Chiew Sien Kuan is a painter and sculptor from Singapore. He graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art from the Academy in 1989. He obtained his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Tasmania, Australia, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from NTU-NIE, Singapore, in 2008. Chiew is a dedicated educator who taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for over two decades. Like the previous Singapore pioneer artists who taught at the Academy, he explores and develops a varied body of work, challenging himself to create art that is relevant to the contemporary. His artistic interests include drawing, painting, sculpture, assemblage and installation.
In this series of works, Chiew expresses his observations on the issues of modernity and urbanisation and their impacts on people’s well-being. Sky of the Western Island brings to attention what is artificial and natural. Chiew conveys his ideas through contrasting colours, suggesting tension and dynamism within the composition. The towering cranes in the landscape painting perhaps indicate the loss of natural spaces in urban development.
