The Arctic is no doubt among the most isolated places on earth. Yet, it is this very remoteness and larger-than-life nature of the Arctic that makes it so awe-inspiring. The majesty of the landscape, in part, comes from its barrenness and unpredictability. It is in the Arctic where I came to understand what it meant to listen to silence. Being this close to nature, I found inspiration in the high Arctic wind, bejeweled icebergs as they caught the light, cool, marbled glaciers, and looming snow-caked mountains. Look out for more new works, and my personal account and photographs of The Arctic Circle experience in the January 2012 issue of Cosmopolitan Singapore.
Wyn-Lyn TAN will be one of two Singaporeans to take up the residency with The Arctic Circle, which takes place 29 September – 16 October this year. Joining her will be 24 international participants from countries such as Brazil, Canada, USA, UK, Palestine and Korea. Applicants were vetted by a jury based on artistic/scientific merit and project description, followed by a telephone interview for the final shortlist.
The Arctic Circle is an artist and scientist-led expeditionary residency. Now in its third year, the annual expedition brings together international artists, scientists, architects and educators who collectively explore far-off destinations aboard a specially outfitted sailing vessel. The program supports the creation and exhibition of new and innovative work, and provides the opportunity for artists to pursue their personal projects while opening doors for collaborations with the other expedition participants. Past years’ expeditions have culminated in various exhibits worldwide.
From the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, participants will transfer to the traditionally rigged expedition vessel, voyaging along the Northwestern coast of the island of Spitsbergen for several weeks and stopping along the way to respond to the landscape in various artistic ways.
Wyn-Lyn hopes to continue to draw inspiration from the themes of nature, isolation and romanticism. When asked how she believes the new surroundings will affect her artwork, she says:
“My work will explore both the visual and emotive journey of the trip in paintings and photographs. The images captured will not so much be documentary, but rather an intimate mediation of place and experience, as I seek to unravel the complexities and contradictions of this extreme environment.”
On what she anticipates from the upcoming expedition:
“There are no guarantees, and no real way to form any expectations or concrete preparations in terms of a project brief – I see the travelling with that intent as a great opportunity in itself. And the basis for developing a project; to see things anew.”
For more information on The Arctic Circle, visit www.thearcticcircle.org
New Readings by local artists Lee Yu Juan, Wyn-Lyn Tan and Yeo Shih Yun uses the traditional techniques of ink painting to illuminate innovative concepts. It features Calligraphy Deconstructed, a seriesof mixed media works by Lee Yu Juan, Wyn-Lyn Tan’s A suspended stillness, inspired by the romanticism of Chinese landscapes and Yeo Shih Yun’s Conversations with trees which uses unconventional drawing processes.
Venue: Jendela (Visual Arts Space)
Level 2, Esplanade Mall
Exhibition dates: 28 Jan - 27 Feb 2011
Gallery Hours Mon-Fri 11am-8.30pm
Sat & Sun 10am-8.30pm
(Open on public holidays)
Free Admission
Water is fluid and pliant, yet gravity and its ceaseless flux form mountains and rocks. Shan-shui, or literally “mountain and water,” is often a key element in traditional Chinese ink painting. This new series of works reveals the artist’s Chinese sensibilities in her approach to contemporary Western abstraction.
As in Chinese paintings, the indelible mark of the black inked brush features prominently in the artist’s works. Her large-scale paintings hover between nature and abstraction, occasionally slipping into the reminiscence of a Chinese landscape. Craggy forms suggested by outlines, strokes and washes that run into each other, emerge and recede into a moisture-laden atmosphere.
The artist’s visual inspiration came from the ebb and flow of tides, calm pools, stormy seas, and the aftermath of rain. The title also tells about the extensive use of water in her painting process, resulting in works that recall the alchemy of ink on rice paper.
Venue: FOST Gallery
65 Kim Yam Road
Singapore 239366
Tel: 6836-2661
Exhibition dates: 9 - 31 July 2010
Gallery Hours Tue–Sat: 12–7pm
The Heritage Art Series is a project by Gryphon Tea Company, supported by the National Heritage Board. The aim: To support local talent, and promote the awareness of Singapore’s history through heritage-inspired artworks. Three artists, including Wyn-Lyn, have been commissioned to create the inaugural series. The completed works of art feature on the packaging of three different blends from Gryphon’s Artisan Tea Collection, in a limited edition run of 2,000 boxes per blend. Wyn-Lyn’s Pearl Of The Orient tea blend drew inspiration from the lush colours of the Peranakan culture. Her painting titled “Blush of a Golden Hue” combines Chinese ink and acrylic with graphite on paper.
