the artists
The gallery collects artists who have built a relationship with us and whose art we believe in and support.
BUBUY BALANGUE
Bubuy Balangue is a photographer who studied film and audio-visual communication from the University of the Philippines. His passion lies in capturing images, telling a story and seeing the world differently. He has had several exhibits in his home country, most recent of which is “Subway Scenes in Europe” (2009). His work has been published in local and international publications like Photolife of Canada, Travelife and Lifestyle Asia. He started photography in 1984 and 26 years hence, he is still juggling from film to digital photography, waiting for a moment.
CASEY CHEN
Casey is constantly able to express the versatility of his artistic medium in innovative and sophisticated forms that are reflect originality and wit. His works are multi-dimensional where simple and arresting images are used to convey visual or written puns. His intuitive approach celebrates the relationships between people, objects and the environment, hence creating sensitive art works that transcend time. Casey is also a member with Sculpture Society Singapore.
FERNAN ESCORA
Fernan Escora is known for his meticulous pen on canvas works. A full-time artist since he graduated from the College of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines in 1999, he has since had 13 solo exhibitions in the Philippines and Singapore. He was a judge in the 2006 Clean Air Initiative Workshop of the Asian Development Bank in Yogyakarta in 2006, and an illustrator for “Butterfly”, a children’s book by Michelle Van Eimeren, Miss Australia 1994.
NASSIM GHRAYEB
Nassim Ghrayeb traces the exact moment he knew photography was for him when he hand printed a picture in a black and white photography development course he took fourteen years ago. He saw then that the photograph he developed was not a reflection of reality but an expression of his mood and imagination. He finds creative, emotional and spiritual expression in photography. Nassim is a wanderer who has lived in many countries. He currently resides in Dubai, U.A.E.
DON LOW
One of Don Low's inspirations to sketch and draw is attributed to the renowned Singaporean watercolour artist Ong Kim Seng. Purely self-taught, Don has honed his craft and has managed to win several awards and scholarships, one of which was the MDA Media Education Scheme Scholarship, which gave him the opportunity to further his studies in the field. Don sketches whenever time permits and believes that his sketches are his footprints threading together all the little bits and pieces of his daily encounters, travel experiences and stories of people and places he has visited.
LOW YAN QING
Low Yan Qing interprets the obsession over the writings and sketches of Leonardo da Vinci as hand-bound books that challenge the act of reading by obscuring the very text they hold, much like how many still fail to understand the genius of the man.
MIEL
For 20 years, Miel has been the editorial cartoonist/illustrator-deisgner of The Straits Times. he has won many international awards and his cartoons have also been published in several leading newspapers worldwide, such as The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Japan Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and South China Morning Post. Miel is an active artist personality in Tiong Bahru where he can often be spotted sketching his trademark minimalist styled drawings of everyday life in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood.
ONG KIM SENG
President of the Singapore Watercolour Society from 1991 to 2001 (during which he was made Honorary President), Mr. Ong represents Singapore on the international art stage. A highly collectable artist, his works have graced the walls and private collections of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II of England, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the Republic of Korea, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the President of the Republic of the Philippines; the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of India, to name a few. His art works have also been featured regularly in international auction houses such as Sotheby’s.
Additionally, Mr. Ong’s art works are collected by a number of international embassies around the globe. He is also the first and only Singaporean to be offered a position of Signature Member in the American National Watercolour Society.
KHYMCHI NGA
KhymChi Nga came to Singapore from Malaysia in 2007. She has exhibited in ten group shows and in Flight, she comments on the scheduled life that we live in urban environments, leading to robotic rituals that she translates literally in her pieces, leading one to chuckle inwardly at the sharp wit she displays in her depictions.
SININGAPOR
Siningapor is a group of Filipino artists who live in Singapore. The group’s name, a compound of “Singapore” and the Filipino word “sining” or art, points to the reality of being Philippine citizens creating art locally. It also refers to the art they create here – cross-cultural work that is immersed in and affected by their experience of living in Singapore, yet still distinctly Filipino. The eleven members who exhibited in this show are Wilfredo “Yeye” Calderon, Manuel Aenlle Francisco, Celestino “Cel” Gulapa, Ludwig Ilio, Christian Inton, Jasmin King, Oliver Menor, Donna Osea, Nilo Parilla, Paul Eric Roca and Noel Rosales.
JANE STEPHANNY
Jane Stephanny moved to Singapore from Indonesia in 1996. Since 2008, she has participated in eight group exhibitions and Flight will mark her ninth. Her pieces are a commentary on the human conquest of flight juxtaposed against the loss of flight amongst several species of birds, resulting in humorous scenarios.
