Imprints of a Vanished Time
09.05// 01.06 2025
Paintings and Prints by Lim Mu Hue
artcommune proudly presents Imprints of a Vanished Time: Paintings and Prints by Lim Mu Hue, an
exhibition that spotlights the late Singapore artist’s dynamic exploration across oil, ink, woodcut and
mixed media works. Featuring 19 works dating to the period of 1950s to 2002, the show traces Lim’s
thoughtful synthesis of Western academic techniques and deep sensitivity to local themes and identity.
Lim Mu Hue (1936–2008, Singapore) was a second-generation Singapore artist best known for his oil
works and woodblock prints executed in a realist and often narrative-driven style. Born in 1936 to a
Teochew family of Chinese descent, Lim grew up in a period of social change and nation-building in early
Singapore. His art would later reflect these historical shifts through intimate, detailed portrayals of
ordinary people, local landscapes and vanishing trades.
Lim received his formal training at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), graduating in 1955 with a
Diploma in Western Painting. There, he studied under key figures of the Nanyang art style and was
exposed to both Chinese and Western art mediums. Much of Lim’s output in the 1950s was focussed on
Western oil, charcoal, watercolour, and pastel works, with many revealing of his spirited
experimentation across the academic genres of landscape, still life and portrait.
Manager of a Rubber Plantation Estate, for instance, portrays a figure that comes across as quietly
dignified and almost austere in presence. Lim highlights particular physical traits of the figure, such as
histanned skin, rugged arms, and lean yet muscular frame to convey a daily life characterised by outdoor
exposure and active labour. The steely greens of the background and opaque blacks of the pants are
deployed in high contrast against the warm ochres of the skin and variated shades of whites used toillustrate the shirt and the hat. Lim combines clarity with tenderness in his treatment of the form to
carve out a chiaroscuro-like focus, giving the portrait a monumental and industrial character.
Manager of a Rubber Plantation Estate, Undated, Oil on canvas, 58.5 x 41.5 cm
While Lim first dabbled in woodblock printmaking around 1954, his formal practice gravitated towards
the art form in the 1960s, during which he gained recognition for a tremendous output of black-and-
white woodcut prints that combine arduous aesthetic craftmanship with social commentary. In 1966,
Lim was one of the 6 artists who starred in Singapore’s first major exhibition focussing on woodcut
practice and prints, titled Woodcuts: Six-man Show at the then National Library of Singapore.
Lim was particularly influenced by the Chinese New Woodcut Movement of the 1930s, which
encouraged artists to depict working-class struggles and everyday scenes in bold, expressive lines. In Lim's case, this translated into rich and evocative portrayals of daily Singaporean life and street activities:
puppet shows, satay vendors, street performers, and fortune tellers rendered with precision, warmth,
and a subtle sense of dignity.
Imprints of a Vanished Time allows audience the opportunity to examine some of Lim’s most celebrated
woodcuts that cemented his status as a seminal woodblock print artist in the 1960s. The selection
includes a 1966 edition of Mount Faber, a 1998 edition of Fortune Teller (original print in 1966), a 2002
edition of Love (original print in 1962), and a 2002 edition of Bukit Timah Granite Quarry (original print
in 1960s).
Fortune Teller, Original print 1966; printed in 1998 (ed. 4 of 5), Woodblock print on paper, 27 x 35 cm
Mount Faber, 1966 (ed. 12 of 20), Woodblock on paper, 46 x 60 cm
Fortune Teller, for instance, presents a richly detailed scene of a traditional Chinese seer surrounded by
scrolls, incense, and ritual objects. The livelihood of a Taoist fortune teller–an everyday scene in Old
Singapore Chinatown–is brought to focus through Lim’s skilled and slightly caricature portrayal.
Elsewhere in Mount Faber, a handful of multi-ethnic figures are seen looking over a serene harbour view
on one of Singapore’s prominent hills. Lim contrasts the natural environment with the encroaching urban
development in a newly independent Singapore, offering a viewfinder’s moment of evolving times, loss
and memory. The works exemplify Lim's ability to balance narrative content with decorative composition,
using strong black-and-white contrasts and intricate linework to capture both the physical environment
and emotional depth of his subjects.
Beyond his studio practice, Lim was active in Singapore's art scene as an educator and arts advocate. He
taught at NAFA from 1960 to 1969 and later worked as the art editor for the Chinese-language
newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau from 1969 to 1975. He also served as a consultant for the Lee Kong Chian
Art Museum and participated in numerous exhibitions and cultural exchanges across Southeast Asia,
China, and Europe. In 2006, the Land Transport Authority of Singapore commissioned Lim to create Let
the Show Begin..., a large mosaic mural based on his woodblock prints, installed at Esplanade MRT station.
The work bears testament to his meticulous and empathetic woodcut style.
Lim Mu Hue passed away in 2008. His works are now part of national collections, including the National
Gallery Singapore and the NUS Museum. A posthumous retrospective, Lim Mu Hue: An Inventive Life,
was held at NAFA in 2014, reintroducing his legacy to a new generation of artists and scholars.
About artcommune gallery
artcommune gallery was founded in 2009 by Singapore artist Ho Sou Ping, with a particular focus on
Singapore Modern art. The gallery represents the finest and most important artists in the Singapore
visual art canon, from revered pioneer masters Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen Hsi, to current leading
painters of varying fortes including Lim Tze Peng, Ong Kim Seng, Tan Choh Tee and Wong Keen.
Over the years, the gallery has organised several high-profile academic exhibitions with a mission to
promote a vibrant artistic landscape in Singapore and foster strong public awareness for local artists and
art history. Some notable showcases include: 137km North of the Equator: A Story of the Equator Art
Society and Realists Artists in Singapore (2013); The Story of Cheong Soo Pieng (2015); Exotic Sunlight:
Paintings by Ong Kim Seng (2016); Cheong Soo Pieng: 100th Anniversary Exhibition (2017); Wong Keen:
Flesh Matters (2018); Redefining the Archaic: The Art of Lim Tze Peng (2018); Homecoming: Chen Wen
Hsi Exhibition @ Kingsmead (2019); Tonalities: The Ink Works of Cheong Soo Pieng (2021); The Spatial,
The Ephemeral and the Possibility of it All (2023); and Cheong Soo Pieng: A Retrospective (2023).
Exhibition Period
Date: 9 May-1 June
Time: 12–7 pm daily
Venue: artcommune gallery (address below)
Contact Information
artcommune gallery
76 Bras Basah Road #01-01, Carlton Hotel Singapore 189558
Tel: +65 63364240 M: +65 97479046 www.artcommune.com.sg
For media enquiries or high-resolution image requests, please contact:
Ms. Valerie Anne Lim
M: +65 9820 5731 Email: valerie@artcommune.com.sg
Artwork Selections