Chiew Sien Kuan 赵善君(b.1965)

Chiew graduated from NAFA in 1989 majoring in painting and obtained both his Bachelor of Fine Art and Master of Fine Art at the University of Tasmania. In 1992, he was awarded the Highly Recommended Prize in the Australian Bicentennial Art Award of Young Artists (Painting). The following year, he attained First prize in the 3D category at the Phillippe Charriol Foundation Contemporary Art Competition (Sculpture). His artistic research interest is pertaining to Painting & drawing ( ) Machine – re-examining traditional aesthetics through the use of materials, be it found objects, recycled, experimental or conventional.

Chiew’s drawings and paintings are personal commentaries on the issues of modernity and rapid urbanisation that affect people’s sense of being, creating altered states of mind. His work is preoccupied with issues of environmentalism, renewal, loss of urban spaces, economic progress and technological development that have inevitably influenced and changed people’s sense of reality. Chiew’s paintings reflection of subconscious minds that are in constant flux, reacting to these changes around us. With broad confident strokes, Chiew draws and paints exuberantly on paper, demonstrating a unique sense of freedom and free-spiritedness in his style of painting. His sculptures are characterised by the use of found objects sourced over a period of time sometimes 10 – 15 years. By formalising the accidental, he probes into the subconscious mind enticing the viewer to re-think and re-examine the subject matter in the work. The seemingly random assemblage of materials may not seem finished, it is constantly a work in progress.

Educational Qualifications

2007-2008 | Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDHE), Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, Singapore.
2005-2006 | MFAD, University of Tasmania, Launceston
1994 | BFA, University of Tasmania. Hobart
1986-1989 | Diploma in Fine Art, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Academic and Administrative Experience

2022-2023 | NAFA Adjunct Lecturer

2010-2023 | UniSim/SUSS GSP157 – Western Painting (Oil) Project Lecturer
1989-2022 | NAFA Full-Time lecturer
2015-2018 | Diploma Programme Leader
2007-2014 | Deputy Head of Department of Fine Art
1999 – Current | Member, FA Curriculum Development Advisory Committee, NAFA
1999 | Deputy Head of Fine Art Department
1995 – Current | Member, FA Departmental Curriculum Development Committee, NAFA
1995-1998 | Acting Head of Fine Art Department

Teaching/Research Interests

Painting, Drawing & Sculpture.

Consultative Service

2009-10 | Youth Olympic Village Art Installation
2008 | World Toilet Art, World Toilet Summit by World Toilet Organization
2004 | Judge for Uniliver International Schools Art Project 2004, Singapore
2003 | Judge, Scarecrow Making Competition “Go green, ok, party” (Environment Day 2003) Chinese Garden , organised by Taman Jurong CCC, with South-West CDC and Town Council.
1999 | Representative, NAFA Fine Art Student Art Exhibition at Cultural Centre of the Arts Lima, Peru
1993 | Representative, The 7th Asian-Pacific Conference on Arts Education

Recent Research and Select Publications

2023 | “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, 27 Oct – 21 Nov 2023, 7879 Gallery and Clayworks
2022 | National Taiwan University of Arts Department of Sculpture 11th Shoesbox Sculpture Exhibition, Taiwan. / Visual Thinking: Sense of Knowing Catalogue, Curated by Dr Wang Ruobing
2021 | Artist as Collector Catalogue presented by Comma Space
2019 | Solo Exhibition Catalogue -Soul Yield
2014 | SingaPlura, Celebrating Design2014, Dhoby Ghaut Green
2013 | Art Apart Fair 2013, Parkroyal on Pickering.
2012 | 8^th Ngee Ann 3D Art Exhibition, Construct Elements
2011 | VISIONS OF LIGHTNESS, ION Art Gallery
2010 | EXCAVATION – Ten Singapore Artists, The Art Studio @ Old School.
2006 | Flight 06, University of Tasmania, Launceston / Withdrawing, NAFA, Singapore
2000 | Young Contemporary Artists in Singapore