TAN SOCK FONG
Glass artist and founding member of Emily Hill Enterprise, her works have been exhibited in many places since 1988 and that includes, The Midlands Art Center (Birmingham, United Kingdom), Singapore Art Museum, Drama Centre - Singapore National Library, Art 2 gallery, National Museum Art Gallery, Utterly Art Gallery, Emilyhill, IBM Art Award, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Philip Charriol Foundation Competition Exhibition, National Sculpture Show, Art And Material (1990 & 1992).
Some of Sock Fong's other works can also be found at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, The Paterson Condominium, Schott Glass (Singapore), Changi Airport, and the Silk Road Restaurant at the Amara Hotel. She is one of the few visual artists who have been commissioned to design and fabricate award trophies locally and regionally, some of her design works include Brainiest Kid 2003, Asian Television Award, SIA-PHILIPS Green Innovation Award 2008, and the Singapore Green Plan 2012 Award. Sock Fong is the founding member of Sculpture Society Singapore.
TIA BOON SIM
In her formative art foundation years, Tia was under the tutelage of the late Mr Liu Kang, one of Singapore's pioneer artists. She has been sketching the enclaves of Tiong Bahru regularly on many Saturday mornings. She is also the founder of the Singapore chapter of the global Urban Sketchers fraternity. In July 2010, she was invited as one of the ten international instructors at the First International Urban Sketching Symposium in Portland, USA.
TUNG YUE NANG
Tung Yue Nang is an artist who subscribes to the Chinese philosophy of Tao Te Ching ("Classic Way of the Power") in practising his art. While initially focused on traditional Chinese paintings, he subsequently allowed elements of Western art to permeate his style. He has exhibited widely and won several awards. At the age of 15, he was taught Chinese painting, calligraphy, seal carving and engraving by artist Shi Xiang Tuo. This was the only art education that he received before embarking on his artistic career. From then onwards, he used the elements of Chinese art to develop a personal style motivated by the Tao philosophy. Before he quit the corporate world to become a professional artist, Tung held the position of graphic design director. Besides painting, he has written Chinese poetry. He has also learnt the art of ceramics and sculpture from Singapore's foremost sculptor Ng Eng Teng. Tung travels widely to seek inspiration and spiritual nourishment necessary to produce his artworks. He has been to most Southeast Asian countries, China, Nepal, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He often returns from such trips with renewed insights and inspiration for his art, which would culminate in a new series of paintings. by: Nurhaizatul Jamila Jamil
OCEAN WANG
Ocean Wang came to Singapore from China in 2006. Flight marks his debut, but he has been an assistant to many notable artists in their shows and installations. His work deals with self-portraiture; essentially flights of fancy about being bequeathed super-human powers that are ironically mundane, they are rendered beautifully to suspend the viewer in his state of mind.
PAUL WANG
Paul is a correspondent for the internationally renowned Urban Sketchers society. Some of his works have been chosen to become the cover art for Moleskin Art Journal, which will be released in September 2011. Similarly, several of his Hong Kong sketches have also been selected to be featured in a new book that is scheduled to be available for sale worldwide in 2012.
JOANNA WONG
After 18 years as a banker with an international British bank, Jo Wong began her journey as an artist in early 2003, following five years committed to mothering her sons during their early childhood. Starting off with Chinese brush painting, she found herself drawn to plein-air (outdoor on-location) painting, under the tutelage of Ong Kim Seng, one of Singapore’s premier artists. The following three years saw her attending a succession of painting workshops and classes with Ong as well as American master watercolorist Stephen Quiller and master oil painter Wee Shoo Leong to further hone her skills with the brush. She participated in three group exhibitions with fellow students of Ong Kim Seng alongside the master’s own work. Collected by National Parks Board, her work is also in the homes and offices of doctors, bankers, economists, and restaurateurs. She has recently set up a private studio and home gallery, Jo’s Creations, where she pursues her deep passion for painting. Her full CV and an online gallery of her oeuvre is at www.jowonggallery.com.
XU JIE
Xu Jie is a noted artist whose work is loved and sought after by international collectors. Born 1969 in Shanghai, China, she studied at the Shanghai Institute of Arts, China till 1991 and began exhibiting from 2006 in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as Venice, Italy, Korea and Japan. She is well known for her oil paintings of Chinese children, composed mostly as pairs, trios or groups, on large canvasses.
SAYA YAMAGUCHI
Born in Kyoto,Yamaguchi Sayagraduated with Master Degree in Fine Arts, Ceramic at Kyoto Seika University, Japan. Over the last 11 years, she has been a very active ceramic artist and has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions including her 12 solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Singapore.
