Manager of a Rubber Plantation Estate, Undated, Oil on canvas, 58.5 x 41.5 cm
Imprints of a Vanished Time: Paintings and Prints by Lim Mu Hue is an exhibition that spotlights the late Singapore artist’s dynamic exploration across oil, ink, woodcut and mixed media works. Featuring 19 works dating to the period of 1950s to 2002, the show traces Lim’s thoughtful synthesis of Western academic techniques and a deep sensitivity to local themes and identity.
Lim Mu Hue (1936–2008, Singapore) was a second-generation Singapore artist best known for his oil works and woodblock prints executed in a realist and often narrative-driven style. Born in 1936 to a Teochew family of Chinese descent, Lim grew up in a period of social change and nation-building in early Singapore. His art would later reflect these historical shifts through intimate, detailed portrayals of ordinary people, local landscapes and vanishing trades.
Lim received his formal training at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), graduating in 1955 with a Diploma in Western Painting. There, he studied under key figures of the Nanyang art style and was exposed to both Chinese and Western art mediums. Much of Lim’s output in the 1950s was focussed on Western oil, charcoal, watercolour, and pastel works, with many revealing of his spirited experimentation across the academic genres of landscape, still life and portrait.
Venue: artcommune gallery, 76 Bras Basah Road, #01-01 Carlton Hotel, Singapore 189558
When: 9 May - 1 Jun 2025, 12noon - 7pm
