Singaporean artist, Tan Khim Ser is noted for his contributions in developing artistic talent and promoting greater awareness in the local arts. Besides teaching Chinese ink painting for the past 50 years after he graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1966, he founded Life Art Society in 1972. The society is involved in numerous art activities and exhibitions, including live art demonstrations by Tan. While he is trained in both Chinese and Western painting and techniques, most of Tan’s works are Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy.
Abstract landscape is distinctively different from Tan’s representational body of Chinese ink works except for its gestural brush strokes. Similar strokes can be seen in Tan’s Chinese ink and calligraphic works where he would capture the fleeting moment of birds in the sky and the moving water tides. In this piece of abstract expressionism, Tan employed a vibrant and contrasting colour palette to illustrate a vast landscape. The use of oil paint with a slight impasto technique enabled Tan to add some texture to the work.