Bubuy Balangue is a photographer who studied film and audio-visual communication from the University of the Philippines. His passion lies in capturing images, telling a story and seeing the world differently. He has had several exhibits in his home country, most recent of which is “Subway Scenes in Europe” (2009). His work has been published in local and international publications like Photolife of Canada, Travelife and Lifestyle Asia. He started photography in 1984 and 26 years hence, he is still juggling from film to digital photography, waiting for a moment.
CASEY CHEN
Casey is constantly able to express the versatility of his artistic medium in innovative and sophisticated forms that are reflect originality and wit. His works are multi-dimensional where simple and arresting images are used to convey visual or written puns. His intuitive approach celebrates the relationships between people, objects and the environment, hence creating sensitive art works that transcend time. Casey is also a member with Sculpture Society Singapore.
FERNAN ESCORA
Fernan Escora is known for his meticulous pen on canvas works. A full-time artist since he graduated from the College of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines in 1999, he has since had 13 solo exhibitions in the Philippines and Singapore. He was a judge in the 2006 Clean Air Initiative Workshop of the Asian Development Bank in Yogyakarta in 2006, and an illustrator for “Butterfly”, a children’s book by Michelle Van Eimeren, Miss Australia 1994.
NASSIM GHRAYEB
Nassim Ghrayeb traces the exact moment he knew photography was for him when he hand printed a picture in a black and white photography development course he took fourteen years ago. He saw then that the photograph he developed was not a reflection of reality but an expression of his mood and imagination. He finds creative, emotional and spiritual expression in photography. Nassim is a wanderer who has lived in many countries. He currently resides in Dubai, U.A.E.
DON LOW
One of Don Low's inspirations to sketch and draw is attributed to the renowned Singaporean watercolour artist Ong Kim Seng. Purely self-taught, Don has honed his craft and has managed to win several awards and scholarships, one of which was the MDA Media Education Scheme Scholarship, which gave him the opportunity to further his studies in the field. Don sketches whenever time permits and believes that his sketches are his footprints threading together all the little bits and pieces of his daily encounters, travel experiences and stories of people and places he has visited.
LOW YAN QING
Low Yan Qing interprets the obsession over the writings and sketches of Leonardo da Vinci as hand-bound books that challenge the act of reading by obscuring the very text they hold, much like how many still fail to understand the genius of the man.
MIEL
For 20 years, Miel has been the editorial cartoonist/illustrator-deisgner of The Straits Times. he has won many international awards and his cartoons have also been published in several leading newspapers worldwide, such as The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Japan Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and South China Morning Post. Miel is an active artist personality in Tiong Bahru where he can often be spotted sketching his trademark minimalist styled drawings of everyday life in the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood.
ONG KIM SENG
President of the Singapore Watercolour Society from 1991 to 2001 (during which he was made Honorary President), Mr. Ong represents Singapore on the international art stage. A highly collectable artist, his works have graced the walls and private collections of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II of England, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the Republic of Korea, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the President of the Republic of the Philippines; the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of India, to name a few. His art works have also been featured regularly in international auction houses such as Sotheby’s.
Additionally, Mr. Ong’s art works are collected by a number of international embassies around the globe. He is also the first and only Singaporean to be offered a position of Signature Member in the American National Watercolour Society.
KHYMCHI NGA
KhymChi Nga came to Singapore from Malaysia in 2007. She has exhibited in ten group shows and in Flight, she comments on the scheduled life that we live in urban environments, leading to robotic rituals that she translates literally in her pieces, leading one to chuckle inwardly at the sharp wit she displays in her depictions.
SININGAPOR
Siningapor is a group of Filipino artists who live in Singapore. The group’s name, a compound of “Singapore” and the Filipino word “sining” or art, points to the reality of being Philippine citizens creating art locally. It also refers to the art they create here – cross-cultural work that is immersed in and affected by their experience of living in Singapore, yet still distinctly Filipino. The eleven members who exhibited in this show are Wilfredo “Yeye” Calderon, Manuel Aenlle Francisco, Celestino “Cel” Gulapa, Ludwig Ilio, Christian Inton, Jasmin King, Oliver Menor, Donna Osea, Nilo Parilla, Paul Eric Roca and Noel Rosales.
JANE STEPHANNY
Jane Stephanny moved to Singapore from Indonesia in 1996. Since 2008, she has participated in eight group exhibitions and Flight will mark her ninth. Her pieces are a commentary on the human conquest of flight juxtaposed against the loss of flight amongst several species of birds, resulting in humorous scenarios.
