Painter Jon Chan enjoys kaya toast breakfasts, recommends National Gallery’s Impressionist show

Who: Jon Chan, 43, is a Singaporean artist who primarily paints. In 2023, he was awarded the prestigious Impart Art Prize for emerging artists. Represented by Fost Gallery, Chan’s work is included in a group show Painting Itself, which is ongoing at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) till March 29. For more information on the exhibition, go to

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“A perfect weekend is if I get some painting done and either meet a friend or two, spend time with my nephews and nieces, or with my wife or my mother. That is probably the perfect day American musician Lou Reed sings about (in his 1972 song). I will go wherever they fancy.

Ideally, for a Saturday morning breakfast, it is kaya toast with half-boiled eggs, or bacon and eggs from time to time. I grew up loving bacon and eggs – Mum cooked it often. After breakfast, it is straight to painting as my life is centred on it. I read a little about art history and theory, then I start painting at around 10am every day.

I never go out during the day unless it is to meet a friend, and usually, it is somewhere humble – a kopitiam or some hipster cafe. If it is a day when I am not meeting anyone, I will just eat nearby.

Usually, I try to eat something healthy. Otherwise, my favourite food is Hokkien mee. I get it from Kim’s Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee in Eunos.

I usually dine out with my wife at nearby shopping centres. Our recent favourites are Greendot, and a nice Italian restaurant near our home in Eunos called Little Italy.

I’d like to give a shout-out to the Japanese restaurant Nanbantei in Far East Plaza. It is a favourite of my friend Jonathan Nichols – who is curating the show I’m involved in at PICA – and his wife, curator Bala Starr.

For a good weekend night out with my friends, I enjoy watching any kind of movie, be it an art-house film or a blockbuster. I just caught Hamnet (2025) with my wife, which left me in tears.

I work every day. But once a week, I allow myself a half-day off to avoid burnout. If there is a place I’d like to go to chill out, it is Parkway Parade, simply because it is the mall that holds the most memories for me. If not, a jog or bike ride along East Coast Park is great.

I have always been a bit nerdy, so I have a lot of things to occupy my evenings. There are comics – which I have always loved – as well as movies and games. I have a schedule where I spread out my time among these activities.

Sometimes, if I am just too tired, I rest and listen to good music. Currently, it is Sikh-American trumpet player-singer Sonny Singh and Afghan-American rabab virtuoso Qais Essar’s joint album Sangat (2025). I also listen to a lot of Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen – he is my lodestar.

There were a lot of wonderful exhibitions during Singapre Art Week in January, and I took my friends Jonathan, Bala and Malaysian painter Anum around.

We enjoyed the exhibition at New Bahru by the Tanoto Foundation. However, the highlight for us was

the Impressionist show at the National Gallery Singapore

. Simply being in proximity to those paintings is enough, how they have held their gestures over all this time with that level of thought and visionary insight. They are so beautiful and touching, and the sort of work I’d take to my grave.”