Tan Kay Nguan

Tan Kay Nguyan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from RMIT University Australia and a Master of Arts from the University of Central England, UK. He has held 30 solo art exhibitions and participated in numerous group art exhibitions in Singapore, France, Japan, UK, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia.

He has also won several awards including the Grand Prize in the UOB Painting of the Year (Singapore), 1st Prize in the Dr. Tan Tze Chor Art Awards - Singapore, 1st Prize in the CAAS Painting Competition - Singapore, Japan Osaka Mayer Award and the Beijing International Art Exposition Gold Prize Award. His paintings are widely collected by government bodies and art collectors worldwide.

Tan’s unique works are full of character as he is able to express the profound concept of Chinese painting while utilizing a Western oil medium. In all his oil paintings, he explores the symbolic and natural beauty of the crane in all its wisdom, grace and vitality. The joyous and unfettered flow of colour application arouses the beholder’s appreciation for nature. Under this method of painting, the beholder is led to imagine the transformation of colours to light, light to matter and matter to melody.

Cranes represent longevity, eternal youth, vitality and purity in Asian cultures such as Japan and China; where myths purport that cranes live for a thousand years. Folded paper origami cranes are believed to be a harbinger of peace and are often placed at memorials. Folded cranes are also popular for wishes of good health and are given as gifts to people who have fallen ill. If there is something that your heart yearns to come true, you could fold 1,000 paper cranes as an earnest demonstration of your faith and dedication for your dreams to be realized. Cranes are also auspicious for weddings, with a pair of cranes symbolizing a long marriage. In many cultures cranes stand for fidelity as they mate for life and share the parental responsibilities to construct their nest and care for their young.

Tan’s bold strokes of jewel green undertones serve like the percussion in an orchestra; or the rhythm underlying a music score, while the birds are akin to the notes in a musical piece that form the soaring melody. In some of his pieces, the cranes seem to be gathered in festivities; roosting together in a symbol of strong unison and family reunion. Tan often features the cranes poised majestically in mid-flight, seemingly dancing in a joyous celebration of life. This posturing of the cranes flying upwards towards the sky also connotes a rise in status.

Tan’s works have evolved, as he explores different palettes; moving from cooler hues of linen-white to the warm hues of floral pinks and lime greens. His works have always excelled technically, but his pieces have grown increasingly dynamic and fluid. The cranes now seem to leap off the canvas in a stronger affirmative of sheer exhilaration, while the spaces are less defined and pulse with an intense, hypnotic energy. The works engage the viewer as a witness enthralled by this jubilant dance.