Lim Yew Kuan was born in Xiamen in 1928. He was a distinguished alumnus, artist and educator who dedicated more than three decades to nurturing and transforming the arts in Singapore. He served as NAFA’s second principal from 1963 to 1979, succeeding his father, Lim Hak Tai. Lim trained at NAFA and graduated in Western Art in 1950. From 1958 to 1962, Lim went to the Chelsea School of Art, London, to study design and printmaking. For his talent and artistic achievements, he was awarded the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest accolade for artistic excellence and contribution to the visual arts. The artist passed away in May 2021.
The work Composition offers a glimpse into Lim’s technical repertoire and explorations in the late 50s and early 60s, which gradually formed the hallmark of his artistic practice. The lithograph depicts an imaginative landscape of towering mountains surrounded by mist, translating painterly strokes typically in traditional Chinese painting into a lithographic print.
