Ong Kim Seng
Encyclopedia
Ong Kim Seng was born in Singapore and has been a full-time artist since 1985. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions at Singapore
and in the United States, China, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Federal Republic Of Germany, France, Middle East, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the ASEAN countries.
Ong is the first and only Singaporean
to have won six awards by the prestigious 138-year-old American Watercolor Society (AWS), of which he was conferred membership in 1992. He is also the only Asian
artist outside the USA to be admitted into AWS.
led by an artist, writer and lecturer Chia Wai Hon.
Ong left school in 1962 and after that joined an advertising agency where he worked as a bill collector. He left the agency after four years and found his next job as a policeman at the British Naval Base in Sembawang
. He lost his job in 1971 when the British withdrew their troops from Singapore. He subsequently worked as a welder at Pulau Bukom
, a line technician at an electronics firm, National Semiconductor, and an audio-visual/graphic technician at the Colombo Plan Staff College
for Technician Education.
In his working life, he had never stopped painting. In 1974, Ong got his first opportunity to present his watercolor artworks at a group show with artists Wan Soon Kam and Tan Jeuy Lee at the Meyer Gallery, organized by gallery owner and arts patron Della Butcher
.
When the College relocated to Manila
in 1986, Ong decided to become a full-time professional artist in spite of having to care for an elderly mother,and being married with a wife and 3 children on tow.
. As a realist
painter, his works focus on inanimate objects, architectural form, masonry, foliage and landscape. His style is "naturalist cum impressionistic", which is " a combination of post-impressionist colour and the outlook of the American realist masters". He has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in the past three decades, had his works published by local and international publishers, and appeared on local arts television programmes.
In 1993 his work, 'Bhaktaphur' was the first Singapore watercolour painting to be auctioned by Sotheby's in Hong Kong
. In March 1994, his work, 'Bali' was auctioned by Christie's in Singapore. His works are now auctioned annually in Singapore and in the region.
Ong's works have appeared in eight books by publishers in America and China. He was Founding Editor-South East Asia for International Artist and an article on his works appeared in the first issue of the magazine in June 1998. His artwork can be find in the Singapore Art Museum
, Neka Museum in Bali, Maritime Museum In Sentosa and the Hawk Gallery in Oregon
, USA.
, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China and the Secretary-General of the United Nations among other notable people.
in September 2005.
; the Paul B. Remmy Memorial Award in 1983, the Lucy B. Moore Award in 1988, the Clara Stroud Memorial Award in 1989 and the Barse Miller Memorial Award in 1992, Winsor & Newton Award in 2000 and the Ida Wells Memorial Award in 2001. He has been an active member of the society since 1990 and was the first Asian outside the USA to be awarded membership. After having won five of its awards, Kim Seng was made a Dolphin Fellow of the AWS in 2000.
In 1999, he was awarded the Cultural Medallion
for visual arts by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He was conferred as Dolphin Fellowship in 2000. He won the Excellence for Singapore Award presented by the Singapore Totaliser Board in 2000. He was also awarded the Singapore Internationale by the Singapore International Foundation
in 2001. His most recent award is the 2001 Arts Supporter Award presented by the National Arts Council.
He has also received many other less significant awards. They include:
.
He was also President of the Singapore Watercolour Society from 1991 to 2001 when he became Honorary President, in which that capacity, he interacted with other watercolor organizations in the other parts of the world.
Ong Kim Seng was the Organizing Chairman of Asian Watercolours '97, the first international watercolor exhibition to be held in Singapore. He was also the vice-chairman of Singapore Art '97. He has been an Art Advisor to the National Arts Council since 1998 and is a life Fellow of the National University of Singapore
's Centre of the Arts.
An ardent trekker, Ong has visited the Tianshan
region of Sinkiang in China
, the Nepalese Himalayas
and the Tibetan Plateau
many times to paint and to trek.
