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About the artwork
Lim Tze Peng captures the scene of a shop adorned with numerous brilliantly coloured lanterns, in which a patron is shown to be making a purchase from the shopkeeper. Lim uses a limited colour palette in this work, with much of the composition painted reddish-brown, which serves to imbue the scene depicted with a sense of nostalgia. The vivid red and yellow generates a sense of energy and excitement reflective of the festive season, while the cool-toned blue of the figures’ clothing offers a visual contrast and respite from the largely monochromatic colour scheme. Lim uses bold brushstrokes to define the elements of the composition, and his artistic skill clearly highlights the beauty found in everyday scenes of old Singapore.
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.