Tag Archives: tan seow wei

Tan Seow Wei 陳曉薇 (b. 1979)

Singaporean artist Tan Seow Wei (b. 1979) works on a variety of mediums, primarily ink painting, printmaking and drawing.  Seow Wei’s interest in art draws much influence from her father, who has taught her calligraphy and enrolled her in various art classes at a tender young age. Having picked up the Chinese Gongbi style of painting from local artist Mr Tan Seng Yong in her secondary school days, she went on to study ink painting and seal carving under the tutelage of Singapore’s renowned seal carving and ink masters Tan Kee Sek and Oh Chai Hoo respectively. With more than two decades of training on ink painting and calligraphy before embarking on her creative career, it is no surprise that ink painting forms the cornerstone of Seow Wei’s art practice.  

Seeking a deeper connection with Chinese literary traditions, Tan Seow Wei first pursued a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore.  After a few years in the workforce, Tan was compelled to continue her artistic journey with fresh perspectives and new visual lexicons. She enrolled in LASALLE College of the Arts, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Painting (2008). Tan’s explorations often involved examining her surroundings and in particular, people and plants. Her earlier works investigated human behaviour in “transparent” urban spaces, which later evolved to various aspects such as interpretations of dreams, documentations of personal memories and studies of human forms.   

Tan Seow Wei’s fascination with the human form and psyche stretches to her series of dandelions from 2016 till today. A symbol of strength, these unassuming flowers have always been a source of inspiration for many, including the late renowned contemporary poet, Gu Cheng (Nameless Flowers) and songwriter Su Yunying (Wild Child), both whose works have struck a chord in her heart. In Tan’s works, the dandelions, unlike their usual organic shapes, are often jagged and angular, evoking a sense of resiliency and tenacity. The dainty flowers humbly embrace their fragility and thrive at their own pace, serving as a constant reminder to the artist and her viewers that every individual has his/her unique trajectory of growth. Like the muted colour palette that she employs, Tan’s works spin poetic, feminine and intimate narratives about herself and the space she lives in. 

Tan Seow Wei has won several awards including the Siaw-Tao Outstanding Art Award in 2014, Winston Oh Travel Award in 2007, Georgette Chen Arts Scholarship in 2006 and Dr Tan Tsze Chor Art Award (Distinction) in 2003. She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in England, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. She currently lives and works in Singapore.

Education

  • 2008 | LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Bachelor of Arts (Hons)
  • 2002 | Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Certificate in Multimedia
  • 2001 | National University of Singapore, Bachelor in Arts & Social Sciences

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2021 | Flower, Not, iPreciation, Singapore
  • 2013-19 | Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal Carving, Calligraphy & Painting Society Annual Exhibition, Singapore 2019  | Kindle, The Siaw-Tao Fundraising Exhibition, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore
  • 2018 | Bon a Tirer, AC43 Gallery, Singapore Beckoning of the Breeze, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore / Dark Moments Naked Dog, Artsembly, Singapore / The Diasporic Brush – Modern Singaporean Art, Wolfson College (University of Cambridge), England / Spring Edition I, Artsembly, Singapore / Clay/Print, Artsembly, Singapore
  • 2017 | Singapore-Japan Chinese Ink Painting Exchange Exhibition, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore / Impressions, Oriental Art and Cultural Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2016-17 Ini mini mini mo, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore 2015 | Run. Ran. Run. Instinc Gallery, Singapore
  • 2011 | inFORMATION, Substation Gallery, Singapore
  • 2010 | 1xSuitcase’, Meta House, Cambodia / 1xSuitcase’, Xi’an Textile City Art District Exhibition Center, China
  • 2009 | 1xSuitcase’, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur / 1xSuitcase’, Chiang Mai University Art Centre, Thailand / Eniminiminimos, Esplanade Jendela, Singapore / Air Conditioned Recession: A Singapore Survey, VWFA, Singapore / Intrinsic, Esplanade Jendela, Singapore / 1x Suitcase, Alliance Francaise, Singapore
  • 2008 | Website Launch of Singapore Contemporary Artists, Sculpture Square, Singapore / Go Figure, Fost Gallery, Singapore / LASALLE Degree Show 08, LASALLE, Singapore / At One @ Project Space, LASALLE, Singapore
  • 2007 | Travelogue Practice, LASALLE, Singapore / Because it’s Happy Chaos, Esplanade Tunnel, Singapore / Fibre & Form, Eagle’s Dream Contemporary Works, Singapore / In Transitu: asmuchforyouasitisforus, LASALLE, Singapore / Out-of-Print @ Project Space, LASALLE, Singapore
  • 2006 | First Lady on the Moon, La Libreria, Singapore
  • 2005 | Groundwork V–Balik Kampung, LASALLE, Singapore
  • 2002-2003 | Dr. Tan Tsze Chor Art Award Exhibition, Singapore