As an artist himself, he is an avid fan of paintings. His collectors include Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, President of the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the President of the Republic of the Philippines; the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of India; the Governor of Hokkaido; Singapore Arts Museum; Singapore, Maritime Museum,, the Agung Rai Museum and Neka Museum in Bali, Indonesia ; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, Foreign Missions and Embassies of the Republic of Singapore.
Ong is married with three children. His wife is Nam Ah Moy.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and in the United States, China, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Federal Republic Of Germany, France, Middle East, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the ASEAN countries.
Ong is the first and only Singaporean
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to have won six awards by the prestigious 138-year-old American Watercolor Society (AWS), of which he was conferred membership in 1992. He is also the only Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
artist outside the USA to be admitted into AWS.
Early life
An only child, Ong grew up in a kampung in Tiong Bahru under the care of his mother, Goh Choon Hoon. His father had died in 1952 when he was still young. To support the family, his mother worked as a washerwoman and grass cutter to put her son through school. Ong studied at Radin Mas Primary School in 1959 and later on at Pasir Panjang Secondary School. Ong had shown an interest in art since he was young but his mother had envisioned him becoming either a clerk or teacher with his education, than to have the ludicrous thought of becoming an artist. He began experimenting with painting, beginning with pastels and oil and moving onto watercolour painting in earnest since 1960. He then became a regular participant in a painting group at the Singapore RiverSingapore River
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...
led by an artist, writer and lecturer Chia Wai Hon.
Ong left school in 1962 and after that joined an advertising agency where he worked as a bill collector. He left the agency after four years and found his next job as a policeman at the British Naval Base in Sembawang
Sembawang
Sembawang is an area in the Northern-most portion of Singapore, encompassing the largest land mass within the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency. The incumbent Member of Parliament for the Sembawang Constituency is Khaw Boon Wan. The constituency jurisdiction extends into the Woodlands...
. He lost his job in 1971 when the British withdrew their troops from Singapore. He subsequently worked as a welder at Pulau Bukom
Pulau Bukom
Pulau Bukom, also known as Pulau Bukum, is a small island located about five kilometres to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The size of Pulau Bukom is about 1.45 km²....
, a line technician at an electronics firm, National Semiconductor, and an audio-visual/graphic technician at the Colombo Plan Staff College
Colombo Plan Staff College
The Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education is a regional inter-governmental organization in Asia Pacific region mandated to enhan and Vocational Education and Training in its member countries....
for Technician Education.
In his working life, he had never stopped painting. In 1974, Ong got his first opportunity to present his watercolor artworks at a group show with artists Wan Soon Kam and Tan Jeuy Lee at the Meyer Gallery, organized by gallery owner and arts patron Della Butcher
Della Butcher
Della Butcher was an art gallery owner and an avid patron of Singapore art, noted for her lifetime of work supporting Singaporean artists and making it an international name....
.
When the College relocated to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in 1986, Ong decided to become a full-time professional artist in spite of having to care for an elderly mother,and being married with a wife and 3 children on tow.
Ong and His Art
Ong is a self-taught artist, who never had any formal art trainingTraining
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
. As a realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
painter, his works focus on inanimate objects, architectural form, masonry, foliage and landscape. His style is "naturalist cum impressionistic", which is " a combination of post-impressionist colour and the outlook of the American realist masters". He has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in the past three decades, had his works published by local and international publishers, and appeared on local arts television programmes.
In 1993 his work, 'Bhaktaphur' was the first Singapore watercolour painting to be auctioned by Sotheby's in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. In March 1994, his work, 'Bali' was auctioned by Christie's in Singapore. His works are now auctioned annually in Singapore and in the region.
Ong's works have appeared in eight books by publishers in America and China. He was Founding Editor-South East Asia for International Artist and an article on his works appeared in the first issue of the magazine in June 1998. His artwork can be find in the Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
, Neka Museum in Bali, Maritime Museum In Sentosa and the Hawk Gallery in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, USA.
