemporary artists, Wang Dongling is best known for his groundbreaking Chaos script, a signature style that has broken free from the rigidities of traditional calligraphy, yet with its roots firmly anchored in the fertile soil of the ancient art form. Wang often adopts excerpts from Buddhist scriptures and Chinese classics in his creation process, yet his expressions would turn these texts into unrecognisable, thoroughly flipped the functionality of words. Characters traditionally to be read and fed to the receivers are now abstract forms to be felt and contemplated by the receivers themselves instead. Apart from his unusual calligraphic visuals, Wang also experimented with a variety of mediums, such as using acrylic on acrylic board, acrylic on stainless steel, pigment on coloured paper and even bamboos. Over the past six decades, Wang’s modernistic approach has expanded the frontier of calligraphy and no doubt, he will continue to open up room for universal interpretations. His recent creations using ink or pigment on coloured papers have brought in a fresh look to the old art form and certainly leveraged on the untold possibilities colours offer.
Wang has been invited to demonstrate his monumental calligraphic works in prominent institutions including Stanford University (1989), Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (2009), Brooklyn Museum (2015), British Museum (2016), The Imperial Ancestral Temple, Beijing (2016), Art Institute of Chicago (2017), Asia Society New York (2017) and National Gallery of Singapore (2019). His works are in the private collections of collectors worldwide, as well as the permanent collections of museums and institutions such as The British Museum, London, UK, The Palace Museum, Beijing, China, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, Zhejiang Art Museum, China, Yale University, USA, University of California Berkely, USA, North Dakota Museum of Art, USA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, and Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong.
Wang Jianan who is having his first group exhibition in Singapore is a prominent artist most known for his ink paintings characterised by heavy use of pigment and majestic landscape. Born in 1955, the Heilongjiang native studied at Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and upon graduating in 1982, he later migrated to London in 1987 where his artistic career took flight. His brightly coloured works have brilliantly weaved in cultural influences and characteristics of Western paintings. Insistent on using mineral pigments to preserve the texture and translucency of traditional Chinese ink paintings, Wang’s works are rich in hues, yet placed within the most unexpected setting — tranquil landscape more likely found in Tang and Song Dynasty paintings. Bearing the influence of dunhuang art and its distinctive colour scheme, which he has a profound understanding of, Wang has constructed a wholly different visual realm that is bound to revitalise the rich traditions of Chinese paintings. Filling his lush forests and mountains with a myriad of colours, occasionally adding traces of living, Wang’s Colour Landscape Seriesgoing on display stands at the cusp of a fairyland fantasy and reality.
The winner of the 1989 British watercolour prize at the Royal Academy of Art, the first Chinese artist to receive such an honour, has had his works well collected by museums and institutions such as National Art Museum of China, Henan Art Museum, The Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, Xi’an University, China, The British Museum, London, UK, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK, The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK, and The Olenska Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
A pioneer of chinese abstract art and one of the most gifted contemporary Asian artists of our time, Zhang Jian-Jun has certainly showcased his multi-disciplinary talents through a fascinating collection of oil, watercolour, installation and photography art. The Adjunct Professor at the Fine Arts Department of New York University Shanghai consistently awes viewers with his profound understanding of and manipulation of existence, time and its realisation. Currently living and working in both Shanghai and New York, Zhang often weaves in his observations of the society, and his reflections on the ephemerality of modernity. In his Ink Rock Series, he created doppelgängers of scholar’s rocks that Chinese literati once prized in their gardens, tediously and delicately casting them in ink, giving the nature feature a modern spin.To date, his study on the fluidities present in our lives is still ongoing and his works shall continue to discuss the evolution of time and what dissipates along with it. Featuring Ink Rock this time, we invite you to question what constitutes our cultural identity in modern times though the ornamental ‘rocks’ Zhang has brilliantly engineered.
