Tan Choh Tee 陈楚智
Singapore River, oil on canvas, 92x63cm, 1979
Nude, oil on canvas, 59x44cm, 2008
Little India, oil on canvas, 50x40cm, 2017
Tan Choh Tee takes inspiration from the atmosphere of his sites and aspires to immerse the audience in the same experience. The eastern and western influences in his painting techniques are evident as he depicts natural landscapes with impressionist strokes. In 1984, Tan taught at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and attended a masterclass at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. In 2006, Tan Choh Tee won the Cultural Medallion Award for visual arts for his contributions and achievements in the art field.
Tan has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in over 50 group exhibitions in Russia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia. His works have been acquired by prestigious international auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Tan Choh Tee is a prominent artist known for his impressionist-style oil paintings depicting still life and landscapes from a bygone era in Singapore’s history. Tan was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 2006.
Tan was born in China but immigrated to Singapore in 1953 when he was 12. After arriving in Singapore, Tan helped at his father’s jewellery shop in South Bridge Road. After five years of working in his father’s shop, Tan decided he had no interest in the business and wanted to paint. In 1958, he enrolled on the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and studied under established Nanyang artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng, Georgette Chen, Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi.
After he graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1962, Tan continued painting and was a designer with McGraw-Hill Inc. between 1963 and 1976, before becoming a full-time artist in 1976. He later graduated from the Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts and went on study tours all over Europe, USA and China.