Design Cues: Pioneer artist Goh Beng Kwan celebrates Chinese New Year with hongbao-inspired collages
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Cultural Medallion recipient Goh Beng Kwan in his studio with his new works.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GOH BENG KWAN & ART AF
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SINGAPORE – Cultural Medallion recipient Goh Beng Kwan and home-grown furniture design company Commune have collaborated to present more than 40 of the pioneer artist’s new media works.
Called Celebrations: Tradition Reimagined, the exhibition is on till Feb 12 at Commune’s flagship store, which spans about 10,000 sq ft at Millenia Walk.
It offers a fresh perspective on family values, cultural traditions and the significance of auspicious symbols.
The exhibition is organised by ArtAF (also known as “Art Affairs”), a platform founded in 2020 by the 87-year-old abstract artist’s daughter, Ms Hazeleen Goh, to support his work through art events, workshops and a webstore that sells homewares and decor featuring Goh’s paintings.
“We hope the younger generation will start loving and appreciating art from a young age, while also learning about and supporting senior artists like my father, who have paved the way for Singapore’s rich artistic heritage,” says Ms Goh, 45, who has a background in banking and finance.
She manages her father’s art studio full time as her way of giving back to her parents, preserving the legacy of her father and his contemporaries, and ensuring that Singapore’s unique art history is passed on to future generations.
Born in 1937 in Medan, Indonesia, Goh is the fourth of six children. The family migrated to Singapore after World War II, when he was eight.
In Singapore, he studied at The Chinese High School, where he learnt art from pioneer Singapore artists Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng.
He became the first to win United Overseas Bank’s Painting of the Year competition when it was launched in 1982. In 1989, he was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts.
Gathering by Goh Beng Kwan is one of more than 40 works on display at the exhibition.
PHOTO: ARTAF
For the Commune show, Goh presents collages and mixed-media works crafted from recycled red packets and other materials that he finds lying around, such as string, paper, fabric and metal.
The works illustrate themes of renewal and transformation, central to Chinese New Year festivities.
His art is displayed alongside Commune’s furniture, allowing visitors to visualise Goh’s artworks in a home setting. The works on display are available for purchase, and are priced between $3,200 and $62,000.
The tie-up highlights a deep commitment to sustainable design, inviting viewers to not only reconnect with their heritage, but also see themselves playing a part in a more eco-conscious future.
Known for his distinctive approach to abstraction and collage, Goh crafted his new collection using recycled hongbao (red packets in Mandarin) which have a deep, personal significance for the artist.
These red packets come from a private collection dating back to the 1960s, started by the artist’s wife, Madam Tan Peck Hui, 80.
Goh Beng Kwan’s Perfect Happiness mixes old and new hongbao.
PHOTO: ARTAF
The mix of vintage and new hongbao adds a sense of nostalgia and familiarity to each work, while also creating an intricate visual tapestry of diverse textures and colours on canvas.
Each of the more than 40 art pieces transforms the small red envelopes into vibrant, contemporary artworks that echo the cultural significance of CNY while celebrating prosperity, unity and renewal.
There will also be a number of new works made from offcuts of wood and leather used in the production of furniture at Commune’s workshops.
The artworks, which come with titles such as Abundant Wealth and Good Fortune And Prosperity, feature auspicious symbols and colours, with unusual tones and juxtapositions created by Goh’s sense of colour and ability to create harmonious compositions from myriad materials and shapes.
Goh Beng Kwan’s Abundant Wealth incorporates Chinese red packets and Malay green packets.
PHOTO: ARTAF
For example, Abundant Wealth incorporates Chinese red packets and Malay green packets, and features double fish, bird and dragon motifs to celebrate prosperity and the unity of diverse cultures.
Co-founder and chief operating officer Gan Shee Wen, 46, says: “The collaboration was born out of friendship and mutual respect as creatives and designers. We think this is a wonderful way to usher in a prosperous Year of the Wood Snake.”
Goh will lead a series of upcycling workshops for the public on a few days of the exhibition, where he will share his method of working with wood offcuts and leather, red packets and other found materials to create fresh works of art.
“I would like to encourage everyone to embrace and reflect on the blessings of tradition, family and creativity this New Year,” he says.
“It is my wish that the works bring our viewers and collectors these blessings and the joy of togetherness during the Lunar New Year and throughout the year ahead.”
Book It / Celebrations: Tradition Reimagined
Where: Commune Lifestyle, 02-52 Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Boulevard str.sg/8qGT art@gohbengkwan.com
When: Till Feb 12
Admission: Free
Info: Commune is closed from Jan 28 to 31. Goh’s upcycling workshops will be held from 2 to 4pm on Jan 18 and 19, and Feb 1 and 2. Each workshop costs $58 a participant (ages 10 and above) and can accommodate up to 12 people. To join, register at
Design Cues is a new column that explores ideas at the intersection of design and art.
