Friday, December 5, 2008
S’pore Renowned Chinese Artists
1) Chua Mia Tee (1931 - )
One of Singapore’s foremost realist painters, Chua Mia Tee was best known for his oil paintings that depict Singapore’s vanishing traditional urban landscape. He was also a master in portrait painting.
Born in 25 Nov 1931, Shantou, Guangdong Province, China, he was only 6 when he and his family migrated to Singapore in 1937 because of the Sino-Japanese war in China.
Graduated in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Chua staged his first successful solo art exhibition at the Rising Art Gallery at the age of 43 and has made tremendous contributions to the arts community in Singapore.
For more information, you may visit: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1010_2008-07-30.html
National Language Class by Chua Mia Tee.Year: 1950.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Size: 112 x 153 cm.
National Language Class has an anti-colonial nationalistic content and is a fine example of Social Realist work to Chua, who came to Singapore in 1937 and attended NAFA from 1952 to 1957, whereby art must reflect real life. It need not necessarily be fully naturalistic but it must be firmly grounded in reality, so that the work is in no way ambiguous but rather offers an easily accessible point of reference for the viewer.
Reference: http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/chuamiatee/1.html
2) Lim Cheng Hoe (1912 - 1979)
One of Singapore's key pioneer artists, Lim Cheng Hoe was also the first generation watercolour artists and credited for the incorporation of interest in watercolour art in the local art scene.
Lim was a contrast from other pioneer artists schooled in mainstream Chinese art aesthetic culture, by being a product of Western art education and a primarily self-taught artist.
Lim also has a strong foundation in drawing, paints landscapes and everyday subjects.
Since winning the Lim Boon Keng Gold Medal for Art in 1927, Lim continued to win numerous art awards. He lost to stomach cancer and died in Changi General Hospital on September 3, 1979.
Some of his art pieces can be found in the Singapore Art Museum.
For more information, you may visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Cheng_Hoe#Major_exhibitions
Samsui Woman by Lim Cheng Hoe.Year: 1955.
Medium: Pencil on paper.
Size: 34 x 27 cm.
Samsui Woman is a sensitively-rendered portrait. Lim's acute observation is apparent in the care with which each feature of his subject is articulated. His pencil lines are free and expressive. Lim displays remarkable control over the medium, with an impressive repertoire of marks from light and barely visible filaments to heavy and dark strokes.
Reference:http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/painters/limchenghoe/1.html
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