Awards

  • 2014 | Siaw-Tao Outstanding Art Award 2007 | Winston Oh Travel Award 2005-2006 | Georgette Chen Scholarship 2003 | Dr. Tan Tsze Chor Art Award – Certificate of Distinction 2002 | Dr. Tan Tsze Chor Art Award – Highly Commended Certificate 1998 | Japan Pre-University Chinese Calligraphy Exhibition (Osaka) – Certificate of Merit

For full list of exhibitions and collections, please contact the gallery at enquiry@ipreciation.com.

Artwork Images

Tan Seow Wei, 2020

Flower, Not 《花非花》 – A Group Exhibition at iPreciation

 

Flower-Not-E-CatalogueDownload

A Group Exhibition by Oh Chai Hoo 胡財和 (b. 1960), Song Ling 宋陵 (b. 1961), Hua Jun 花俊 (b. 1970), Wang Shaoqiang 王紹強 (b. 1970),  Jiang Heng 江衡 (b. 1972), Tan Seow Wei 陳曉薇 (b. 1979) and Chui Pui Chee 徐沛之 (b. 1980)

Venue: iPreciation (誰先覺), 50 Cuscaden Road, HPL House #01-01, Singapore 249724 

Private Preview: Feb 4, 2021  (By Invitation Only)

Exhibition Opens to Public: Feb 5 – Feb 27, 2021

(Due to social distancing, prior viewing arrangement is recommended. Please call 6339 0678 or email Brian at brian.foong@ipreciation.com)

花非花，霧非霧，

夜半來，天明去。

來如春夢幾多時？

去似朝雲無覓處。

A flower it seems, perhaps not. Was it the mist? I do not know.

She comes at night and leaves at cockcrow.

Much like a dream that could not stay.

Or maybe the clouds, fading away.

– Bai Juyi, Tang Dynasty

Our love affair with the bloom and wither dates back centuries. It continues to manifest in the present time, but there is more than meets the eye. Borrowing a line from Bai Juyi’s poem, and much like Magritte’s La Trahison des images, Flower, Not is a study on the relationship between meaning and representation. Seeking new visual figures of speech, seven artists – Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960), Song Ling (b. 1961), Hua Jun (b. 1970), Wang Shaoqiang (b. 1970), Jiang Heng (b. 1972), Tan Seow Wei (b. 1979) and Chui Pui-Chee (b. 1980), drew on their cultural heritages, socio-political backgrounds and generational influences to imbue fresh connotations to the age-old imagery.

The lionhearted Song Ling presents his rebellious take on the ironic phenomenon of alienation and isolation in an increasingly connected world. Maintaining an unwavering stance to celebrate imperfections, Oh Chai Hoo is back to question an impetuous world that downplays the beauty of flaws. Just as Wang Shaoqiang continues to sail through contemporary Chinese ink with his landscape imageries that interweave latter-day influences and ancient origins, the ancient Heart Sutra finds its perpetual modern relevance through the quirky lens of Hua Jun. Jiang Heng remains committed to confronting the pervasive nature of materialism and the struggle to uphold established moral ideals. In such times of uncertainty, Tan Seow Wei has constructed a quaint, whimsical place for retreat and to embrace oneself. Chui Pui-chee too finds solace in a realm that is long gone yet vividly present within his retrained brushstrokes.

Together, their works form a critical subtext of modernity.