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About the event
iPreciation is delighted to present Singapore contemporary artist Oh Chai Hoo’s recent works in an exhibition titled “Timeless Present 今夕何夕”. This exhibition features ink collage artworks by Oh, a tribute to Jin Hui Dui (錦灰堆). This is the first time it is being explored in a contemporary context here.
Jin Hui Dui is an ancient art form of Chinese scholarly montage painting that originated as early as the late Ming Dynasty. The montage usually includes ancient objects, such as old paintings, calligraphy, topiary, and letters. In Oh’s new mixed-media works, the miscellaneous things he uses are torn, burnt, stained, and worn out, giving them a sense of antiquity and elegance. Oh also adopts a realistic painting method for some of the artefacts, and it takes a double take to discern which are painted on, and which are pasted on. The deliberate use of colours and intricate painting technique captivates the eye and encourages it to wander along the different objects to discover something new each time.
Oh Chai Hoo (b. 1960) is a Singapore artist who works extensively with various mediums. Since graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1982, Oh has remained an active member of the local arts scene. He was the vice-president (2013 – 2021) of Singapore’s Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society had held various exhibitions locally and in South Korea and Japan.
He received the Consolation Award for Chong Boon Painting of the Year, Singapore in 1986, a Distinction in Visual Art Creation by the NAFA Alumni Association (1992), and Highly Commended in Abstract Medium at the 18th UOB Painting of the Year competition (1999), the Siaw-Tao Achievement Award in 2009, Siaw-Tao Best Artwork Award in 2013 and Siaw-Tao Achievement Award in 2010. His works are collected privately and permanently by the National Museum of Singapore and The Istana, Singapore.
About the organizer
About iPRECIATION
Established in 1999, iPRECIATION is a fine art company that showcases the best of modern and contemporary Asian Art. As a herald of the visual arts, iPRECIATION is committed to putting forth platforms and propelling significant and promising artists to the forefront through the successful staging of large-scale exhibitions.
Since its inception, iPRECIATION has given prominence to contemporary Asian art through the installation of quality artworks in public and commercial spaces not only in Singapore but also globally. iPRECIATION, with its proficiency in Chinese, South East Asian and Singapore art, has complemented its gallery business with professional art consultancy services to both individuals and corporations.
Artists currently represented include Nobel Laureate in Literature Gao Xingjian, Taiwanese Master Sculptor Ju Ming, innovative Hong Kong ink artist Irene Chou, Singapore pioneer contemporary ink artist Zhuang Shengtao, pioneer of Singapore contemporary art Tang Da Wu, foremost abstract painter and Cultural Medallion Milenko Prvacki, and groundbreaking Singaporean performance artist Lee Wen. Over the years, iPRECIATION has been promoting promising talents such as the meticulous China-based painter Zhang Jian Jun and Jin Jie, the daring commentator of Hong Kong’s contemporary culture, Tse Yim On, and Singaporean artists Oh Chai Hoo, Baet Yeok Kuan and Tay Bak Chiang.
The Living World Series by Ju Ming has become a permanent feature at two new modern office buildings, the CapitaGreen building at 138 Market Street and The Metropolis business centre at 9 North Buona Vista Drive. At CapitaGreen, a series of ten painted bronze sculptures depict the everyday man in their daily urban life. At The Metropolis, the corporate environment is livened up with a cluster of twelve Gentlemen's bronze sculptures. The Living World Series portrays a spectrum of social phenomena departing from his iconic Taichi Series since the 1980s. In 2017, Lining Up, a set of ten life-sized sculptures from the Living World Series by Ju Ming has been permanently installed at the main entrance of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre portraying the lively spirit of people waiting eagerly to enter the centre.
In 2015, Ju Ming’s Taichi Series enjoyed a four-month-long outdoor exhibition at the Singapore Botanic Gardens; and his Living World Series completed a travelling exhibition to four major Chinese cities of Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian and Shanghai. In 2016, iPRECIATION presented the inaugural outdoor exhibition Envision: Sculptures @ the Garden City 2016, featuring fourteen sets of monumental sculptures by eleven Asian artists from China, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan, namely Baet Yeok Kuan, Chen Sai Hua Kuan, Gu Wenda, Ju Ming, Kumari Nahappan, Lim Soo Ngee, Shen Lieyi, Sri Astari Rasjid, Yuyu Yang, Zhan Wang and Zhang Huan. The exhibition was held in the heart of Singapore’s historical and cultural centre in the Civic District, Fullerton Hotel and Marina Bay precinct.
Ms Helina Chan, the Managing Director of iPRECIATION, is the recipient of the coveted New Tourism Entrepreneur Award 2005 by the Singapore Tourism Board, which recognizes the entrepreneur whose company has made major contributions to Singapore’s tourism industry. iPRECIATION aims to build an artistic foundation through its presentation of a diversity of small to large-scale exhibitions that meets the visual inclinations of its patrons; forming and nurturing a creative focal point in Asia, where individuals can convene and express their artistic sensibilities through art.