Artist: Chua Ek Kay (1947-2008)
Chua Ek Kay was one of Singapore’s foremost artist; hailed as the ‘bridge between Asian and Western art” with a unique painting style that transcended east-west dichotomy and integrated tradition with modernity. Keeping his deep roots in the formal discipline of Shanghai School style in Chinese paintings and calligraphy, he explored new expressions in art with infusion of Western modes of painting.
In the Pond series, strong concepts of abstraction can be noted and likened to Jackson Pollock in terms of their spontaneity and expressive strokes. Nonetheless, his discipline in Chinese painting and calligraphy is evident in the medium used and styling of the brush strokes.
In the Street Scenes series, they retained his unique artistic vision-his personal brush manner and goal of capturing the essence of the subject-but were added with more personal and emotional expressions. The images are mostly hazy, created from dark ink on dry brush scrubbed over the paper, to bring about the feeling of a washing and fading memory.
Germaine Liew 