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Tan Teng Kee (1937-2016): biography
1937: Born in Batu Pahat, Malaysia
1954: Holds his first exhibition of his drawings at
his high school open house
1958-1962: Studies Chinese brush painting at New
Asia College in Hong Kong, later changing focus to
oils
1963: Lives and works in Paris
1967: Awarded scholarship to study sculpture at
the Staatliche Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf, West
Germany
1970: Starts teaching at the Baharuddin Vocational
Institute, Singapore
Brush painting
● Calligraphic techniques of brush and ink
● Movement patterns, made between strokes when
the brush leaves the paper
Influence of new art movements

Franz Kline Norbert Kricke

Painting Number 2 Große Fließende (Luxeuil) , 1971
1954 Painted steel on cinder block base
Oil on canvas overall 6′ 7 1/2″ × 8′ 11 7/8″ × 16 1/8" (202 × 274 × 41 cm); base 17
6' 8 1/2" x 8' 11" (204.3 x 271.8 cm) 1/2 x 16 3/4 x 15 1/4" (44.5 x 42.5 x 38.7 cm).
The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art
Performance art
● Self-reflexivity and lack of representationality
● Drawing as a performative act

Tan Teng-Kee. Fire Sculpture. 1979. "The Picnic", Normanton

Estate, Singapore. Photograph by and courtesy of Tan Teng-
Kee
Jaafar Latiff (1937-): biography
1937: Born in Singapore
1965: Starts teaching at Baharuddin Vocational
Secondary School, where the principal encourages
him to teach batik as it was popular at the time
1970: Starts teaching at Baharuddin Vocational
Institute
1975: Awarded Japanese government scholarship
to study ceramic glazing and decorating in Nagoya
1976: First solo show at Alpha Gallery
Context: Batik art
● Rise of popularity of batik as fine art in the post-war years of 1950s to 1970s
○ “On the origins of batik as a fine art medium in Southeast Asia, it has been transmitted orally
that around the time of decolonisation and independence, artists were seeking a new visual
language that could be vernacular to the region.” (Chang Yueh Siang)
● Influence of Seah Kim Joo:
○ “His work was so sophisticated, advanced and unique, his forms so abstract, rhythmic and
expressive, that I was convinced it was pointless to carry on with the representational kind of
batik prevalent at the time. After all, Singapore had become a progressive, modern city, and I
wanted to do something that could represent the tremendous momentum of its growth.” (Jaafar
Latiff)
 Seah Kim Joo
[Not titled] (Malayan Life)
1968
Batik
256 x 694 cm
256 x 694 cm
LASALLE College of the Arts Collection, Institute of
Contemporary Arts Singapore.
Influences: Abstract Expressionism
● 1970s: movement away from representational art
● At the time, Singaporean artists were increasingly influenced by the
burgeoning Abstract Expressionist movement, with its focus on spontaneous
creation
○ “I paint intuitively, allowing [my] subconscious to take over the creation of my work, freeing my
hand, as it were, to make random marks.”
● Desire to create a visual language to describe Singapore
○ “I soon found I didn’t want to make batik like the other artists who were creating pictures with
traditional or representational subject matter. I wanted to make images that could represent
the spirit of the new Singapore, which is an abstract concept in itself. I felt challenged to come
up with an imagery that could represent the idea of a vigorous nation, burgeoning with forceful
energy.”
Influences: Abstract Expressionism
● Content: inspired by nature, personal
emotions

Jaafar Latiff
Wandering Series
1976
Batik
100 x 100 cm
Gift of the artist. Collection of
National Gallery Singapore
Process: Experiments with technique
Acrylics: Water based and quick drying

Shift from light-developed immersion dyes to chemical inks

“Making visible the action of painting” (Constance Sheares)

Jaafar Latiff on Tan Teng Kee
“Tan Teng Kee is another mature and committed artist, an Aquarian like me,
whose work is similarly abstract. We are both adventurous types who are unafraid
to strive beyond known boundaries.” Interview with Constance Sheares, 19
January 2005
Bibliography
Chang, Yueh Siang. “Always Moving”: The Batik Art of Sarkasi Said. NUS Museum, 2017.
Kwok, Kian Chow. Channels and Confluences. Singapore: Singapore Art Museum, 1996.
"MoMA | Abstract Expressionist Sculpture." MoMA Learning. Accessed January 02, 2018.
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/abstract-expressionism/abstract-expressionist-sculpture.
Sabapathy, T.K. Tan Teng Kee. Singapore: Sculpture Square Limited, 2001.
Sabapathy, T.K., ed. Trimurti and Ten Years After. Singapore: Singapore Art Museum, National Heritage Board, 1998.
Sheares, Constance. Colour Permutations: Jaafar Latiff’s Paintings 2000-05. Singapore: Sculpture Square Limited, 2005.