TAN SOCK FONG
Glass artist and founding member of Emily Hill Enterprise, her works have been exhibited in many places since 1988 and that includes, The Midlands Art Center (Birmingham, United Kingdom), Singapore Art Museum, Drama Centre - Singapore National Library, Art 2 gallery, National Museum Art Gallery, Utterly Art Gallery, Emilyhill, IBM Art Award, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Philip Charriol Foundation Competition Exhibition, National Sculpture Show, Art And Material (1990 & 1992).
Some of Sock Fong's other works can also be found at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, The Paterson Condominium, Schott Glass (Singapore), Changi Airport, and the Silk Road Restaurant at the Amara Hotel. She is one of the few visual artists who have been commissioned to design and fabricate award trophies locally and regionally, some of her design works include Brainiest Kid 2003, Asian Television Award, SIA-PHILIPS Green Innovation Award 2008, and the Singapore Green Plan 2012 Award. Sock Fong is the founding member of Sculpture Society Singapore.
TIA BOON SIM
In her formative art foundation years, Tia was under the tutelage of the late Mr Liu Kang, one of Singapore's pioneer artists. She has been sketching the enclaves of Tiong Bahru regularly on many Saturday mornings. She is also the founder of the Singapore chapter of the global Urban Sketchers fraternity. In July 2010, she was invited as one of the ten international instructors at the First International Urban Sketching Symposium in Portland, USA.
TUNG YUE NANG
Tung Yue Nang is an artist who subscribes to the Chinese philosophy of Tao Te Ching ("Classic Way of the Power") in practising his art. While initially focused on traditional Chinese paintings, he subsequently allowed elements of Western art to permeate his style. He has exhibited widely and won several awards. At the age of 15, he was taught Chinese painting, calligraphy, seal carving and engraving by artist Shi Xiang Tuo. This was the only art education that he received before embarking on his artistic career. From then onwards, he used the elements of Chinese art to develop a personal style motivated by the Tao philosophy. Before he quit the corporate world to become a professional artist, Tung held the position of graphic design director. Besides painting, he has written Chinese poetry. He has also learnt the art of ceramics and sculpture from Singapore's foremost sculptor Ng Eng Teng. Tung travels widely to seek inspiration and spiritual nourishment necessary to produce his artworks. He has been to most Southeast Asian countries, China, Nepal, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He often returns from such trips with renewed insights and inspiration for his art, which would culminate in a new series of paintings. by: Nurhaizatul Jamila Jamil
OCEAN WANG
Ocean Wang came to Singapore from China in 2006. Flight marks his debut, but he has been an assistant to many notable artists in their shows and installations. His work deals with self-portraiture; essentially flights of fancy about being bequeathed super-human powers that are ironically mundane, they are rendered beautifully to suspend the viewer in his state of mind.
PAUL WANG
Paul is a correspondent for the internationally renowned Urban Sketchers society. Some of his works have been chosen to become the cover art for Moleskin Art Journal, which will be released in September 2011. Similarly, several of his Hong Kong sketches have also been selected to be featured in a new book that is scheduled to be available for sale worldwide in 2012.
JOANNA WONG
After 18 years as a banker with an international British bank, Jo Wong began her journey as an artist in early 2003, following five years committed to mothering her sons during their early childhood. Starting off with Chinese brush painting, she found herself drawn to plein-air (outdoor on-location) painting, under the tutelage of Ong Kim Seng, one of Singapore’s premier artists. The following three years saw her attending a succession of painting workshops and classes with Ong as well as American master watercolorist Stephen Quiller and master oil painter Wee Shoo Leong to further hone her skills with the brush. She participated in three group exhibitions with fellow students of Ong Kim Seng alongside the master’s own work. Collected by National Parks Board, her work is also in the homes and offices of doctors, bankers, economists, and restaurateurs. She has recently set up a private studio and home gallery, Jo’s Creations, where she pursues her deep passion for painting. Her full CV and an online gallery of her oeuvre is at www.jowonggallery.com.
XU JIE
Xu Jie is a noted artist whose work is loved and sought after by international collectors. Born 1969 in Shanghai, China, she studied at the Shanghai Institute of Arts, China till 1991 and began exhibiting from 2006 in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as Venice, Italy, Korea and Japan. She is well known for her oil paintings of Chinese children, composed mostly as pairs, trios or groups, on large canvasses.
SAYA YAMAGUCHI
Born in Kyoto,Yamaguchi Sayagraduated with Master Degree in Fine Arts, Ceramic at Kyoto Seika University, Japan. Over the last 11 years, she has been a very active ceramic artist and has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions including her 12 solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Singapore.
