Tay Kiam Hong (1948 - )

Born in 1948, Tay Kiam Hong was exposed to the arts at a young age through his father who taught music and calligraphy. Influenced by his father’s interests and encouragement, Tay enrolled in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to study Western painting under the tutelage of renowned artists such as Georgette Chen and Shi Xiangtuo. Outside the academy, he took private lessons with Lim Mu Hue and Fan Cheng Tien, further refining his skills. Tay graduated in 1965 and found interest in a career in interior design. Despite the remands of his job, he never once neglected his passion and continued to practise art and exhibited his works regularly, such as in the 1970 Molan Art Association Annual Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the 1992 Asian Art Association Exhibition in South Korea.

Tay was formally trained in Western art and he builds on the strong foundation he attained at the art school to ultimately return to Chinese ink. Over the years, he has dedicated his time to perfecting his xie yi skills and his works demonstrate his excellent technique and control. In the year 2000, he was invited to a turtle release event in Sentosa, and since then, he has been fascinated by underwater sea creatures, often depicting them in various forms in his works. This led to the birth of his Underwater Series and to date he has held 2 solo exhibitions and featured his works in numerous group exhibitions.