Tam Kwan Yuen, Evening at Marina Bay, 2020, Watercolour on paper, 111.5 x 167.5 cm
AC43 Gallery proudly presents Tam Kwan Yuen’s latest solo exhibition Feels Like Home. The show features 20 watercolour works completed in the recent period 2018 – 20, with a new repertoire of contemporary urban scenes inspired by his travels and discoveries in America, Europe and South Asia, and of Singapore skylines and metropolitanism. Having travelled to many countries and terrains over the years, Kwan Yuen realises that notions of home always permeates his interpretations of new places and cultures.
His watercolours capture the spatial-temporal rhythm of city life, portraying in detail ubiquitous neon signs, larger-than-life billboards, sleepless city streets and glitzy interiors. The artist also juxtaposes scenes of cosmopolitan city culture with close-up vignettes of the everyday working man, and paintings like the Seller in Varanasi Alley, The Old Man of Udaipur, and Turkish Delights reveals his sensitive handling of the human subject and his surroundings.
Born in Hong Kong in 1986, Tam Kwan Yuen grew up in Singapore where he has been active in the local art scene since his youth. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Nanyang Technological University in 2012, he made the bold decision to embark on a full-time art career. His preference for ultra-realistic detailing of metropolitan landscapes and culture sets him apart from most local watercolourists in terms of subject matter and technical treatment. Currently a member of the Singapore Watercolour Society and a Signature Member of the American Watercolour Society (AWS), his paintings have been featured regularly in group shows around the world and international juried exhibitions.
In 2014, Kwan Yuen won ‘Third Place Award’ in the 34th International Exhibition of Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, and the ‘Award of Distinction’ in the Watermedia Showcase of the Missouri Watercolor Society. In April 2016, his painting, “Good Morning, NYC!” has won the JAN GARY and WILLIAM D. GORMAN MEMORIAL AWARD in the prestigious 149th Annual International Exhibition of American Watercolor Society (AWS). His works have been featured in art publications, including the 17th Issue of the Art of Watercolor Magazine, and selected as Winner in North Light Books’ Splash 18: Value | Light + Dark Issue edited by Rachel Rubin Wolf. He has also been recently awarded the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award by his alma mater, Nanyang Technological University, for his outstanding achievements in art.
Venue: artcommune gallery, 76 Bras Basah Road, #01-01 Carlton Hotel, Singapore 189558
When: 12 - 31 Dec 2020, 12noon - 7pm
