LOT 49
ONG KIM SENG
B. Singapore, 1945
Chinatown, 1979
Signed and dated “KSeng 79” on lower right
Watercolour on paper
53 x 73.5 cm
Provenance
Private Collection Singapore
SOLD RM 16,800
In his usual, masterful skill, Ong Kim Seng brings forth the exquisite rendition of Chinatown and the immaculate detailing from the building to the antics of people walking about. Ong Kim Seng is an internationally acclaimed watercolourist who has mastered the manipulation of darks in order to give his paintings a luminous glow hence the depth of his paintings.
Merging concepts with finesse of execution, the artist presents representative images which are also ethereal in their beauty, flawless in their elemental flow and appropriation of light. The self-taught artist has garnered multiple accolades, including the Cultural Medallion in 1990 and seven awards by the American Watercolour Society.
To him, “Art is a continuous journey. There may be pitfalls and times where you get stuck. It is up to one to choose a path and go along with it.” As a plein-air realist painter, he stays true to his subject-matter, but continues to add an element of intrigue to it by varying the vantage points of his paintings. A fan of nature and traditional architecture, Ong often travels to Bali, Tibet, Nepal, Italy and more, in search of new subject-matter.