Terence Teo was born in 1953 and studied Graphic Design at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1980. He is the founder of the Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, which focuses on showcasing works by Singaporean artists. Teo was President of the Society of Chinese Artists from 2006 to 2009, and since 2010 has been the President of the Singapore Art Society. With Chinese ink as his preferred medium, the artist constantly challenges the limits of traditional landscape painting by imbuing elements of modern art.

Teo’s practice often involves surveying nature that imbibes not just the visual sensibility in form but also the rhythm and energy that comes from the world around us. Rain Forest Series – Passion 8 is more a gestural work that combines seeing and feeling rather than merely composing the visual landscape. A rainforest is dense and rich, while its tropical habitat is sometimes mysterious and elusive. It is a kaleidoscope of colour and form, as demonstrated by Teo in this ink and colour work. There is dew, breeze, and a dapple of tropical light all in motion, illustrated by the heightened yellow, green, cinnabar and natural inks. Washes combine with deft lines to characterise the chimaera of feeling and form within this rainforest.