CHUA EK KAY 蔡逸溪
Chua Ek Kay’s work is grounded in a perfect balance of the various elements of Chinese art – calligraphy, classical poetry, painting and seal-carving, in tandem with the free expression of Western contemporary style. These elements can be clearly seen in Ek Kay’s hallmark Lotus and Street Scene series. In 1999, he won the Cultural Medallion Award for his contribution in visual arts.
“A Pause Along the Street” 《停留一刻》
Ink Painting of Street Scene by Chua Ek Kay from 2003
“Looking From Afar”
Impression of Lotus Pond by Chua Ek Kay
Chua Ek Kay saw a lotus pond in Australia (probably during the 1990s when he was studying for his Bachelors at University of Tasmania and his Masters degree at University of Western Sydney). He noticed that probably because of the geography, the colours of the sky, the earth and the surrounding landscape all have their own unique qualities which made the lotus pond he saw different from what he was familiar with. This sparked his interest in painting the lotus pond and a more systematic exploration of the subject matter. He felt that a unique interpretation of the lotus pond could be universally accepted.
In order to create a different painting style Chua Ek Kay made changes to the form and shape of the lotus pond. One way he adopted was presenting the leaves, the lotus pod, the flower etc as different components and re arranged them in an abstract composition. Viewers could then enjoy the painting while having more freedom to interpret and reimagine how a lotus pond could look like.
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Biography
Born 1947
Background
1953 Migrated to Singapore
1989 Graduated from LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts (Advanced Diploma)
1991 UOB 10th Painting of the Year Award (Grand Prize)
1995 Graduated from University of Western Sydney (MA (Hons) Visual Arts)
1999 Cultural Medallion Award, Singapore
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017 Chua Ek Kay: After the Rain, National Gallery, Singapore
2005 Yixi: Recent Paintings of Chua Ek Kay, ShangHai Art Museum, China
2001 Street Scenes Revisited - Soobin Gallery, Singapore
2000 Lyrical Spaces, Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
1998 Master of the Wilderness, Art Forum, Singapore
1995 Recent Works by Chua Ek Kay, University of Western Sydney, Australia
1992 Duality and Tension, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 Nanyang Treasures, Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, ION Orchard,
Singapore
2014 Nanyang Visionaries, Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, ION Orchard,
Singapore
2006 Modern Ink Painting from Singapore, 5th International Ink Biennial,
Shenzhen, China
2003 Contemporary Art & Calligraphy Exhibition, Chengdu and Shanghai,
China
2002 Timeless Space Damask Asia, London, United Kingdom
2001 Asian Art Today 2001, Earl Lu Gallery, Singapore
1992 Singapore Art Festival, Tai-Ku Sheng, Hong Kong
1991 25 years of Art from Singapore, Meridian House International, Washington
DC, Indianapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles and Honolulu, USA
Chua Ek Kay has been hailed as the bridge between Asian and Western art remains an inspiration to many of his contemporaries as well as the rising generation of artists in Singapore. Chua Ek Kay’s work is grounded in a perfect balance of the various elements of Chinese art – calligraphy, classical poetry, painting and seal-carving, in tandem with the free expression of Western contemporary style. These elements can be clearly seen in Ek Kay’s hallmark Lotus and Street Scene series.
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