Pink Flowers by the Water

Credit Line: Collection of SMU

Chua Ek Kay (1947-2008) was one of Singapore's leading contemporary Chinese ink painters. Through practice and theory that were in constant dialogue with 17th-century artist Shitao and 20th-century masters such as Huang Binhong, he evolved a robust personal take on the ink aesthetics. Lived experiences and sensibilities were echoed in his art and his active engagement in cultural discourse. He was deeply concerned with his own time and context and considered postmodernism, multicultural Singapore and critical regionalism in Southeast Asia in his writings, depictions of places and engagement with the arts community. Also a poet and calligrapher, his art is among the most celebrated in Singapore and his art historical importance is now receiving international recognition.

Born in China, Chua came to Singapore with his family in the 1950s. Here he studied Chinese ink painting under Fan Chang Tien. In 1991, he was the first Chinese ink painter to win the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Award. He later took up formal training in contemporary art, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tasmania in 1994 and a Master of Arts (Honours) in Visual Arts from the University of Western Sydney in 1995. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1999.