Singaporean artist Tay Bak Koi (1939-2003) studied at NAFA from 1957 to 1960 under the tutelage of pioneer artists including Georgette Chen and Cheong Soo Pieng. Encouraged by his teachers to venture boldly beyond what was conventional, it was the spirit of experimentation that fuelled and shaped Tay’s artistic practice and his fame as a painter. Tay had held at least 14 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions locally and commissioned works by the Singapore government and corporations in his lifetime. His tranquil and otherworldly scenes of roaming buffaloes and fishermen in waiting were perhaps his most well-known motifs, his oeuvre also includes realistic and abstract works in oil and watercolour that demonstrate his artistic sensibilities and mastery of the mediums. The exhibition features a selection of works from the artist’s family, some of which had never been shown before; offering us a glimpse of the artist’s reveries, one that celebrates the value of an authentic life.
Reverie: Tay Bak Koi
19 August -3 September 2023
11am – 7pm, closed every Monday
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Galleries 1 & 2
