artcommune and AC43 Gallery are pleased to present The Story of Two Presses, which delves into the little-known history and collaborative culture of contemporary printmaking in Singapore. Featuring works by Chen Cheng Mei, Chng Seok Tin, Chen Shitong, Chiew Sien Kuan, Chua Chon Hee, Ho E Moi, Nhawfal Juma’at, Nyan Soe, Oh Chai Hoo and Tan Sock Fong, this multi-generational showcase centres on the developments of two specific printmaking workshops helmed by local artists in Singapore - the LASALLE Printing Workshop (in LASALLE College of the Arts) led by Chen Cheng Mei and Chng Seok Tin between the mid-1980s and 1990s, and Pulp Editions founded by Chen Shitong in 2017.
Though operating over 30 years apart, both printers embody the fervent ground-up initiative of local artists whose passion and sacrifices became instrumental in developing the contemporary printmaking scene in Singapore. The Story of Two Presses presents around 30 fine art prints spanning the period of 1980s to 2022, with almost all being produced in these two workshops.
Celebration of Chng Seok Tin’s birthday, circa 1992.
Artists Ho E Moi, Chen Cheng Mei, and Chng Seok Tin (from left to right in the foreground) with students at the LASALLE Printing Workshop in Telok Kurau. Photograph courtesy of Dahlia Osman (2nd from right in the background), student of Chng Seok Tin.
More often than not, a series of small, thoughtful gestures from one or two individuals is all it takes to set forth a course of meaningful developments for an entire community. In 1985, the dedication of Brother Joseph McNally, who founded LASALLE College of the Arts in 1984, was met with an equal measure of selflessness from artist Chen Cheng Mei, who readily helped facilitate the inception of the school’s printmaking department by placing her own newly imported English etching press and print materials in the school’s printing workshop for all students and interested artists to use.
Chen Cheng Mei (b. 1927, Singapore - d. 2020, Singapore) herself was primarily an oil painter who had trained at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1949-54). While visiting Paris in 1980, she hung out at the renowned Atelier 17 printer owned by Stanley William Hayter and was determined to experiment further with press techniques. This prompted her purchase of an expensive English etching press in 1985 for her personal use. In the early years of the newly-opened LASALLE, Brother McNally had had to contend with limited funds and resources, and Chen Cheng Mei’s generous gestures had allowed the school to run its printmaking department with verve and aptitude. Her informal gifting of the etching press and materials enabled LASALLE to hire Chng Seok Tin (b. 1946, Singapore - d. 2019, Singapore), who had just returned to Singapore after many years of training and experimenting with print techniques in the US, to helm the department in 1985. In the late 80s, Chen Cheng Mei also added an imported German lithograph press to the workshop. Over the years, she continued to donate many print materials including paper, imported plates and acids to the workshop.
As a teacher and mentor, Chng Seok Tin was instrumental in fostering the first of print majors amongst art students in Singapore. For up until the late 80s, printmaking was offered only as an exposure module at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the lessons focused more on woodcut and silkscreen printing. LASALLE was effectively the first art school in Singapore to offer a degree majoring in Print, encouraging a more specialised interest in etching and lithography.
Between 1985 and up till the 2000s, Chen Cheng Mei, Chng Seok Tin and Ho E Moi (also Chen’s sister-in-law) worked often at the LASALLE Printing Workshop to produce their own etchings and lithographs. Several students and graduates from LASALLE who were active members of the Contemporary Printmaking Association, Singapore, such as Tan Sock Fong (b. 1966, Singapore, who was amongst LASALLE’s first batch of print majors), also produced many of their works here. In an informal and organic manner, the LASALLE printing workshop functioned as a fecund space where artists of different backgrounds and styles came together to learn and transfer knowledge, bonded by a common interest to pursue contemporary printmaking as an avenue of expression.
The Story of Two Presses aims to celebrate this uniqueness and spirit embodied by the LASALLE printing workshop with a selection of prints completed by Chen Cheng Mei, Chng Seok Tin, Ho E Moi and Tan Sock Fong in this very space.
Dominic Thian
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Born 1996 in Singapore
Dominic Thian is a young Singapore artist who specialises in still life, portrait and landscape paintings. Combining classic figurative techniques with a modern sensibility, he creates realistic and intricate depictions of scenes and objects that move the viewer with a profound, timeless beauty.
Dominic was drawn to the arts since young and had spent much of his spare time drawing and cultivating his interest in the discipline. In 2018, after majoring for a year in Architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Dominic decided to follow his passion for painting and make the bold decision to cease his studies at the university. He subsequently travelled to the United States to enrol at the Grand Central Atelier (GCA), New York. There he studied under internationally-acclaimed artist Colleen Barry and other distinguished contemporary New York City artists, and underwent an intensive curriculum of drawing and painting the figure from life. He also spent his time between classes visiting the rich and vast collections of New England museums, studying and learning from the numerous Old Master paintings held outside of Asia.
After completing his training at the renowned American art institution in 2020, Dominic returned to Singapore and began to anchor himself at the forefront of Singapore’s figure drawing scene. Apart from painting full-time, he is active as an art teacher and has organised workshops and community-driven figure and portrait drawing sessions.
In 2022, Dominic was a Finalist in the 16th ARC International Salon Competition. In the same year, his self portrait painting was shortlisted as part of an international selection of works chosen by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ Annual Exhibition in honour of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Most recently, his painting was awarded ‘Best in Show’ in the 2023 Small Matter Art Prize.
Education
2019-20 Painting Year, Grand Central Atelier, New York City, USA
2018-19 Drawing Year, Grand Central Atelier, New York City, USA
2017-18 School of Architecture, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Awards
2023 Best in Show, Small Matter Art Prize, Singapore
2022 Finalist at the 16th International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition
2019 GCA Scholarship for Excellence in Structural Drawing
2018-19 Recipient of the David S. Boger Patron Scholarship Fund
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Anthologies Unearthed: Still Lifes by Dominic Thian, AC43 Gallery, Singapore
Exhibitions
2023 Beyond and Back, The Arts House, Singapore
Small Matter, Maya Gallery, Singapore
2022 Affordable Art Fair Singapore, Art Galleries Association of Singapore, Singapore
Drawings From Life, Salmagundi Club NYC, United States
Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries London, United Kingdom
2021 Dominic Thian: An Introduction, AC43 Gallery, Singapore
2019 In Situ: Up & Coming Artists from the GCA, USA
