River bumboats are a long-standing subject in Lim’s paintings of the Singapore River, their presence filling each picture with symbolic and historical meanings. Impressionistically handled, Lim employs warm and vibrant colours such as red and green rendered in bold strokes, successfully creating a dynamic and joyous feel to the en plein air painting. This oil on canvas work is part of National University of Singapore Museum Collection. Physical dimensions of original: 730 x 975 mm.
Semi-representational, the work shows two figures locked in embrace in an upright position. Wee has produced numerous works expressing emotional and psychological conditions through abstract compositions. In this particular work, the figures are fused and suspended in an amorphous context, drawing greater attention to the materiality of their emotional state...
Completed during an art residency in Paris in 2000, the work demonstrates an impressionistic rendition of the famous River Seine in Paris, France. Hue and tonal contrast are handled competently using a limited colour palette. Lim captures the landmark cathedral Notre Dame de Paris in the background, a perennial subject...
Surprised II is representative of Ng’s fascination with the flesh which borders on the obsessive. This aspect of Ng’s oeuvre is nevertheless not to be ignored as it contributes to the full spectrum of Ng’s relationship with the human figure as expressed in his art. This work (stoneware, slip, ciment...
Life is Hard, using the medium of oil on board, is significant of Ng’s beginning as a painter under Georgette Chen’s guidance at NAFA. It provides insight into Ng’s aptitude as a painter, and is a pertinent example of his constant interest in the human figure, as well as the...
In this work, Wee relies on the deliberate placement of lines and coloured areas to attain a range of responses from viewers. Areas of colours are delineated on the picture surface with sharpness and clarity. His paint application is non-gestural and impersonal. The work demonstrates Wee’s preference for hard-edge painting...
This work demonstrates Wee’s versatility in working across a number of art media and styles. The Great Sphinx of Giza is depicted in a cubist idiom. Three figures represented in the foreground accentuate the scale of the Sphinx. Using muted tones of brown, the work captures the distinct environment of...
The tree is a recurring subject matter in Lim’s oeuvre. His encounters with large trees took place mainly during his painting expeditions overseas. Rendered expressively through a variety of bold and vigorous brushstrokes, the work demonstrates Lim’s versatility in both western oil and Chinese ink media. This work with ink and...
Having begun to paint the street-level activities in the picture, Lim decided to leave the painting unfinished. In doing so, he draws an analogy between a shophouse with closed shutters and the larger context of urban re-development around the Chinatown and Singapore River areas in the 1970s and 1980s. This work...
The work depicts the practice of cormorant fishing taking place along the Li River in Guangxi, China. Showing fishermen framed by distinctive green hills seemingly rising to the sky, the painting exudes both dynamism and repose. It captures in its essence a scene where nature and human activities co-exist in...
City Vista represents the development of collage and the exploration of the potential of materials Yeo found around him. He regards collage as a way of freeing himself from the tyranny of the brush. This painting presents the idea of an abstract land/cityscape, commenting on the architecture of his environment. This...