National Gallery Singapore celebrates Chua Mia Tee with artist's first museum exhibition since 1992

National Gallery Singapore presents Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real, which spotlights Chua Mia Tee (蔡名智) (b. 1931), one of the leading realist artists in Singapore’s art history. Taking inspiration from the artist’s quote on how “the painter assumes the role of screenwriter, director and actor to freely shape the subject’s image”, the exhibition offers audiences an insight into Chua’s distinct view on realism that goes beyond the mere representation of reality. Chua’s purposeful direction of images takes centre stage in the show, compelling visitors to appreciate his critical contributions and enduring influence on Singapore’s artistic landscape. Opening on 26 November, Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real showcases his masterfully painted works that depict vivid scenes and portraits of life and people of Singapore during its transformative years from the 1950s – 1980s. The exhibition also marks the artist’s first solo institutional exhibition since 1992, a fitting tribute that aptly coincides with his 90th birthday on 25 November.

Spanning four decades of Chua’s artistic practice, the exhibition features over 50 works alongside archival materials, filmic recordings, and quotes from the artist’s writings, offering deeper insights into Chua’s artistic philosophies. Audiences are invited to discover how his paintings of life in Singapore went beyond realist depictions, reflecting his intentional direction of the image to bring out the “truths” that engage and move the audience. Focusing on works from the 1950s – 1980s, Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real also sheds light on a period where Chua’s artistic growth runs parallel to the development and transformation of Singapore as a nation in its early years. Through his vivid depictions of the country and its inhabitants in this period, the exhibition examines the social tensions across different segments of society as the young nation was laying the foundations for progress and development.

Although he is widely recognised as a realist painter, Chua is also a skilled sculptor, creating busts of his kin, artists, and key local figures. His keen ability to bring his subjects to life and his diverse body of work—from landscapes to figure painting, everyday life and the community, paintings and sketches to sculptural busts—is a reflection of the people, life and societal changes in Singapore, as well as the tensions in the nation’s changing landscape the artist himself lived through.

From his days as a young artist, Chua Mia Tee helped champion the growth of Singapore’s visual arts scene as the visual arts instructor for the Singapore Chinese High Schools’ Graduates of 1953 Arts Research Group and as one of the founding members of the Equator Art Society, a group that consisted of artists who were primarily concerned with depicting social conditions and the masses, especially the labouring class. While he was a student at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, he served as a student-teacher and continued teaching after he graduated. His invaluable contributions to Singapore’s art and history earned him the Cultural Medallion in 2015.

Dr. Eugene Tan, Director of National Gallery Singapore says, “National Gallery Singapore is honoured to hold Chua Mia Tee’s first solo museum exhibition in nearly 30 years. As an artist, educator and active member of the historically influential Equator Art Society, Chua is an influential figure in Singapore’s art history and landscape who has made nationally significant artistic contributions throughout his distinguished career. We hope that as the Gallery continues to spotlight the practice of critical local artists, such as Chua Mia Tee, greater appreciation for their legacy and greater interest in local and regional art will be cultivated among our audiences.”  

Masterly directions of the real: Exhibition highlights

The exhibition is divided into three main sections, each spotlighting a critical aspect of Chua’s practice and life in Singapore in the 1950s – 1980s.
 

Point of View: A Search for the Real

Zooming in on his role in Singapore’s art history, the first section, Point of View: A Search for the Real, introduces viewers to artworks which capture local communities through the lens of Chua’s personal experiences and, just as importantly, his principles. Largely focused on his works in the 1950s in post-World War II Singapore and Malaya, the section seeks to showcase Chua’s approach in directing his artworks to represent the narratives and voices of the people. Instead of leveraging on art to convey “ideal” values to the people, Chua championed the need for artists to draw from personal experience and depict familiar aspects of society to create meaningful works that resonated with the public. This section features some of his most celebrated works, such as Epic Poem of Malaya, National Language Class, and sculptural busts. Shedding more light on Chua’s activities with the Equator Art Society, this section also features artworks that were shown at the first Equator Art Society exhibition in 1958, and archival materials of the art group, including films of the group’s exhibitions, bonding activities, and publications.
 

Characters: In Focus and in Action

The second section features realist portraits by Chua, who seeks to capture the essence and characteristics of his subjects, carefully deciding which features to represent in detail, which to omit, and which to apply with broad strokes. These paintings capture Singapore’s past years through the faces of everyday people such as those in the working class and the labouring masses, like boatmen and workers at a shipyard, whom he held in particularly high esteem. Chua was also commissioned to paint and sketch portraits of key local figures which became a key part of his artistic practice through the decades. Visitors can look forward to the rare opportunity of viewing a selection of commissioned portraits of Singapore’s leaders, including Lim Kim San and President Yusof bin Ishak.
 

Setting: Vanishing World, Growing Nation

From the 1970s to 1980s, Chua was keenly aware of the fast-changing life and landscapes of his growing nation and the urban setting became a central theme in several of his paintings as he sought to document the Singapore that he knew. The exhibition’s third and final section spotlights these paintings and sketches, which were carefully constructed to capture the ambience and atmosphere of the scenes he was familiar with. Chua distinctively captures vanishing trades and evolving places at the time for posterity, such as Singapore’s portable cinemas of yesterday and old Chinatown where he used to live. To contrast these scenic remnants of Singapore’s past, the exhibition also displays large paintings of the country’s urban landscapes, which contemporary audiences will recognise today.

Visitors interested in diving deeper into Chua Mia Tee’s practice, artworks and contributions to Singapore’s art history may access audio guides available in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, and attend complementary tours and programmes. Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real will be on show at the Level 4 Gallery from 26 November 2021 to 20 November 2022.

General Admission (free for Singaporeans and PRs) applies for Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real. Please refer to the Annexes (available in the downloadable PDF version of this release) for the artist's biography, along with a selection of highlight works. For more information, please visit nationalgallery.sg/directingthereal for the latest updates on the exhibition. Media assets can be accessed via this link.

Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real is made possible with the support of our Strategic Partner Cultural Matching Fund, and Exhibition Patron Lim & Tan Securities Pte Ltd.