Zhang has held many solo exhibitions and over 100 group exhibitions in China, the United States and other parts of Asia and Europe. His works are collected permanently in JP Morgan (Hong Kong), International Artists Museum, Lodz (Poland), Shanghai Art Museum (China), Shenzhen Art Institute, Shenzhen (China), Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou (China), the Dow Jones Company, New Jersey (U.S.A.), Djerassi Foundation Collection, California (U.S.A.), Yuz Museum, Shanghai (China), Frederick R. Weisman Foundation of Art, California (U.S.A.), Brooklyn Museum, New York (U.S.A.) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (U.S.A.).
Born in Shanghai in 1960, Wang Tiande is widely regarded as one of the leading figures in contemporary Chinese ink of our time. His reinvention of Chinese landscape painting by substituting brushes with incense has seen him catapulted into international fame and Wang’s creative explorations continue to receive critical acclaim worldwide. His iconic works bear resemblance to the conventional landscape paintings from afar, then upon closer look, surprise viewers with his layered textures and refined visuals — as the burned landscape layered on top reveals another inked landscape underneath, both existing as individual pieces yet generate synergies as one. Wang sometimes fuses his creations with original manuscripts or rubbings of stelae and seals from his collection, in the hope that he could establish a dialogue between the past and his modern practices. Some of his recent works, after his trip to Singapore in 2020 has expanded to imbue elements of the sunny island and Southeast Asia. As the cultural gap continues to widen,these new works are part of the contemporary space Wang has created and they highlight the possibility to inherit, yet not be bounded by the traditional Chinese culture.
Wang has held solo and group exhibitions in prestigious museums, galleries and institutions across the globe. His works have been included in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Chicago Art Institute, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the National Art Museum of China.
Regarded as one of Asia’s most prominent living sculptors, Han Sai Por is widely recognised as a driving force for the local sculptural art scene. Han who became an artist by chance certainly has established her presence over the past fifty years, clinching numerous prestigious awards internationally and locally. A recipient of Singapore’s Cultural Medallion Award (1995), the second female to have received such recognition after Georgette Chen, is known to create simplistic and elegant organic works that evoke the alluring charm of nature. Han embarked on her artistic journey with stones, and after all these decades, even when natural materials of such (including marble and granite) are hard to find in Singapore, she has not strayed from her path. With exquisite, smooth, flowy lines derived from the energy of the natural world, her works on display — Seed PodSeries, Flora Series and Tropical LeafSeries are honest yet graceful commentaries on the significant loss of organic forms in modern society. Though presented with a clean and neat aesthetic, Han’s remarkable oeuvre carries a lot of weight, literally and figuratively.
Han has participated in numerous international exhibitions around the world. Her works can be found in many private collections, international and local institutions, and public spaces including; National Museum of Singapore, Suzhou Centre in China, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore National Art Gallery, China National Museum in Beijing, Portland Sculpture Park in England and World United Nation, New York Singapore office building.
Singapore’s pioneer contemporary ink artist Zhuang Shengtao is a modern literati artist. Now residing in Suzhou, Zhuang indulges himself thoroughly in the serene landscape the ancient city offers. It does not take much to notice, the spirit of times present in the ‘Venice of China’ is well embraced in Zhuang’s bold and zestful strokes. Remaining vivacious in his swings and sways, his daxieyi (freehand brushwork) works have pushed the boundaries of calligraphy further to one that transcends distinguishable forms. The heavy layering and swashing of ink across jumbo size rice papers have had an effect on the visual dimension — pockets of white peeking through the varying degree of dark washes, much like the dappled shade, movements of his expressions are amplified at a scale, drawing viewers further into his poetic world. Look out for his abstract and free-spirited compositions in Emptiness Series, Zhuang’s introspective strokes are a fresh interpretation of contemporary ink and have cleverly imbued classical Chinese poetry within.
Zhuang has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Singapore, China, the USA, Australia and other parts of Asia, including Journey of Ink (Singapore National Museum Art Gallery, 1993), Power and Poetry – Monuments and Meditations in Chinese Contemporary Ink Paintings (Singapore Art Museum, 1998), 5th International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen (Shenzhen, China, 1999), shuimo yuehui (True Colour Art Museum, (Suzhou, China, 2009) and The Ink Art of Zhuang Shengtao (iPreciation Gallery, Singapore, 2017). His works are also in the permanent collection of the National Gallery Singapore.
