Tay Bak Chiang
The charm of ink and xuan paper lies in its sensitive nature – you want to control it but can't fully, and unexpected effects often bring pleasant surprises.
Bak Chiang was born in Malaysia (1973) and is a naturalised Singaporean, where he lives and works, graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in 1995 and studied at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China, in 1997.
Bak Chiang paints subjects found in the nature of Singapore and Southeast Asia, such as heliconias, lotus ponds and rocks. He seeks to reinterpret them in terms of form, composition, technique, material and colour. Lotus flowers, for example, are depicted as minimalist forms in bold hues; lotus stalks as thick, unembellished black strokes; and stones as textured shapes and sculptural blocks in intense colours made by combining pigment and traditional Chinese ink.
Through these subjects, he expresses his sentiments and philosophies. Open to interpretation his paintings could suggest the relative transience of sentient beings such as birds and flowers living in co-existence with the geological permanence of the rock.
Bak Chiang was awarded the First Prize in the Chinese Painting category in the 19th and 22nd United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Competitions (2000 and 2003 respectively). In 2002, he received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council of Singapore.
He has shown at international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Stage Singapore, Art Miami, Art New York, Art Paris and Art Taipei. His works are also collected by private collectors and public agencies.
