Ask any local art connoisseur who Singapore's oldest living pioneer artist is and the name "Lim Tze Peng" would come up in convo. In fact, the artist is proof that it's never too late to start. His art career only started after the ripe old age of 80. He became a Cultural Medallion awardee at 82 and at the age of 95 in 2016, he became the oldest Singaporean to be awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. Today, he remains a witness to and an important figure in Singapore's art history since the 1940s.
In honour of the artist's 100th birthday, author Woon Tai Ho just launched Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100, which traces the lean beginnings of Lim Tze Peng's early years. It relives the times of controversy over the artist's innovations in Chinese calligraphy and celebrates his breakthroughs.
Accompanying the launch of the book is an exhibition at The Arts House that presents 20 of Lim Tze Peng's most recent ink works completed since 2020. The exhibition unfolds in five parts, each tracing the arc of the pioneering artist's approaches to his work.
Don't miss four paintings that trace back to the 1980s when Lim Tze Peng became a full-time artist and raced to paint the fast-disappearing scenes as the country underwent rapid redevelopment. The paintings – Morning at Arab Street, Crowded Bugis Street, Tanjong Rhu Riverside and Riverside – were started in the 1980s but reworked by the artist in 2020 with an overlay of bold colours, thus injecting a new vibrancy to his memories of Singapore.
Lim Tze Peng’s recent works are bigger, bolder, and boast far more colours than ever before. Their spirit is as invigorating as that of a young man, whilst embodying the soul of a sage – each with something we can all learn from during these turbulent times.
Running from now till June 30, Soul of Ink is the first exhibition that preludes an upcoming gallery celebrating Cultural Medallion artists at The Arts House. Before heading down, be sure to register here.