Lim Tze Peng

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About the artwork

Lim Tze Peng’s Street Market is a striking black-and-white Chinese ink painting offering a rare aerial view of old Chinatown, Singapore. Done around 2012, he deliberately left the canopies uncoloured. His artistic style goes through a drastic change every 6 years and around this time he was exploring purely black and white strokes. From afar, its expressive brushstrokes create an abstract, almost chaotic composition, but up close, intricate details emerge—bustling street stalls, lively vendors, and crowds weaving through narrow lanes. Blending traditional ink techniques with a modern, semi-abstract approach, the artwork captures the energy and nostalgia of a bygone era, preserving the spirit of Chinatown before its transformation.

About the artist

Born in Singapore in 1921, Lim Tze Peng is one of Singapore’s most significant artists and a living legend. Renowned for his Chinese ink creations of post-independence Singapore, he also practices Chinese calligraphy. Alongside local and international exhibitions, his masterpieces are exhibited in prominent Singapore institutions and part of many prestigious collections. Lim has been bestowed several awards including the Special Prize at the Commonwealth Art Exhibition in England in 1977 and the prestigious Cultural Medallion in Singapore in 2003. In May 2012, he broke records with the sale of his works at a Christies auction in Hong Kong.