artcommune | Tong Chin Sye

Tong Chin Sye

b. 1939, Singapore -

Born in Singapore, Tong Chin Sye is a renowned multi-media artist trained in both Western and Chinese art. His dynamic oeuvre includes watercolour, oil, Chinese ink and mixed media paintings. Chin Sye was previously a part-time lecturer in Western Art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and has participated in numerous local and overseas exhibitions over the years. He clinched the first prize in the Port of Singapore Authority Open Art Competition in 1987 and represented Singapore at the Flemish Watercolour Days held at Zaventen, Belgium in 1988.

An avid traveler, Chin Sye has journeyed across continents in his painterly quest for new sights and cultural understanding. His landscape paintings feature various cities across Asia, Europe and Latin America. Be it a bustling town scene or a quiet backyard in a provincial village; labourers by the seaside or folks conducting their daily routines, Chin Sye's paintings absorb us through the curious, reflective lens of a traveler who explores the life and customs of others through the graininess of everyday life. The assiduous combination of East-West techniques also reflects his multi-faceted art training.