Lim Tze Peng

One of Singapore’s most revered artists, Lim Tze Peng has gained recognition for highlighting the effects of rapid modernization by fusing traditional Chinese ink painting techniques with scenes from contemporary city life. Lim connects themes of nostalgia, memory, growth, and loss in his elaborate, overflowing cityscapes, which depict urban centers in the process of transformation. In his best-known series, Lim painted, en plein air, historically important Singapore buildings slated to be demolished and replaced by newfangled high-rises. Another facet of Lim’s practice is devoted to text-based paintings that merge the tradition of calligraphy with the history of abstract expressionism. The compositions, built from layered, expressively scrawled words, favor compositional dynamism over legibility.