From a young age, Singaporean artist Tan Teck Heng loved to draw, he pursued his passion and took night classes in Graphic Design from NAFA, graduating top of his class in 1981. He established himself as highly accomplished artist in the years after, sweeping prestigious accolades including Australian Art Awards, IBM Art awards and first prize in UOB Painting of the Year (Representational category) in 1987. Following a period of teaching at NAFA in the late 1980s, Tan left Singapore in the early 1990s to stretch his wings in Taiwan, Shanghai, then started his studio in Hainan. The decades spent between China and Singapore was a deep immersion into ways of being and an appreciation inquiry of the people and the land he lived. Bringing together woodcarvings created from salvaged local Angsana and Rain Tree timber in Singapore and large paintings of Hainan’s panoramic landscapes and their indigenous Li ethnic group, the fantastical stories and legends of Hainan have been a source of inspiration. Just like the hidden timber, Tan’s way of seeing and making offers a unique visual language, one that is quiet, truthful and real.
Transient Journeys: Tan Teck Heng 忽然而已: 陈得兴
6-21 June 2026
11am-7pm
Lim Hak Tai Gallery
