As We See It – Harmony in Parts
Discover how everyday subjects transform into compelling works of art through careful and considered composition.
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements in an artwork, whether paintings or photographs, even sculpture and installation art. It reflects the deliberate choices an artist makes that guide our perception and understanding of the subject.
By observing how elements in a composition are arranged and relate to one another, we may experience the artwork as the artist intended.
You’re reading an adaptation of our booklet, The Honest Guide to Seeing Art, part 1. Pick up your free physical copy at the Gallery!
Did you know?
Georgette Chen experimented with different composition techniques to present ordinary objects in new ways.
Georgette Chen. Self Portrait. c. 1934. Oil on canvas, 35 x 27 cm. Gift of Lee Foundation. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Artworks in the Gallery
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East Coast Vendor
Georgette Chen, 1960
This painting transposes Chen’s mastery and skill in portrait painting into an outdoor landscape, and was painted during a trip she made to the East Coast of Malaysia in 1960. The scene encapsulates Chen’s favoured theme of the mother and child and expresses the warmth of familial bonds. Her detailed patterning of batik clothes and headscarves reference their tropical locale and Chen’s appreciation of material culture.
Georgette Chen. East Coast Vendor. 1960. Oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
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Singapore Waterfront
Georgette Chen, 1963
c. 1963.
Oil on canvas.
Gift of Lee Foundation.
Collection of National Gallery Singapore
