pianomania: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION: TAN TECK HENG PAINTINGS & SCULPTURES @ LIM HAK TAI GALLERY, NAFA / Part 1

TRANSIENT JOURNEYS:

TAN TECK HENG'S

PAINTINGS & SCULPTURES

Lim Hak Tai Gallery,

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, besides being a great piece of music has also encouraged me to visit art galleries all over the world. However, I must admit to being somewhat indifferent to modern art in Singapore, but that had to change sometime. Nowadays, I have tried to open my eyes more, and to imbibe what I see and also to document them with my trusty camera. The result has been the recent additions to Pianomania of various art exhibitions in Singapore.

Whether I understand or enjoy modern art or not is not so important. What I hope to do is to record what I see, to be viewed again at a later date under different circumstances. Perspectives may change, and what I may have liked (or disliked) earlier may elicit a different response the next time I view it.

The artist himself was spotted in the background.

I had the fortune of visiting Singapore artist Tan Teck Heng's exhibition on two different days at the Lim Hak Tai Gallery of NAFA. Tan Teck Heng was born in 1958 and graduated from NAFA in 1981. What an interesting artist he is, with his paintings and sculptures (all crafted from wood) bring about various different responses in me. Art pieces are meant to challenge, to provoke and sometimes to disturb, and those responses were all present. Is he an impressionist, a surrealist, or does that even matter at all?

Dream of Home, 2019

Landscape Upon Her Body, 2018

Home Amongst the Lotus, 2019

All I can say is my mind is refreshed by asking "What is this all about?" For that matter, "What is life all about?" These questions should regularly be asked, and modern art is what should spark those questions and debates. In the meantime, just enjoy the colours and shades.