Winner of 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year, Anagard. from Indonesia with (from left), Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Group CEO, UOB, Mrs Wee Ee Cheong, Ms Nicolette Rappa, Head of Group Strategic Communications and Customer Advocacy, UOB and Ms Lilian Chong, Executive Director, Group Strategic Communications and Customer Advocacy, UOB.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) has conferred the 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year (POY) award to Indonesian artist, Mr Anagard for his painting titled Welcome Perdamaian, Goodbye Kedengkian (Welcome Peace, Goodbye Hostility). Mr Anagard’s painting was chosen from among the national winners of the 2019 UOB Painting of the Year competitions held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Through his painting, the 35-year-old artist examined the themes of tolerance and acceptance amid the differences in culture, ethnicity and faith. He expressed his ideas using a mix of traditional and contemporary styles and melded various life forms and symbols to create an intriguing and thought-provoking piece of art. The panel of judges from the four Southeast Asian countries was also captivated by Mr Anagard’s distinctive stencil on aluminum technique, often seen in spray-painted murals, that gave an immersive, three-dimensional effect to his painting.

On winning the 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year award, Mr Anagard said,

“Through Welcome Perdamaian, Goodbye Kedengkian (Welcome Peace, Goodbye Hostility), I wanted to share the importance of harmony, unity and peace. I was inspired by a house of prayer known as Rhema Hill (Bukit Rhema) situated in Central Java, where people of different countries meet to explore their spiritual selves. The painting draws on the unique architecture of the prayer house with a roof shaped like a head of a dove, itself a symbol of peace.”

The judging panel for the 2019 UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year comprised the Chief Judges from each of the four participating countries: Dr Bridget Tracy Tan, Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Arts and Art Galleries Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore; Mr Agung Hujatnikajennong, Independent Curator, Indonesia; Ms Bibi Chew, Multi-disciplinary Artist, Head of Illustration, Malaysian Institute of Art, Malaysia; Assistant Professor Somporn Rodboon, Independent Curator and Writer, Board of Directors, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

Established Artist Category: Mr Wong Tze Chau wins the 2019 UOB Painting of the Year (Singapore) Award

Singapore artist, Wong Tze Chau, 41, was presented the 2019 UOB POY (Singapore) award for his painting titled War and Peace. Through acrylic on cotton canvas, War and Peace explores the intrinsic beauty of calligraphy and the potential of language in contemporary art. As a metaphor for the “Oneness of Being”, War and Peace represents the recurring and almost binary themes of darkness and light that often define humankind.

Emerging Artist Category: 2019 Most Promising Artist of the Year Award (Singapore)

Casey Tan Jie Wei, 25, won the 2019 Most Promising Artist of the Year Award (Singapore) in the Emerging Artist category for his acrylic on canvas painting titled The Water is Wide. The Water is Wide takes inspiration from the current events in the world, where the artist sees a reflection of shared humanity and hope in spite of humanitarian disasters. Mr Tan graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 2016 with a Diploma in Fine Art. He was also a recipient of Ngee Ann Kongsi scholarship.

Event: UOB Painting of the Year 2019 Exhibition
Dates: 9 November 2019 – 20 February 2020
Venue: UOB Art Gallery, UOB Plaza 1, Raffles Place