Movement and Music in Stillness

 

The Guest-of-Honour, the Malaysian Ambassador to Singapore, H.E. Dato' N. Parameswaran, giving his opening speech

 

With my best friend, Amu, with Rainbow Rhapsody and Family Harmony in the background

 

With my niece, Yann and Amu

 

Another lovely art piece - Beauty of Age

God makes us unique. Even though eldest brother is a talented artist, yet I could not even draw a dog or a tea pot! Even though we have the same blood running through us, we are as different as the north and south pole.!

Hence, you can imagine my fear and terror of every art class throughout secondary school. I hated doing still life paintings, for somehow the object would become distorted and sometimes, somewhat grotesque! I could at least bluff my way around with subjects like, "The garden, forest and rivers".

However, I had to do a compulsory course in Arts at the University of Alberta, and I decided to take the course, "From Renaissance to Dada Period". I learnt to appreciate art as it should be appreciated. My favourite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. I learnt to appreciate still life, which somehow did not appear so still in his painting of "Sunflowers". Hence, it enhanced my appreciation of my own nephew-in-law, Yap Chin Hoe's works. Chin Hoe enjoys still life paintings, and his signature works are paintings of ceramics, Peranakan furniture and materials. As the reporter in Business Times has put it aptly, "There is movement in stillness".

Chin Hoe's recent solo art exhibition at Artfolio Gallery in Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade was a great success. No less than ten pieces were already snapped up even before the opening ceremony, with two being commissioned by collectors.

There was quite a huge turn out of guests at the opening ceremony. Just as the theme of the exhibition, "Serendipity" suggests, people have come together - some invited guests and some lucky ones who happened to be passing by and chanced upon the exhibition and fell in love with the paintings on the wall! Some Malaysians called Chin Hoe up after having seen his art catalogue, wanting to buy some of the pieces that had been exhibited!

Chin Hoe's art exhibition will be on from 6th to 16 September. Do drop by and enjoy the movement and music in stillness.