The limited edition Heritage Art Series is packaged as a set of three tea boxes, along with a card that gives a pair of admission tickets to any one of the three museums that the artists drew inspiration from. The set retails at S$60 and is sold at selected retailers including Woods in the Books and Culina Dempsey Hill. Call Gryphon Tea at tel: 6779-2948 for more retail outlets.
In March 2007, Wyn-Lyn spent one month in residency in Fiskars Village, on the west coast of Finland. The white vastness of the winter landscape was inspiring in its
desolate beauty, striking a chord within as her work deals with space, layers and ambiguity.
Lighter suggests the softer, lighter, more ethereal transparent quality her works took on while painting in Finland; deriving their inspiration from its snow, melting
ponds, and the blush of dawn on lake reflections.
Venue: FOST Gallery
65 Kim Yam Road
Singapore 239366
Tel: 6836-2661
Exhibition dates: 8 - 30 May 2009
Gallery Hours Tue–Sat: 12–7pm
Prelude Art Fair at Spitalfields, London, 4-6 July 2008.
Wyn-Lyn was selected for a four-week residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Vermont, USA from 11 May to 6 June 2008. Inspiration here came in the form of blue skies, flowing rivers and lush mountains.
Click here to view pdf document
Random Starts is a three-person exhibition of abstract paintings inspired by first brushstrokes. While the three artists’ works are ultimately different in styles, what ties them together is their working method in starting a painting. Each begins with a completely spontaneous and random brushstroke, with no preconceived plan of what is to come next.
For instance, Valerie Ng whose works are characterized by thick oil strokes, starts with a palette knife to mark her first stroke. Wyn-Lyn Tan, whose acrylic paintings are at once lyrical and strong, begins each painting with a wash of black strokes. Yeo Shih Yun’s minimalist works plays on space and are often defined by the first bold ink stroke. This first mark on the canvas or paper provides each artist with a visual ‘lead’ on which to work on. From there, each artist is propelled by a mix of spontaneous energy, instinct and intuition that carries through till the painting feels complete.
In this exhibition, the works will comprise of abstract paintings in oils, acrylic and ink on canvas and paper and will be of varying sizes.
Transparent is an exhibition of art, design and craftsmanship in Fiskars Village, Finland based on the theme of transparency. Wyn-Lyn will be showing 5 paintings alongside Finnish and other foreign artists. Click here for more on the exhibition and pictures of works. The exhibition runs from May 13 till September 30, 2007.
Sponsor: 3818 COOL GALLERY
Opening Reception: May 19 2007 3:00-6:00pm
Exhibition Dates: May 19 - June 14 2007
Gallery Hours: 10:30am-6:30pm
Address: 3818 Warehouse, 2 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Telephone: 010-86882525, 84566664
Website: http://www.3818coolgallery.com
Clear and Bright is a three-person exhibition of abstract paintings exploring elements of East and West. Held in 3818 Cool Gallery in the 798 Art District of Beijing.
Anticipation is a Yellow Sky is taken from the title of one of the artist’s paintings. Her richly intense works play on opposites, and are symbolic of an internal world that’s often a contradiction of emotions and thoughts—happiness and sadness, calm serenity and crazy madness, hope and despair, anger and love. Likewise, her seemingly irrelevant titles play on the illogical, the contrary and sometimes, the nonsensical.
While her paintings are not deliberately about landscapes, they subconsciously hover between nature and abstraction. Her attraction to colour sees rich, intense paintings that reveal spontaneous spattering, irrelevant musings, swift lines, and mark-making of all sorts. These are contrasted with muted hues and an attraction to black that recalls the look of Chinese ink.
In this exhibition, the works will comprise of paintings and drawings in acrylic on canvas. They will be of varying sizes - from as small as framed, mini palm-sized pieces to works measuring as large as 140 x 200cm.
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