Mr Tan Oe Pang is known for utilising traditional Chinese Ink painting techniques which he learnt many years ago, to create ink paintings which are visually different from classic frameworks created by his teacher and old masters. His approach toward the depiction of classic subject matters is innovative, altering the composition and balance between writing and painting in one artwork.

Interestingly, the ink paintings we admire in this exhibition may, in many years to come, be regarded by the creator, by other artists, or art enthusiasts as “traditional works.” By then, there might be motivations to explore new innovative ways of ink paintings. Singapore’s artistic creation and development will thus become more diverse and vibrant.

Calligraphy

《一切》指的是陈有炳先生画作的特色。他的作品来自传统水墨画但又有别于传统水墨画。陈有炳先生运用传统水墨画的技巧，在经典的题材，形态，构图上进行改变与再创造，呈现与以往不同的水墨画作品。“一”可以理解为源头，比如说一在数目排列当中是第一，接下来的数目都由它为基础而扩展开来。若把这概念与用在陈有炳先生的画作中，他所学习的传统水墨画是”一”，而陈有炳接连而来的创作则等同于“二”，“三”，”四”等等。

有趣的是，我们在陈有炳先生这次展览所欣赏的水墨画作品在若干年后将被他自己、其他画家、其他艺术爱好者视为“传统作品”。在那个时候它们也将成为所谓的“一”。大家将在它们的基础上进行探讨，改变与创新。这是绘画与创作的自然发展情况。因此《一切是一》。

“Briefly Spoken” expresses that a few sentences can easily convey one’s intended meaning.  In this piece, Mr Tan deliberately enlarged the size of the characters and constructed them into squarish forms, this is rather unconventional in most classic calligraphy writings. It is this innovation that gives an insight into his artistic creativity. This enlargement of the characters allows art enthusiasts to better appreciate the strength and intonations of ink washes within the stroke. Mr Tan’s willingness to innovate and evolve while maintaining the essence of traditional calligraphy is highlighted in this piece.

其中有一副展出的作品是《三言两语》，意指几句话就能带出想表达的含义与其中的趣味。这幅书法有别于传统书法的作品。陈有炳先生刻意的把字体的尺寸都放大，字体方块的造型让人感受到艺术家的创意思维。字体的夸大也让艺术爱好者直接的欣赏其中的线条。它们当中的劲，挺与丰富的飞白效果，凸显出陈有炳先生立志于创新的当儿也在自己作品适当的部分保持着传统书法的某些精髓并加以演化。上述的几点也能在另一幅书法作品《情世间物》中感受到。

photos from tan oe pang’s previous exhibition

ink paintings

Some highlights would include Mr Tan’s 1981 piece “Resting”, as well as 2 paintings from 1997 titled “Silly Goose Talks the Dao”, “Subtle but not Superficial” as well as a painting of an elephant titled “Hang in there”. In the above mentioned pieces, Mr Tan used crisp lines to outline the form and expressions of various small animals while adding ink wash to formulate their volume. Viewers are invited to enjoy the adorable appearance of these animals and candid ambience of the paintings. 

展览的精彩亮点包括陈有炳先生在1981年完成的《椅上小栖》，1997年的《呆鹅论道》与《淡而不薄》以及命名为《顶住》的小象画作。在上述的几幅作品中，陈先生通过精简的线条与墨韵的结合勾勒出不同小动物的形态与神态。它们可爱的造型为作品塑造了一种幽默氛围，耐人寻味。

photos from tan oe pang’s previous exhibition

This exhibition would also feature 2 serene works, namely “Great Freedom” and “Enjoying the Spring Breeze”. In these two paintings, Mr Tan deliberately reduced the size of the subject matters in relation to the size of the paper and left a large amount of negative space around the subjects. Both result in the natural directing of attention to the small fish and little chick.

To enhance the peacefulness and simplicity of these paintings, Tan Oe Pang opted for simple and subtle lines to suggest shapes of the accompanying water plants around the fish and similarly for the plants around the little chick, instead of painting them realistically or in an elaborate manner. Overall, the artist successfully created a peaceful and zen atmosphere in these two paintings. 

除此之外，这次的展览也将展出两幅非常平静与颇有禅意的作品。它们是《大自在》与《望春风》。观赏者能发现画家在画面中留下了大量的空白部分。这些空间奇妙的让小鱼和小鸡更引人注目，把观赏者的注意力集中在主要的题材上。陈有炳也把主要题材周边的水草，植物的造型都进行简化，运用了淡墨或线条隐射着它们的存在。这部分也塑造这两幅作品禅意的氛围。

Aside from the simpler and modest works “Great Freedom” and “Enjoying the Spring Breeze”, this exhibition also features two relatively “heavier” and substantial pieces titled “Three Ducks” and “Amongst the Skies and Seas”. Mr Tan employed larger amounts of ink wash to paint the “Three Ducks”, while also clearly illustrating the various plants surrounding the ducks with multiple ink lines of varying thickness.

In “Amongst the Skies and Seas”, the small little blue lines reminds viewers of the clouds in the sky or the beauty of ocean waves. The structure of the main subject matter in this painting is not clear as day. This allows viewers to use their imagination and interpret the art themselves while enjoying the overall composition and appreciating the elegance of the ink wash effects.

除了《大自在》与《望春风》的简易作品，这次的展出也包括了两幅相对厚重的作品。它们名为《三只鸭子》与《天地间》。陈有炳先生在《三只鸭子》的画中运用了更多的笔墨线条来完成作品，画出鸭子旁的不同植物。两幅留白的部分也自然而然减少了许多。这两幅作品也相对的抽象。例如在《天地间》，我们能够从蓝色线条的部分联想天上云朵或海里波浪的美。同一幅作品的线条与墨韵的部分带出了某种造型但并不明显，观者除了能尝试猜测作品的题材，同时也能欣赏墨的韵味与其散发在纸张上的效果。

若对比《大自在》与《三只鸭子》我们或许能感受到陈有炳先生对水墨画的理解是多面性的。他的心境的不同变化，让人好奇他接下来将创造出的画作。这种期待这是陈有炳水墨画精彩的部分。