Exploring Chinese ink in art

Some fascinating works by the artists

NUS Museum's latest exhibition, Scholars & Ink: Artists from NUS and the Alumni, brings a fresh perspective to the Chinese ink genre, and ink as a modern medium for art.

The exhibition, which brings together works by five artists from the extended NUS community, was opened on 22 April by Guest-of-Honour NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan. More than 100 students, alumni and industry practitioners attended the event.

Prof Tan noted in his opening address that the exhibition is "an important way to demonstrate the value of the arts alongside academic life, and ways in which artistic practice, whether central in one's life or otherwise, can prove transformative.

The exhibition proposes ways of seeing modern and contemporary ink painting through Chinese classical ink principles. The diversity of the artists' practice and variety in using ink as a traditional art medium allows discussions on the evolution of Chinese ink since the days it was considered an elite practice and genre. 

The artists comprise alumni Ms Hong Sek Chern, Mr Ling Yang Chang, Dr Tan It Koon and Ms Yeo Shih Yun, as well as Dr Ho Chee Lick, Senior Lecturer at NUS Department of Chinese Studies.

Ms Chang Yueh Siang (centre), Curator of NUS Museum, explaining one of the paintings to Prof Tan (right), with artist Dr Tan (left) looking on

"I think it is great that the University is promoting Chinese culture and arts, and it is the hope of the artists in those circles to see more support for such traditional art forms. Young artists would get exposure and explore more genres, and our students would be encouraged to develop other interests while studying in NUS, said Dr Tan, who approached the Museum to explore hosting the exhibition. A key contributor to Singapore's artistic development in the early years of nation-building, Dr Tan received a Cabinet Appointment at the National Theatre Trust, and chaired the Visual Arts Committee for art acquisition for the Kallang Theatre. He has studied under the country's pioneering artists Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi.

Ms Yeo, the youngest artist in the show, feels that things have come full circle. "It's been 17 years since I graduated and developed my painting overseas and later in Singapore. I am honoured to be in the same show as these well-established artists who have achieved so much more than I have, she said.

The exhibition also features a new permanent display of Chinese inks in the adjacent space of the Lee Kong Chian Gallery of Chinese Art. Presented chronologically, those ink paintings outline their history in China and later developments in Malaya and Singapore.

NUS Museum is also opening up access to its Chinese scroll and paper collection for scholarly and artistic research.

For more on NUS Museum's current exhibitions and upcoming programmes, visit http://community.nus.edu.sg/cfa/museum/exhibitions.php or the Museum's Facebook Page.  

By NUS Centre For the Arts