Tan Chee Teck (陈志德) (b. 1958, Singapore–) is an interior designer and self-taught artist specialising in oil and watercolour paintings. His works, which often depict various forms of the building landscape, have been exhibited in Singapore and overseas.1
Accomplishments
In 1995, Tan participated in the Second President’s Charity Art Exhibition as one of the 22 Singapore watercolourists chosen by a five-member selection committee headed by then Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Environment) Ho Kah Leong. For the exhibition, Tan showcased modern interpretations of the streets and buildings of Singapore such as the Bugis Junction shopping mall.2
In the following year, he was part of a group of artists selected to present their work at the Modern Art Society’s annual exhibition. The exhibition was the creative culmination of the travels undertaken by the artists over the years to countries around the region to gain inspiration.3
Stylistic conventions
Rather than conforming to any particular traditional style of painting, Tan associates the act of painting with the composition of music in that both serve to represent abstract ideas. He eschews representational art and sees painting as a medium through which emotions are expressed in abstractions.4
A characteristic of his works is the broad brushstrokes used liberally to suggest planes and forms in his paintings. His style, however, evolves over time. For instance, his 1991 painting, “Armenian Street”, is a watercolour piece that portrayed the subject matter figuratively; his painting of a housing estate in Singapore the following year demonstrates his rejection of figurative art with the use of rhythmic brushstrokes to bind the buildings together, yet at the same time contributing to a disintegration of particular forms.5
By reducing and simplifying concrete forms into non-figurative, non-representational compositions, Tan hopes to achieve total abstractions in his paintings.6
Selected group exhibitions7
1986: National Day art exhibition, Singapore
1987: Singapore Art Society exhibition
1988: Singapore Young Artists, Pavilion Intercontinental Hotel, Singapore
1990: Apple Art Affair, Clifford Galleries, Singapore8
1990: Modern Art Travels East-West, Beurs-World Trade Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
1991: Asian International Art Exhibition, Tagawa Museum of Art, Japan
1991: Second Bru-Sin Art Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1992: Asian International Art Exhibition, Bandung, Indonesia
1992: Singapore Art Exhibition, Hong Kong
1993: Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka City Art Museum and Tagawa Art Museum, Japan
1994: Modern Art Society 30th Anniversary Art Exhibition, Singapore
1995: 10th Asian International Modern Art Exhibition, Singapore
1996: Singapore Art Society exhibition
1997: 12th Asian International Watercolour Art Colour Art Exhibition, Singapore
1998: Second Nature: City Scapes of Singapore, Hong Kong
2009: The Call of Tradition, Black Earth Art Muesum, Singapore
Awards9
1985: First Prize, Second National Painting and Calligraphy Competition
1986: Tan Tze Chor Young Artists’ Art Award
1987: Meritorious Prize, Ministry of Communication and Information Art Competition
1989: Meritorious Prize, NAFA Alumni Association Art Exhibition
1989: Second Prize, Art Sentosa Fort Siloso Painting Competition
1990: Meritorious Award, IBM Art Competition
1992: Special Meritorious Award, Artillery Art Competition
1996: Tan Tze Chor Art Award
1998: Second Prize (Professional), Singapore Sports Council
Author
Nurhaizatul Jamila Jamil
References
1. Singapore Watercolour Society. (n.d.). Tan Chee Teck 陈志德. Retrieved 2016, April 7 from Singapore Watercolour Society website: http://watercolour.org.sg/register_member/tan-chee-teck/
2. Leong, W. K. (1995, December 2). President’s charity show features 22 watercolourists. The Straits Times, p. 21. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Images of China, colours of India. (1996, November 25). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Koh, B. S. (Ed.). (1993). Singapore: Places, poems, paintings. Singapore: Art and Artist Speak, pp. 222–223. (Call no.: RART q700.95957 SIN); Singapore Watercolour Society. (n.d.). Tan Chee Teck 陈志德. Retrieved 2016, April 7 from Singapore Watercolour Society website: http://watercolour.org.sg/register_member/tan-chee-teck/
5. Koh, B. S. (Ed.). (1993). Singapore: Places, poems, paintings. Singapore: Art and Artist Speak, pp. 222–223. (Call no.: RART q700.95957 SIN)
6. Koh, B. S. (Ed.). (1993). Singapore: Places, poems, paintings. Singapore: Art and Artist Speak, pp. 222–223. (Call no.: RART q700.95957 SIN)
7. Singapore Watercolour Society. (n.d.). Tan Chee Teck 陈志德. Retrieved 2016, April 7 from Singapore Watercolour Society website: http://watercolour.org.sg/register_member/tan-chee-teck/
8. Sabapathy, T. K. (1990, February 28). Conventional images oozing with promise. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. Singapore Watercolour Society. (n.d.). Tan Chee Teck 陈志德. Retrieved 2016, April 7 from Singapore Watercolour Society website: http://watercolour.org.sg/register_member/tan-chee-teck/
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