The Flourishing Legacy of Fan Chang Tien

However, with the students of Fan Chang Tien, tradition is not that intractable as they constantly seek to innovate and change. I think this may have much to do with Singapore’s geographic position and multicultural background. While Nai Swee Leng tends to be relatively closer to the Shanghai School he has also absorbed the virtues of the Lingnan School. Lim Kay Hiong shuttles between the East and the West when painting in oil and in ink especially with his ever loveable subject of cat. The drastic change seen in Henri Chen’s works leaves hardly any trace of of Shanghai School. Here I would like to say a little more about Chua Ek Kay. I still remember my initial surprise when I first saw his paintings particularly those semi-abstract yet visibly angular lotuses suggesting almost a touch of haughty stubbornness and yet clearly poetic. Perhaps it is this sense of poetry that blunts the haughtiness of his lotuses but enhances the feeling of elegance, fragrance and depth of the images. It may be observed that Chua apart from learrning the Shanghai style from Mr Fan devoted much attention studying Chen Wen Hsi’s technique of ink painting. In essence Chua Ek Kay was a poet and his poetic sensibility is everywhere in his paintings including those of his street scenes.