Lim Yew Kuan (b. 1928) is one of the prominent Singapore’s second-generation artists, who emerged in the local art scene in the 1950s. His father Lim Hak Tai was the founding principle of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Lim graduated from the Academy in 1950 and later joined the Equator Art Society as one of its funding members and the first president in 1956. During the period from 1958 to 1962, he was pursuing further study at Chelsea School of Art in London, UK. From 1964 to 1979, Lim served as the second principle of the Nanyang Academy and later continued to teach there until his retirement in 1994. In the year 2011, Lim Yew Kuan received the Cultural Medallion from Singapore government. The work created in 1966 features Lim’s artist fellow Foo Chee San. Against a light background, the figure is presented with a stark shadow. An expressive stylistic representation, the work is significant for its strong light and dark contrast, which highlights emotional involvement when the artist approached his subject and close-friend.
