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THROUGH ALL VICISSITUDES

Exhibition
Free
12 Nov 2022 - 27 Nov 2022
12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
artcommune gallery (76 Bras Basah Road #01-01 Carlton Hotel, Singapore 189558 )

Jointly presented by ART:DIS and artcommune, the exhibition Through All Vicissitudes: Prints & Sculptures by Chng Seok Tin, traces the motivations that shaped Chng’s four decade-long creative journey and celebrates a life lived large in spite of obstacles and misfortunes. Featuring over 30 prints and sculptures from Chng’s career in 1976–2010s, this exhibition further supports the establishment of the CST Education Fund to support young artists with disabilities in their learning/training. Organised by ART:DIS, the fund will match 6–8 young visual artists with industry mentors so as to deepen their artistic & technical skillsets, expose them to contemporary art practice, build his/her personal portfolio and provide them with opportunities to showcase their artworks. A firm believer in inspiring and building the capabilities of the younger generation, this exhibition thus brings to fore the adventure and vitalism that define Chng’s enduring legacy.

About Chng Seok Tin

Chng Seok Tin (b. 1946, Singapore – d. 2019, Singapore)  was a renowned printmaker, sculptor and multi-media artist whose devoted practice to printmaking became synonymous with the Singapore printmaking development between the 1980s and 1990s. Chng’s printmaking oeuvre encompasses a variety of techniques and experiments (lithography, etching, engraving, silkscreen, woodcut, monotype and ink transfer), and reflects her mediations on Zhuang Zi (庄子) and various philosophical texts. Themes of existentialism resonate strongly in her prints and sculptures, which often dramatise man’s pursuits of dream, love and freedom, and the struggles towards enlightenment.  At times, wry social commentary or humorous banter permeates her imagery.

Chng was first exposed to printmaking in the first year of her Diploma training in Western Painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 1970. She then pursued further studies abroad, eventually obtaining her Master of Arts Degrees (majoring in Printmaking and minoring in multi-media) from the New Mexico State University (1981-83), and the University of Iowa (1983-85), respectively. She returned to Singapore in 1986 and worked as an art lecturer in Drawing and Printmaking at LASALLE College of the Arts (1986-95) where she cultivated the first few batches of local art students majoring in Printmaking.

An accident in 1988 left Chng visually impaired.  Having earlier adopted mixed media installation and sculpture into her practice during her studies abroad in the 1980s, she decided to focus more on these mediums beginning in the mid-90s as they afforded her a more tactile and flexible exploration of forms and materials. As a passionate advocate and educator, Chng worked closely with ART:DIS (then formerly known as Very Special Arts Singapore) to enable and empower young persons with disabilities through the arts.

In recognition of her achievements and contributions to the Singapore art scene, Chng was conferred the Cultural Medallion by the Singapore Government in 2005. Unfazed by her visual disability and ageing body, Chng remained creatively occupied throughout her lifetime. At the time of her passing from lung cancer in 2019, she had held almost 30 solo exhibitions and participated in over 30 group exhibitions.

 

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