LOT 35
ONG KIM SENG
B. Singapore, 1945
Terengganu Street on Rest Day, 1980
Signed on lower left
Watercolour on paper
50 x 71 cm
Private Collection, Singapore
RM 15,000 – RM 30,000
The abundantly awarded watercolourist, Ong Kim Seng has spent over 30 years capturing Singapore’s vibrant city on canvas, spanning its river and quaint town — Chinatown to be specific. The artist, whose paintings include Singapore River, Heritage Shophouses, Chinatown and more, regularly grace the walls of KL Lifestyle Art Space and featured in its auctions, are much sought after by art connoisseurs. According to Kim Seng, Trengganu Street, where he ate Wantan noodles, was the same place that he would whip out his brush and canvas to paint. “The girl manning the stall there would always clear a place for me to paint,” said the artist. “Trengganu Street even till today is the centre of Chinatown Centre. This is the busiest street in the whole of Chinatown. For a plein air painter like me, there is always a difference at any time of day, be it colour or composition. Each time the atmosphere is different. Even till today when all the rustic stalls are gone I still like to stroll around the place in search of an angle to paint. Pairing Kim Seng’s artistic prowess and his niche of manipulating light in works, viewers are brought back to the simple days of yesteryear, evoking nostalgia and memories for Singaporeans who have been to the place.