Exhibitions

2023 | Shoebox Sculpture Biennale 2023, Singapore
2021 | Artist as Collector presented by Comma Space, Gillman Barracks curated by Dr Wang Ruobing / Chiew Sien Kuan Solo Exhibition, The Little Love Story of Singapore, Esplanade Tunnel, Singapore
2019 | Chiew Sien Kuan Solo Exhibition, Soul Yield, NAFA Galleries, LHT, Singapore
2018 | Group Exhibition – ‘Motionless Boundary’, Da Xin Art Museum, Tainan, Taiwan, 07 July – 12 August 2018 / Group Exhibition – ‘Motionless Boundary’, Element Art Space, Singapore, 07 July – 12 August 2018 / Painters, Nakata Private Museum, Onomichi, Japan / Moving Mountains, Artsembly, Esplanade Mall, Singapore
2017 | Vol.3 | DR/OP: Beyond Boundaries, 17 August-27August 2017, Block B, #03-18 & #04-10 Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore / When Space Dissolves into Luminosity; Where Flowers Bloom Amidst Rocks, ipreciation Gallery, Singapore
2016 | Through the Year, Group Show, New Treasure Art Gallery, Burma / Drop-connect Art Exhibition, Japan
2015 | Vernacula, SG50, NAFA Galleries / ArtStage Singapore, Marina Bay Sand
2014 | NOTHING IN COMMON Art Exhibition, ION Art Gallery / 6767 Draw Bridge, NAFA Galleries 1 & 2, / SingaPlura,Celebrating Design 2014,Dhoby Ghaut Green
2013 | ASIAN CONTEMPORARY SCULPTORS, Guangzhou, / Art Apart Fair 2013, Parkroyal on Pickering.
2012 | 8^th Ngee Ann 3D Art Exhibition, Construct Elements
2011 | VISIONS OF LIGHTNESS, Pipal Fine Art, KL / VISIONS OF LIGHTNESS, ION Art Gallery
2010 | NAFA-LASALLE fine art staff show 2010, NAFA / EXCAVATION – Ten Singapore Artists, The Art Studio @ Old School.
2009 | Ngee Ann 3D Art Exhibition – Form and Reform, Ngee Ann Cultural Centre / 4^th CDL Singapore Sculpture Award Show, SAM / Warm Machines, Esplanade Concourse Space
2007 | Escape Clause, NAFA Gallery 2
2006 | Space Envisaged: 7 Propositions, Public Art Space, Pan Pacific Singapore / Withdrawing, NAFA Gallery 2 / Flight 06, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Australia
2004 | “In The Flesh…The Nude in Contemporary Art”, NAFA Selegie Gallery / Ngee Ann 3D Art Exhibition, Ngee Ann Cultural Centre
2003 | International Snow Sculpting Event of the Quebec Carnival, Canada / Hopea Sangal Tree Sculpture Symposium, Singapore
2002 | “The Abstraction” Art Exhibition, NAFA Selegie Gallery.
2000 | “Five Colors”-Group Exhibition, Paragon Art Gallery. / “Just Five” – Group Exhibition, Artfolio SPACE. Singapore / “AD2000” – Staff Art Exhibition, Selegie Gallery
1999 | The “NAFA Staff Art Exhibition”, Art Festival’99. NAFA Selegie Art Gallery
1998 | International Plein Air Painting Workshop in Plovdiv. Bulgaria.
1995 | “The Philip Morris” Group of Companies Art Exhibition. Singapore / “A Slice of Life” Group Exhibition. Entrepot Art Gallery Centre for the Arts, Hobart, Tasmania.
1992 | Painting of the Year Competition and Exhibition. / “Three Phrases of Sky” Three Man Exhibition. / International Art Workshop’92 Antalya, Turkey. / The “Six Field” Six Men Show, Empire Place Art Gallery, Singapore.
1991 | Painting of the Year Competition and Exhibition.
1990 | NAFA Lecturer, Art Exhibition Thailand, Singapore.
1988 | Singapore-Philippines Contemporary Printmaking Exhibition National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore. / Ministry of Communication and Information Art Competition and Exhibition. / Artist Village Drawing Show, Singapore. / “Initiato” Art Exhibition, Goethe-Institute, Singapore. / IBM Art Award Exhibition.