Tan Seow Wei
"Not unlike the fortune teller who interprets one's fate by reading lines of the palm or the detective who deciphers the identity of a person through the lines of the finger print, I see the body as a fascinating network of lines and marks, not just as mere outlines but also contours, creases and folds."
Biography
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Born in 1979, Singapore
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Bachelor degree in Arts & Social Sciences in National University of Singapore in 2001
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Recipient of the Tan Tsze Chor Art Award (Distinction) in 2003
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Awarded the Georgette Chen Scholarship in 2005, 2006
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Recipient of the Winston Oh Travel Award in LASALLE College of the Arts in 2007
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Bachelor of Art (Hons.) in Painting in LASALLE College of the Arts in 2008
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Recipient of the Siaw-Tao Outstanding Art Award in 2014
Group Exhibition
2018 BON á TIRER: Original Prints by Chen Shitong, April Ng, Tan Seow Wei & Zhang Fuming, AC43 Gallery, Singapore
48th Anniversary Exhibition, Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society, Singapore
《我们做版画》, Grassroots Book Room, Singapore
Beckoning of the Breeze, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore
Dark Moments Naked Dog, Artsembly, Singapore
The Diasporic Brush – Modern Singaporean Art, Wolfson College (University of Cambridge), England
Spring Edition I, Artsembly, Singapore
2017 Clay/Print, Artsembly, Singapore
Singapore-Japan Chinese Ink Painting Exchange Exhibition, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore
Impressions, Oriental Art and Cultural Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
‘16-17 Ini mini mini mo, Visual Arts Centre, Singapore
‘13-17 Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal-Carving Calligraphy & Painting Society Annual Exhibition, Ngee Ann Cultural Centre,
Singapore
2015 Run. Ran. Run. Instinc Gallery, Singapore
2011 inFORMATION, Substation Gallery, Singapore
2010 1xSuitcase’, Meta House, Cambodia
1xSuitcase’, Xi’an Textile City Art District Exhibition Center, China
2009 1xSuitcase’, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1xSuitcase’, Chiang Mai University Art Centre, Thailand
Eniminiminimos, Esplanade Jendela, Singapore
Air Conditioned Recession: A Singapore Survey, VWFA, Singapore
Intrinsic, Esplanade Jendela, Singapore
1x Suitcase, Alliance Francaise, Singapore
2008 Website Launch of Singapore Contemporary Artists, Sculpture Square, Singapore
Go Figure, Fost Gallery, Singapore
LASALLE Degree Show 08, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
At One @ Project Space, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
2007 Travelogue Practice, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Because it’s Happy Chaos, Esplanade Tunnel, Singapore
Fibre & Form, Eagle’s Dream Contemporary Works, Singapore
In Transitu: asmuchforyouasitisforus, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Out-of-Print @ Project Space, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
2006 First Lady on the Moon, La Libreria, Singapore
2005 Shower @ Hideout, Singapore
Groundwork V--Balik Kampung, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
‘02-03 Dr. Tan Tsze Chor Art Award Exhibition, Singapore
The human body in particular is an object of intense study for Tan Seow Wei. Not unlike the fortune teller who interprets one’s fate by reading lines of the palm or the detective who deciphers the identity of a person through the lines of the finger print, the artist sees the body as a fascinating network of lines and marks, not just as mere outlines but also contours, creases and folds. Though often curvaceous, the line quality of a human body presents itself in ways much more than that; strong or frail, thick or thin, continuous or broken. More importantly, whatever the lines are, they provide alternatives to reading the human body and also subtle hints to understanding the person.
