Born in 1942 in Singapore, New York/Singapore-based artist Wong Keen’s art training began under Liu Kang and advanced under Chen Wen Hsi’s mentoring. In 1961 Wong left to study at The Art Students League, New York, and in 1963 received the League’s prestigious Edward G. McDowell Travelling Scholarship to travel and study in Europe. Upon his return to Singapore in the late 1990s, Wong discovered (contrary to popular held beliefs) the Singapore landscape was a great source of stimulation. With this monumental painting he celebrates urban Singapore by representing actual sites and iconic features, from the traditional Chinese shophouses and colonial architecture to the touristy tri-shaws and the rising skyscrapers to the loaded cargo ships waiting outside the harbour. This five-panel work was painted in 1997, however the last panel on the right was subsequently reworked to include the ‘durian’ performing arts centre, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
