At 99 years old, Lim Tze Peng is Singapore's oldest living artist and one of the most respected Chinese calligraphy artists. He started painting in his twenties where he would go around to the Malay kampongs in Pasir Ris to draw. While the first half of his life was spent as a primary school teacher and principal, he occasionally joined other artists - such as the seminal Ten Men Art Group - on trips to other places in the surrounding regions. He embarked on his journey as a full-time artist after he retired in the late 1970s.
50 years later, he is still going strong. Tze Peng had his first-ever solo exhibition in India, held at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum from August 3 to September 15. The exhibition showcased five new pieces of abstract art calligraphy painted over the course of 2018 and 2019 to the public for the very first time.
We speak to the legendary artist to find out his evolution as an artist, and how he feels about his exhibition.
Why do you do art?
As a self-taught artist, I use my background in both Chinese calligraphy and Western paintings to produce a genre of artworks that enable my viewers to see art from different perspectives. I can only hope that people appreciate my paintings and reminisce about the good memories that these paintings will bring them.
How has your style changed since you first started?
When I first started, I simply drew what I saw. I was inspired by nostalgic places, especially the vibrant scenes of Malay kampongs and old Singapore. I hold onto this belief that to be a good artist, one should paint what one is most familiar with first before embarking on other subject matters.
I devoted a lot of time into capturing the fading sights of Chinatown and Singapore River, as both areas were undergoing urban development then. The aim was to capture all these beautiful street scenes to share with the next generations. I have a lot of good memories of the Singapore River; it was a unique part of Singapore then.
In my later years when I wasn’t able to travel much, I started to paint in my studio. This allowed me to also use larger canvases that I clip onto a board and painted while standing. This changed my style drastically as I started using larger brushes as well. During this period, I started to reflect more and draw. As a result, my artistic style changed drastically to become more abstract over the years, focusing on lines, composition, and colours.
In the 1990s and 2000s, I went on to experiment with calligraphy. I always felt the need to come up with new expressions and things.
How have your roots in traditional Chinese calligraphy contributed to your more abstract and contemporary works?
My experience in both painting and calligraphy have culminated into an abstract artistic style I call “hutuzi”, also known as art calligraphy. My transition into abstraction actually began with Chinese calligraphy as I started to venture towards Expressionism. My characters had a distinct lack of meaning, yet they took centre stage within the paintings. It was a Chinese medium that was being depicted with Western abstraction, keeping the principle of the line as a craft.
While I practiced calligraphy, I also painted. I wanted to see how the two practices could fuse. Therefore whenever I work on my calligraphy, I will consider how I might introduce an element of imagery into the calligraphy in an attempt to create a new artistic form.
Tell us more about The Spirit of Ink.
The Spirit of Ink functions as a retrospective. It features my earlier works from the 1970s which depict local scenes of Singapore, such as my landscape paintings of Chinatown and the Singapore River. The exhibition also showcases my roots series and calligraphy series, where one will be able to see the transition from my art calligraphy into my abstract paintings. These abstract works, which will be unveiled to the public for the first time, are meant to be viewed as paintings and not calligraphy works. I hope to have viewers appreciate them as abstract works and focus on the composition instead of the meaning behind them.
I am always looking for the next breakthrough, always thinking about how to innovate my style, my works, and my painting technique. These abstract works are a culmination of my entire lifetime's craft, dedication, and passion.
What's your muse?
There’s always beauty around us. As an artist, we see beautiful landscapes everywhere. Take the gardens, for instance, there are beautiful flowers and we can choose to paint them. In life, there is a lot of beauty to be discovered and they can all be painted. In streets where olden houses still exist, the imperfections on the walls can be quite beautiful and impressionable. These scenes inspire my paintings.
The way an artist views things are quite different from a common person. When I see old houses where they are dry-hanging their clothes on the window sills, I feel as though they are colourful flags waving in the air. They seem fascinating to me.
Who are your favourite contemporary artists?
Li Keran, Chen Wen Hsi, Qi Baishi, Huang Bing Hong, and great calligraphers like Yu Youren. The western artists I enjoy are Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard, and Van Gogh.
What’s your advice to young artists just starting out?
There is an old saying: “painting is tied to how one lives”.
If you want to do art, you have to be very serious about it - there are no shortcuts. If you keep doing it, you will produce a good piece of work. Young artists also need to remember their roots and never forget where they came from. I am proud to paint and contribute back to society by going on exhibitions to increase the cultural exchange and awareness of Singapore to the world.
What’s next for you?
I would like to continue painting for as long as I can. If given the opportunity, I would like to paint for 100 more years.
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