5 iconic artworks at National Gallery Singapore

In Self Portrait, Georgette Chen’s profile fills the entire frame. Her gaze meets that of the viewer, firmly establishing her presence and the surety of her character. The careful and complex layering of paint highlights the nuances of her facial features and skin tone, suggesting the meticulous and introspective process she undertook in composing this work. Painted shortly after World War II while Chen was residing in China, this portrait encapsulates her determination and dedication to presenting herself as a professional artist. 

Chen received her art education in the 1930s at art academies in Paris and New York, and is known for painting her subjects in a post-impressionist style. Chen relocated to Singapore in 1953 and taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, establishing herself as a prolific artist and influential figure in the local visual arts scene. Chen was awarded the Singapore Cultural Medallion in 1982 for her contributions to visual art in Singapore.

Liu Kang was a Singaporean artist famous for his Balinese-themed figurative paintings. He was a founding member of the Singapore Art Society, and was credited with developing the Nanyang Style. One of Singapore's pioneer artists, he was also a leading figure in the Society of Chinese Artists. In 1970, he was awarded the Public Service Star for his contribution in the field of art. 

This painting by Liu Kang depicts fellow artist Chen Wen Hsi sketching a model. Based on a sketch done in Indonesia, this is one of the earliest paintings which highlights the role of local artists in imagining, reconstructing and projecting the region. Artist and Model was done in a style that would come to typify Liu's paintings following his settlement in Singapore in 1945. In this work, Liu eliminated the use of shadow and perspectival depth. Instead, he emphasised clearly defined forms with thick outlines and solid colours, with the resultant work recalling the visual aesthetic of batik painting.

Two labourers take a much-needed lunch break. A samsui woman eats a solitary meal, her chopsticks raised in mid-air, while the male labourer rests on a barrel, deep in thought. Lai Foong Moi portrays these workers in a moment of rest. Many of them came from China, taking on backbreaking work to support their families.

Journey of A Yellow Man No. 11: Multiculturalism operates as both a performance documentation and artwork. It records the artist’s performance executed during the Sept Fest Art Conference: Multiculturalism in Singapore, held at The Substation in September 1997. At the conference, remaining full-clothed, Lee Wen covered himself in yellow paint, and presented a paper discussing the prevailing "conservatism" in Singapore art that privileged particular artistic mediums over other. Arguing against the situation, where he perceived the overrepresentation of certain mediums such as watercolour, Chinese painting and calligraphy, and lack of visibility for "experimental art" such as installation and performance practices during the period, the artist went on to form the letters C(hinese), M(alay), I(ndian) and O(ther) out of rice, and subsequently obliterated the arrangement. He then began to strip to his briefs, got into a bathtub and washed his yellow colour off.  The performance ended by a bottling of the yellow bath water into several plastic containers, which were given away to the audience, with the artist claiming ‘Now I am a water colourist too!’

All of the above artworks are currently on display at Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century exhibition at the DBS Singapore Gallery at National Gallery Singapore. This exhibition will be showing till April 2024, where there will be a revamp to refresh the narrative of Singapore’s art history. 

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