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Tan Swie Hian () is a Singaporean multidisciplinary artist known for his contemporary
Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...
,
Chinese poetry Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernacular forms of the language, its poetry ...
and
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
s found in Singapore and many parts of the world.


Early life

Born in Indonesia, Tan migrated to Singapore circa 1946. He grew up with a fluency in Chinese and Malay, and went on to study English and French at
Nanyang University Nanyang University (, also known as Nantah (), was a university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the Univer ...
. He began his career as a press attaché for the French Embassy in Singapore, after graduating with a degree in English literature from the university. While working as an attaché, he continued pursuing his passion for art. His first foray into the Singapore arts scene was with his first collection of poetry writings titled ''The Giant'' in 1968 and held his first art exhibition at the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...
on
Stamford Road Stamford Road (Chinese: 史丹福路; ms, Jalan Stamford) is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raff ...
in 1973. He also converted his faith to
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
that year; his newfound spiritual experience outweighed his passion for the arts that made him give up painting for the next four years. It was only when the then–French Embassy cultural attaché Michel Deverge threatened to end their friendship if he did not pursue his art again, that Tan resume painting. Deverge went on to organize a successful exhibition of Tan's new creations at the Paul Gauguin Museum in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
. After 24 years with the embassy, Tan left his position to pursue art full-time.


Writing

Since his first poetry collection ''The Giant'' in 1968, Tan has authored 35 publications of poetry, essays and stories. In 1978, Tan was conferred with France's ''Chevalier'' of the ''
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
'' for his initiatory Chinese translations of works by
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...
and Romanian writer Marin Sorescu. In 1987, he was awarded the
Cultural Medallion The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award. Histo ...
in Singapore. In 1998, he won the Marin Sorescu International Poetry Prize in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.


Painting

Tan has been recognised as Singapore's most expensive artist after he sold his oil-and-acrylic painting, ''When the Moon Is Orbed'', for approximately S$3.7m at an auction in Beijing in 2012. In October 2014, Tan completed a painting of former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
and his late wife
Kwa Geok Choo Kwa Geok Choo (; 21 December 1920 – 2 October 2010) was a Singaporean lawyer. She was the wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the mother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. She was also the co-founder and partner of l ...
entitled ''A Couple''. The painting, which took Tan five years to complete, was partially damaged by a fire in 2013. It depicts Lee and Kwa in their youth, is based on a 1946 black-and-white photograph of the couple in the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, and incorporates in its background Tan's poem written in memory of Kwa. Tan said, "I've always felt
adam Kwa Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...
was a great woman who, despite her intelligence and capability, was also a humble and dedicated wife." ''A Couple'' was purchased by art collector Wu Hsioh Kwang.


Controversy

In 2012, Chinese-language novelist
Yeng Pway Ngon Yeng Pway Ngon (; 26 January 194710 January 2021) was a Singaporean poet, novelist and critic in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A prolific writer, Yeng's works have been translated into English, ...
was ordered to pay $10,000 in damages and $20,000 in costs to Tan. Tan had accused Yeng of libelling him in a 2005 letter which the latter had sent to ''
The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...
'' and the National Arts Council.


References


External links


50th Venice Biennial, 2003




{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Swie Hian 1943 births Living people 20th-century Singaporean writers 21st-century Singaporean writers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Converts to Buddhism Hwa Chong Institution alumni Indonesian people of Chinese descent Nanyang University alumni Recipients of the Cultural Medallion for art Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang Singaporean artists Singaporean ink painters Singaporean male writers Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean poets Singaporean short story writers