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.
Special Display by Ben Loong
in conjunction with Homecoming: Chen Wen Hsi Exhibition @ Kingsmead
12 April – 3 May 2019
Held in conjunction with the landmark exhibition, Homecoming: Chen Wen Hsi Exhibition @ Kingsmead, the special display by artist Ben Loong included five conceptual pieces crafted in response to the architecture and history of 5 Kingsmead Road, the former abode of pioneer master, Chen Wen Hsi. This body of site-specific work references Wen Hsi's mastery of balance, flow and form, and is subtly influenced by the motifs that take centrestage in his paintings. Tapping into the evolving physical environment and flow of energy of the space, Ben aims to reflect the simplicity and clarity of nature also embodied in Wen Hsi’s legacy.
Ben’s work draws inspiration from landforms and natural phenomena in an attempt to capture the fleeting moments in nature; marks on the surface are deliberate reiterations of textures observed in the physical environment. Additionally, the compositions are stripped of colour relations and instead uses textured surfaces to create light and shade to guide the eye.
On pillar adjacent to mural: Fissure, 2019, Resinated drywall plaster and gold leaf on wood, 80 x 60 cm
Artist Profile
Ben Loong (b. 1988, Singapore) explores themes central to the human condition, and actively documents it through the medium of painting and sculpture. His work draws inspiration from landforms and natural phenomena in an attempt to capture the ephemeral nature of existence; marks on the surface are deliberate iterations of textures observed in the physical environment over time. Additionally, his compositions are stripped of colour relations and instead uses textured surfaces to create light and shade to guide the eye.
Working primarily with gypsum plaster with the occasional inclusion of gold leaf, his work serves to engage with the industrial, inviting the viewer to question the value of our physical world. The use of plaster is also entwined in the artist's personal narrative, being his first experience with material manipulation after being taught by his father at age 6 to patch a hole in a wall at home. Ben has previously shown at Chan + Hori Contemporary, Singapore (2017), Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore (2017), Kult Gallery, Singapore (2015), Hart Lane Studios, London (2014) and Mori + Stein, London (2013). He was recently awarded a Highly Commended prize in the Established Artist Category for his installation work, The River, in the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year Competition.
Press
Ng, S.P. (2019, April 20). 陈文希故居展 展出龙凯祥白石膏画. Lianhe Zaobao [Singapore].
Left: Tidal I, 2019, Resinated drywall plaster and gold leaf on wood, 90 x 150 cm
Right: Tidal II, 2019, Resinated drywall plaster and gold leaf on wood, 90 x 150 cm
Visually, the long landscape format of Tidal I and Tidal II mimics the wall. The style of the painting is angular, less organic, and more abstract cubist in form like the mural, while keeping the composition of a tide consuming the canvas. The frames are extra thick so the painting exudes a substantial depth, which complements the heaviness of the concrete facade.