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The Singapore Mo Yuan Tang Collection Exhibition

23.02// 09.03 2025

SG60: The Timeless Lim Tze Peng and Modern Chinese Art Paintings
in Singapore
photo_2025-02-06 16.31.19.jpeg

To commemorate Singapore’s 60 years of nation building, Singapore Mo Yuan Tang Collection is proud to present

2 breathtaking showcases, SG60: The Timeless Lim Tze Peng and Modern Chinese Art Paintings in Singapore at

ArtSpace@Helutrans from 23 February to 9 March 2025.
 

Singapore Mo Yuan Tang (星洲墨缘堂), founded by Mr. Melvin Poh, Founder and Managing Director of homegrown

property developer of the Fission Group, holds one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Lim Tze

Peng’s work. This exhibition features over 80 paintings and calligraphy pieces by Lim spanning the period of 1960s

to the present, including recently completed works by the now 104-year-old artist.

 

Through this landmark exhibition, Singapore Mo Yuan Tang aims to commemorate SG60 together with the public

and recognise Lim’s contribution to the Singapore’s art scene since her post-independence years to the present.

As highlighted by Mr. Poh:

“Singapore's transition to a modern economy did not wane Mr. Lim’s continued dedication to the arts. In fact, it

has strengthened his resolve to continue to innovate in his pursuit for breakthrough in his craft, just like

Singapore’s pursuit for excellence in our nation building journey. Mr. Lim's artistry has left an indelible mark on

Singapore's cultural landscape as Singapore’s urban and economic transformation has on the world.”
 

In addition to SG60: The Timeless Lim Tze Peng, Mr. Poh will showcase around 20 Chinese ink pieces drawn from

his Singapore Mo Yuan Tang’s significant collection of Modern Chinese Art. The selection includes the works of

renowned Chinese masters like Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi, Wu Guanzhong, Xie Zhiliu, Zhang Daqian, and Xu Beihong. In

fact, some of these Chinese artists were known to have frequented and contributed to the Singapore art scene in

our early nation building years. The inclusion of these paintings provides visitors a rare opportunity to view these

precious historical works and an important window into understanding the rich history and connections that

Singapore’s art scene had always had with Chinese artists.
 

The Singapore Mo Yuan Tang Collection Exhibition – SG60: The Timeless Lim Tze Peng and Modern Chinese Art

Paintings in Singapore will be officially opened by distinguished Guest-of-Honour, Ms. Jane Ittogi on Saturday,

22 February 2025, 3pm (Private opening, by invitation only).

 

SG 60: The Timeless Lim Tze Peng

Born in Singapore in 1921, Lim’s dedicated art journey as well as his rise to become Singapore’s most esteemed

living artist unfolded alongside Singapore’s post-independence growth from a rural to world-class cosmopolitan

city state. Lim delved into painting and calligraphy while still a teenager in the 1940s. He finally became a full-time

artist in 1981 after retiring as the principal of Sin Min School. Though largely self-taught, Lim found critical and

commercial success over the decades with an astounding body of ink work that features scenes of Old Singapore,

Balinese life, abstract trees and modern calligraphy.

The exhibition particularly highlights an early Kampong series produced en plein air by Lim in the period of late

1960s-1980s, which coincided with the early nation-building era in post-independence Singapore. These Kampong scenes, along with other everyday sights of Chinatown, Tanjong Rhu Port and Singapore River, were fast

disappearing as the young country embarked on a swift and relentless phase of urban modernisation in the 1980s.

Lim’s paintings stand today as precious documents of a bygone era, reflecting the distinct cultural character of

early Singapore life.

Amongst the ink paintings of Malay Kampongs and Old Singapore scenes featured in this exhibition is the largest

Singapore River piece ever accomplished by the artist. Completed in 2006 when Lim was already an octogenarian,

this large-scale ink painting measures 244 x 488 cm.

LTP383.jpg

Lim Tze Peng, Singapore River, 2006, Ink and colour on paper, 244 x 488 cm

Lim Tze Peng, Two Women Talking, c. 1970s, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 68 x 45 cm

Lim Tze Peng, Beneath the Tropical Fruit Trees, 1972, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 45 x 65 cm

Lim Tze Peng, Coloured Calligraphy, Undated, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 100 x 103 cm

Modern Chinese Art Paintings in Singapore

Perhaps unbeknown to many younger Singaporeans today, Singapore was once an important centre for the most

significant collection of Modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy outside of China. Between the late 19th and 20th

century, several famous Chinese artists travelled to Singapore and interacted with the communities here. This

facilitated the development of a local art environment and cultivated in the process, a primary market that catered

to a community of collectors keen on acquiring Modern Chinese ink works.

