About the artwork
Lim Tze Peng refines the traditional Chinese ink painting, illuminating components of ancient Chinese scripts in this artwork, where the letters can be referenced to “oracle bones” used in divinations in olden times. The title 小自在, meaning “little freedom”, suggests the unrestrained, freeing sense of comfort one can find in tradition amidst a modern world. The compositional and textural play emotes with a compelling force, resembling ancient stone rubbings that Lim reveres greatly, and the artwork embodies, in its richness, both the historical depth and the present-day relevance of Lim’s artistry.
About the artist
Born in Singapore in 1921, Lim Tze Peng is one of Singapore’s most significant artists and a living legend. Renowned for his Chinese ink creations of post-independence Singapore, he also practices Chinese calligraphy. Alongside local and international exhibitions, his masterpieces are exhibited in prominent Singapore institutions and part of many prestigious collections. Lim has been bestowed several awards including the Special Prize at the Commonwealth Art Exhibition in England in 1977 and the prestigious Cultural Medallion in Singapore in 2003. In May 2012, he broke records with the sale of his works at a Christies auction in Hong Kong.