The Art of Ong Kim Seng
The Art of Ong Kim Seng was Ong's first solo exhibition. It took place in ElleSix Gallery, Malaysia, and showcased about 30 of his works in his first Malaysian solo exhibition. It showcased his most memorable paintings that have spanned over 36 years of his career as an artist and traveller. His collectors include Queen Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China and the Secretary-General of the United Nations among other notable people.
Moments of Light
Moments of Light was Ong's second solo exhibition, and showcased his works in monotypes, lithographs, paper pulp paintings and watercolours. It took from the 29 September - 14 November 2004 at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute.Timeless Jiangnan
Timeless Jiangnan was a joint exhibition between Ong and photographer Kwek Leng Joo. It was held at the Singapore Conference HallSingapore Conference Hall
Singapore Conference Hall is a multi-purpose building located in the heart of the financial district of Shenton Way in Downtown Core of Singapore. The first building to be constructed along Shenton Way, it was a place for conferences and exhibitions in the 1960s and 1970s...
in September 2005.
Awards
Ong has won six awards from the American Watercolor SocietyAmerican Watercolor Society
The American Watercolor Society is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. It was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and, originally, was known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors...
; the Paul B. Remmy Memorial Award in 1983, the Lucy B. Moore Award in 1988, the Clara Stroud Memorial Award in 1989 and the Barse Miller Memorial Award in 1992, Winsor & Newton Award in 2000 and the Ida Wells Memorial Award in 2001. He has been an active member of the society since 1990 and was the first Asian outside the USA to be awarded membership. After having won five of its awards, Kim Seng was made a Dolphin Fellow of the AWS in 2000.
In 1999, he was awarded the Cultural Medallion
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a Singapore cultural award conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film....
for visual arts by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He was conferred as Dolphin Fellowship in 2000. He won the Excellence for Singapore Award presented by the Singapore Totaliser Board in 2000. He was also awarded the Singapore Internationale by the Singapore International Foundation
Singapore International Foundation
The Singapore International Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to build a better world through shared ideas, skills and experiences, so as to uplift lives and create greater understanding between Singaporeans and world communities....
in 2001. His most recent award is the 2001 Arts Supporter Award presented by the National Arts Council.
He has also received many other less significant awards. They include:
- 1992 - Base Miller Memorial Award
- 1995 - Pingat Apad
- 2000 - Winsor & Newton Award
- 2000 - Excellence for Singapore Award
Societies
Ong is a signature member of the AWS, and has had his own work selected for the NWS's exhibition in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
He was also President of the Singapore Watercolour Society from 1991 to 2001 when he became Honorary President, in which that capacity, he interacted with other watercolor organizations in the other parts of the world.
Ong Kim Seng was the Organizing Chairman of Asian Watercolours '97, the first international watercolor exhibition to be held in Singapore. He was also the vice-chairman of Singapore Art '97. He has been an Art Advisor to the National Arts Council since 1998 and is a life Fellow of the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
's Centre of the Arts.
Private life
Ong's interests include traveling, trekking, jogging, swimming and cycling. He enjoys meeting people and discovering their way of life. He has gone on traveling-cum-painting expeditions in the past, while "recording vanishing ways of life of exotic places" in his paintingsAn ardent trekker, Ong has visited the Tianshan
Tianshan
Tianshan may refer to:*Tian Shan, a mountain range in Central Asia*Tianshan District, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China*Tianshan Subdistrict, Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China*Tianshan Town, Ar Horqin Banner, in Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, China...
region of Sinkiang in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Nepalese Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
many times to paint and to trek.
As an artist himself, he is an avid fan of paintings. His collectors include Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic Of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, President of the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the President of the Republic of the Philippines; the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of India; the Governor of Hokkaido; Singapore Arts Museum; Singapore, Maritime Museum,, the Agung Rai Museum and Neka Museum in Bali, Indonesia ; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, Foreign Missions and Embassies of the Republic of Singapore.
Ong is married with three children. His wife is Nam Ah Moy.
External links
- Ong Kim Seng - official website
- Singapore Watercolour Society - profile of Ong Kim Seng