Locally, these encounters spawned two generations of important collectors of Modern Chinese Art: The group of

first-generation collectors comprised Huang Manshi's Bai Shan Zhai, Tan Tsze Chor’s Xiang Xue Zhuang, Low Chuck

Tiew’s Xu Bai Zhai, and Yeo Khee Lim’s Xiu Hai Lou; the second-generation collectors are namely Cheng YC’s Ci

Quan Tang, Sim Hoay Cheok’s Xu Huai Zhai, and Chan Kok Hua’s Qiu Zhai. At the turn of the millennium, however,

many of these artworks began to flow back into the Chinese market, leading to a sharp decline in the quantity of

these works amongst the remaining collections in Singapore.

Mr. Melvin Poh began his art collecting journey in the early 2010s with works by Singapore pioneer and modern

artists, such as Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, Lim Tze Peng, Tan Choh Tee, and Ong Kim Seng. Initially anchored

around the works of Lim Tze Peng, his collecting focus quickly evolved into a passion for Modern Chinese ink

paintings and calligraphy.

Through conscious efforts as well as serendipitous encounters over the next few years, Mr. Poh has successfully

assembled a monumental collection of over 200 Modern Chinese ink works, establishing his role as an important

third-generation collector and custodian of these culturally significant artworks in Singapore. By propelling this

focus back into the Singapore collecting scene and through sharing some of these works with the public, Mr. Poh

aims to continue Singapore’s cultural legacy of being an enduring hub for Chinese ink art collection and

appreciation.

Qi Baishi .jpg

Left: Fu Baoshi. Madame Xiang, 1961, 1961, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 66 x 32 cm

Right: Qi Baishi. Balsam and Butterfly, Undated, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 88 x 38.4 cm

Xie Zhiliu. Snowy Streams, 1960.jpg

Xie Zhiliu. Snowy Streams, 1960, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 90.5 x 47.5 cm

Wu Guanzhong. Jiangnan Water VIllage, 1985, Chinese ink and colour on paper, 68.5 x 137 cm

About Singapore Mo Yuan Tang(星洲墨缘堂)

Melvin Poh is the Founder and Managing Director of homegrown property developer of the Fission Group. He

graduated from National University of Singapore in 1997 and has been a property developer since 2007. Apart

from property development, Mr. Poh serves as a Board Member in the non-profit organisation, Singapore Thong

Chai Medical Institute. He is also currently the Chairman and business owner of Woodlands Memorial, Singapore’s

largest funeral parlour. Mr. Poh started collecting Lim Tze Peng’s work in 2013. Since then, he had published two

books documenting his collection of Lim’s works over the years, namely Redefining the Archaic: The Art of Lim Tze

Peng, and The Brush & Ink of Tze Peng (Vol. One of Singapore Mo Yuan Tang Collection).

Melvin Poh is the Founder and Managing Director of homegrown property developer of the Fission Group. He

graduated from National University of Singapore in 1997 and has been a property developer since 2007. Apart

from property development, Mr. Poh serves as a Board Member in the non-profit organisation, Singapore Thong

Chai Medical Institute. He is also currently the Chairman and business owner of Woodlands Memorial, Singapore’s

largest funeral parlour. Mr. Poh started collecting Lim Tze Peng’s work in 2013. Since then, he had published two

books documenting his collection of Lim’s works over the years, namely Redefining the Archaic: The Art of Lim Tze

Peng, and The Brush & Ink of Tze Peng (Vol. One of Singapore Mo Yuan Tang Collection).

Private Opening 
Date: Saturday, 22 February 2025

Time: 3pm

Guest-of-Honour

Exhibition Period

Date: 23 February - 9 March 2025

Time: 12–7 pm daily

Venue: ArtSpace@Helutrans  | 39 Keppel Road, #01-05, Distripark, Singapore 089065

 

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

© 2024

artcommune gallery Pte Ltd.

76 Bras Basah Road #01-01

Carlton Hotel Singapore 189558

+65 6336 4240  |  +65 9747 9046

souping@artcommune.com.sg

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