In the past 52 years, the arts and culture sector has developed and progressed significantly in Singapore. ‘The arts and culture are an integral part of Singapore which the country must continue to nurture because “Man does not live by bread alone’, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
We do wish for the finer things in life, to appreciate beauty and love, and something uplifting for the spirit and the nation would not be complete without an appreciation of arts and culture. Human beings need the arts and culture to nourish our souls. We are moved by beauty, we feel empathy and love for others, we yearn to “see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower”, as the English poet William Blake put it.
On the nation’s birthday, YANG GALLERY is proud to feature two of the most acclaimed Singaporean artists, Tan Swie Hian and Fan Shao Hua, both whom are given due recognition in the local art scene and beyond, creating global awareness with their artistic contributions.
Tan Swie Hian & His Free Mind
Tan Swie Hian, 陈瑞献, is Singapore’s top multidisciplinary artist known for his contemporary Chinese calligraphy, poetry and art sculptures found in Singapore and many parts of the world.
Born in Indonesia, Tan migrated to Singapore circa 1946. He grew up with a fluency in Chinese and Malay language, and went on to study English and French at the Nanyang University. He began his career life as press attaché For the French Embassy in Singapore, after graduating with a degree in English literature from the University. While working as an attaché he continued pursuing his passion for art. His first foray into the Singapore arts scene was with his first collection of poetry writing titled The Giant in 1968 and held his first art exhibition at the National Libraryon Stamford Road in 1973. He also converted to his faith to Buddhism in that year; his newfound spiritual experience outweighed his passion for the arts that made him give up painting for the next four years. It was only when the-then French Embassy cultural attaché Michel Deverge threatened to end their friendship if he didn’t pursue his art again, that Tan resume painting. Deverge went on to organize a successful exhibition of Tan’s new creations at the Gauguin Museum in Tahiti.
After 24 years with the Embassy Tan left his position to pursue art full-time.His quest for a free mind permeates his works and is perhaps responsible for making him one of Singapore’s most fascinating, versatile and lauded artists – and the most expensive.
Three years ago, his portrait of Bada Shanren, executed in just 60 seconds, fetched $4.4 million at an auction in Beijing. A vision of the 17th-century Ming prince turned hermetic artist had come to him while he was meditating. Another meditative vision that he rendered with oils and acrylics on canvas, When The Moon Is Orbed, fetched $3.7 million two years earlier. Chronicling Tan’s achievements can be a giddy exercise; they are hard for many artists to trump. Entirely self-taught, he is masterful in sculpture, print-making and seal engraving, besides painting and calligraphy.
In 1987, when he was 44, he became the youngest to be elected a correspondent-member to the world’s oldest and most prestigious artistic institution, the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institute of France. In 1996, he was one of 135 international artists to have their works etched on the cliffs of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River.
Of awards and accolades, he has many, including the Gold Medal in the Salon des Artistes Francais, Paris (1985), the Singapore Cultural Medallion (1987), the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum (2003) and the Officer in the National Order of the Legion of Honour medal (2006). The last award is France’s highest honour for individuals who have contributed significantly to civilian or military life.
Time magazine called him “Singapore’s Renaissance Man” in 2003. The description is apt, considering that he is also an award-winning poet and writer, with nearly 60 published volumes to his name. The linguist – he’s fluent in Chinese, English, French and Malay – holds his own on topics from Beat poetry to the Rolling Stones to the life of legendary Japanese swordsman and samurai Musashi Miyamoto. Experts say that his art is arresting because of its layers and nuances – the blend of modernity and tradition, the links between East and West.
Last November, the National Library mounted the biggest exhibition of Tan’s works. Titled Anatomy Of A Free Mind, it features more than 100 artistic and literary pieces, including never before seen private notebooks which contain, in exquisite handwriting, Tan’s ruminations as well as drawings of his inner and outer realities.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Tan Swie Hian is setting up a $10 million award for outstanding artists around the world. The move to set up the award out of his own pocket is said to be rare in the local arts and cultural scene. The 73-year-old multidisciplinary artist is currently in talks with lawyers on setting up a foundation for the award, before he selects a committee of judges to pick the winners from around the globe.
Tan said: “To be able to donate for the public good – this may not be achieved through personal wealth alone. Only through Buddhist living and meditation can you hope to do so.”
Fan Shao Hua: Essence • Life
Born in 1963 in the Guangzhou province of China, Fan Shao Hua became a Singapore citizen in 2004 and is one of the most established multi-talented artist here in Singapore. Fan first started to learn ink painting at the age of ten, when he studied painting the human figure and bird and flower subjects. He graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Arts in 1985, specialising in oil painting. Fan has been a full time artist since then, dividing his time between his art practice and teaching for almost three decades. He moved to Singapore in 1992, where he has made his home since then.
Fan clinched the top prize in the 19th UOB Painting of the Year award in 2000, and the International Premium Oil Painting Artist by the Hong Kong World Class Artist Committee, 2008, among several other awards. Most recently, Fan was invited to stage solo exhibitions at the most prestigious art museums of China, presenting “Essence.Life” in Shanghai Art Museum in Shanghai, Guangzhou Art Museum in Guangzhou, and the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. Having received many achievements and accolades.
Fan, 52, says living in multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore has been an eye opener for him.
He explains: “In Singapore, I have opportunities to draw or paint Malays, Indians, Chinese as well as Caucasians. From my interactions with them, I have learnt about their cultures and religions too.”
In January 2010 and March 2010, Fan Shaohua held a solo exhibition at the prestigious Shanghai Art Museum and Beijing Art Museum. He has evolved as an artist; moving effortlessly from one distinct style and excelling in another.
Employing a fusion of mediums, his canvases employ vibrant hues tempered by bold strokes, marrying contemporary and traditional styles. He merges his western oil painting technique with the dramatic ‘ink splash’ and ‘creased paper background’, found in traditional Chinese ink painting. He paints in a refreshing myriad of colours that are instantly modern and harmonized in a delightful synergy. Developing from his acclaimed portraitures of dignitaries to his realist paintings imbued with social commentary, Fan explored Abstract Expressionism and Chinese Ink Painting in his latest series. Fan has not remained complacent and as an artist, has strived to search inwardly and gain inspiration from his surroundings. As such, he has evolved as an artist; moving effortlessly from one distinct style and excelling in another.
In 2015, the artist held his solo exhibition featuring 61 works at the galleries of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa), to mark 40 years of his art journey. Most of the creations were done after he arrived here in 1992.
They include his Singapore River series in oil on four large canvases to show its transformation over the years, pieces depicting festivals and city life, and portraits of multi-racial Singaporeans he did in various media, including several on the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, whom he admired. Of the four paintings of Mr Lee at the show, one large work done in Chinese ink and colours on rice paper is perhaps the most prominent. Titled A Great Man From A Small Country (2002), it measures 137cm by 68cm.
“I intend to present this piece to the country when there is an opportunity,” the prolific painter says.