A well-respected Singaporean artist who wears many hats — painter, calligrapher, ceramist, Oh Chai Hoo works extensively with various mediums and is well admired for his fearless experimentation and exploration with different materials. Deeply intrigued by the work of nature, Oh is particularly fascinated with rock structures, which has led to an oeuvre of extraordinary ink works that have captured the powerful movements of natural forces on magnificent mountainous, cliff-like forms. Over the years, he has continued to expand his visual language by exploring dialogical and collaborative works, bringing in surprising elements that certainly hint at his free-spiritedness and adventurous personality. His recent paintings bring forth a juxtaposition of ink and calligraphy resulting in a collage-like effect, where works are torn and pieced up, and writings are scattered all around (see Cherries from Previous Lives and The Dream of Landscapes). The spontaneous assemblage resulted in texts and motifs interacting non-linearly on the plane, as well as torn edges and spaces leaving rooms for imagination, leading viewers into a heartfelt conversation with the narratives presented.
Since graduation from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1982, Oh remains an active member of the local arts scene. The vice-president of Singapore’s Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society had held various exhibitions locally and abroad. His works are well collected privately and are also permanently collected by the National Museum of Singapore and The Istana, Singapore.
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Private Preview: Dec 11, 2021 (By Invitation Only)
Exhibition Opens to Public: Dec 13, 2021 – Dec 30, 2021 (Due to social distancing, prior viewing arrangement is recommended. Please call 6339 0678 or email Brian at brian.foong@ipreciation.com)
This December, join us at iPreciation to discover the tranquil world of Yang Zhongda(b. 1988) through 22 pieces of works he created between 2015 – 2021 in his first solo exhibition titled Quietude.
Yang was born in Singapore. He graduated in 2015 from The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, majoring in Western Painting. Our affinity with Yang began in 2015 after his graduation. Since then, he visited and presented his artworks whenever he created new pieces, at the same time discussing his ideas. Yang’s acrylic paintings first made an appearance in When Space Dissolves into Luminosity; Where Flowers Bloom Amidst Rocks, a group show in 2017. Soon after, he forged a newfound affection for pastel and he made this medium a definite choice for his later creations. His fondness for drawing as a form of expression and the appealing nature of pastel pigment application created a special visual for his paintings. However, the virtuosity shown in his visualisations would not have been possible without his meticulousness and introspective personality.
Yang’s keen eye for detail allows him to consistently find meaning in the overlooked corners of the urban scene, often zooming into the quintessential, producing photography-like works. His rigorous approach to art has produced an exceptional visual diary of the contemporary, a fascinating take on everyday observations.
The artist’s oeuvre is a poignant revelation of the evanescence nature of our modern society. He often captures desolated spaces and commonplace subjects often occupied or routinely used by humans yet also mostly go unnoticed and unappreciated. In the absence of living objects, these neglected infrastructures and features took centre stage, imbuing a whiff of bleak emptiness in an oddly familiar setting.
By negotiating an entity’s existence in a space, Yang investigates the intimate connection he shares with his subjects, his identity in relation to society which extends to the universal theme of the human-environment relationship. Constructed with fragments of his personal memories and sympathetic observations of our surroundings, the quaint stills encapsulate small moments of actuality and invite viewers to contemplate and find opportunities to reconcile with the mundane someday, some time.
Yang plans to further create a captivating series depicting the relationship between toys and society, unfortunately, delayed by his recent health issues. Its first piece, The Cavalry, created in 2019, is a distorted version of a popular videogame character which will also be shown at this exhibition.
We have witnessed an incredible journey of Yang’s growth and development over the years. As he continues his medical treatment, we hope to share Yang’s remarkable chronicles and celebrate his achievements to date. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of Yang’s collectors for supporting the young artist and loaning these works to make this solo exhibition possible.
We wish and greet everyone with a bright and healthy year ahead.
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In Search of My Shangri-La 《我的桃花源》 – Recent Works of Wee Shoo Leong 黃樹良
