Arts Picks: Artist Wong Keen in two shows, The Theatre Practice’s food offerings at its tuckshop
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Wong Keen's The Nimble Elegance Of Pink, 2023, an acrylic on paper, and chef Michelle Lee, the latest chef-in-residence at The Theatre Practice’s Practice Tuckshop space.
PHOTOS: WONG KEEN, ASH KHAW
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Painter Wong Keen in two shows
Abstract expressionist painter Wong Keen is a busy man. The 81-year-old is showing both old and new works at two galleries.
Enchanted Forest, his solo show at The Culture Story, brings together works created during two periods – in 1968 and 2023 – when he says he was suffering from depression.
The early series features experimentation with paper and ink collages, made when he was a penniless artist struggling to survive in New York. These pieces, which have never been exhibited, show his process as a young artist, playing with textures and Chinese ink aesthetics.
The newer series of works are acrylic on paper and the easy medium is a good fit for Wong’s creative energy with swatches of vibrant colours and organic shapes erupting from the page.
His works are also part of an intriguing group show at Artspace@Helutrans, organised by artcommune gallery. White Clouds Drift Forever: Lim Tze Peng, Wong Keen & Zhuang Shengtao brings together about 100 works.
The three artists are rooted in Chinese art and literati traditions, and the show surveys the evolution of their practices from the 1950s to the present day.
While Lim is best known for his ink works, this show highlights his oil paintings. He was introduced to the medium by pioneer artists, such as Yeh Chi Wei and Liu Kang, when he was a student, and some pieces reflect the influence of these pioneers.
Untitled (Forest Path), for example, recalls the strong lines of Liu and classic Nanyang motifs with its kebaya-clad women and tropical foliage.
Untitled (Forest Path) is an oil painting by Lim Tze Peng, who is better known for his ink works.
PHOTO: LIM TZE PENG
Zhuang’s monochromatic ink works are very evidently rooted in Chinese calligraphy and ink practices, with their play on brush strokes, movement and saturation.
Zhuang Shengtao’s Blue shows his practice, which is rooted in Chinese calligraphy and ink.
PHOTO: ZHUANG SHENGTAO
Wong’s abstraction, set against the other two artists’, shows how Singapore artists have created their own varied styles, rooted in but distinct from China’s centuries-old artistic traditions.
Where: The Culture Story, 03-06 Thye Hong Centre, 2 Leng Kee Road theculturestory.co
MRT: Redhill
When: Till July 12, open house on June 1, 1 to 5pm; other days by appointment only
Admission: Free
Info:
Where: Artspace@Helutrans, 01-05, 39 Keppel Road artcommune.com.sg
MRT: Tanjong Pagar
When: June 1 to 23, noon to 7pm daily
Admission: Free
Info:
Kochabi Kitchen at Practice Tuckshop
What better way to reach food-mad Singaporeans than through their stomachs? That is the theory underlying The Theatre Practice’s food-driven activities that have developed into a full-blown suite of programmes at its Practice Tuckshop space. So there are pickling workshops teaching people how to cut food waste and use rescued vegetables, as well as a rotating chef in residence at Practice Tuckshop.
The tiny cafe in Waterloo Street has become something of a hangout not just for arts communities in the neighbourhood, but also parents whose children pop by for enrichment activities on weekends.
Reservations are recommended if you want to drop in for the creations of the latest chef-artist in residence Michelle Lee. The media producer worked on the MasterChef Asia (2015) and MasterChef Singapore (2018 to present) series and also trained as a professional chef.
Her Kochabi Kitchen pop-up dishes up food inspired by heritage dishes. The name Kochabi is inspired by the Hokkien phrase meaning “old-school taste”.
I appreciate that the food is vegetable forward and centred mostly on South-east Asian flavours.
The Kerabu Of The Week ($9) is a twist on traditional winged bean salad, brightened with a tangy calamansi dressing perked up with belachan. The Crispy Crunch Salad ($11), threaded with limau perut leaf chiffonade and seeded with hits of chilli padi, lives up to its name with addictively crunchy rice bits.
The Crispy Crunch Salad gets its texture from popped rice.
PHOTO: ASH KHAW
The Plum Braised Taro Duck ($25) uses tangerine peel and dang gui (angelica root) for a different flavour profile to the traditional Teochew braised duck. If the Dry Laksa ($16) is on the daily specials board, pounce because it is an umami cross between laksa and mee goreng with fresh, fat prawns and taupok (tofu puffs) topping richly sauced noodles.
Lee’s cooking is obviously rooted in heritage dishes, but she plays with the flavours in different ways that still evoke memories of soul food from traditional kitchens. It might not fit in conventional definitions of art, but it sure is a delicious experience.
Where: Practice Tuckshop, 58 Waterloo Street str.sg/wAQfi
MRT: Bras Basah
When: Till June 30, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11am to 3pm and 5 to 9pm; Fridays, 5 to 11pm; Saturdays, 9am to 10pm; closed on Mondays, Thursdays, Sundays and public holidays
Info:
Correction note: Ash Khaw’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of the story. We are sorry for the error.
