LOT 19
WAN SOON KAM
(B. Singapore, 1943)
Singapore Street Scene (Cavenagh Bridge), 1970s
Signed “WAN SOON KAM” on middle bottom
Ink and acrylic on board
75 x 53 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Singapore
SOLD – RM 8,400
Wan Soon Kam is well-known for his landscape and street scene paintings. Normally incorporating mixed media in his work such as acrylic, watercolour and sometimes oil, he employs those that can achieve his desired effect on his canvas.
His works are often described as “poignant”, almost as if his works had a sense of melancholy about recollecting the past. As seen in this piece, the Singaporean street scene, his subject matter revolves around heritage and the modernization of society. Imbuing his paintings with a poetic ambience, he combines acrylic and watercolour on his canvas to achieve a textured effect. The watercolour blocking techniques are integrated into his paintings by applying wax on paper, and while his pieces may seem painstaking and laborious, they most certainly pay off by turning out to be beautiful and unique sceneries at the end. Soon Kam’s painting methodology also included using subtle brushstrokes on the canvas with monochromatic layering to create those stunning variations of hues and tones.
Wan Soon Kam graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1961, and worked as a graphic artist and illustrator for a leading publishing firm before turning professional. He has travelled around many places such as Europe, America, New Zealand and Malaysia and captured the sceneries on his canvas. Among the collectors of his works are Her Royal Highness of Brunei Pengiran, Singapore Turf Club, Singapore; National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore; Development Bank of Singapore, Singapore and Temasek Holdings, Singapore. The National Heritage Board has over 14 works in their private collection as well.