Lim Tze Peng
Lim Tze Peng was a Singaporean artist. He was awarded a Cultural Medallion in 2003 in recognition of his contribution to the country's art and culture. In June 2021, it was reported that he was still producing art at the age of 99.
Background
Lim Tze Peng was born on 28 September 1921 in Singapore to a family of pig and chicken farmers in Pasir Ris. He was the eldest of seven children.Lim studied at Guangyang Primary School and Chung Cheng High School (Main).
In 1949, Lim became a primary school teacher at Xin Min School and then became principal in 1951. He remained as principal until he retired in 1981.
Lim was humble by nature, and went about in his quiet way doing what he loved best without fanfare. He was content to stay in the background, preferring his paintings speak for themselves. Lim was also an artist with a mission, and that mission was to remind Singaporeans of their heritage.
Lim died of pneumonia in Singapore on 3 February 2025, at the age of 103. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 9 August 2025 for his contributions to Singapore's cultural heritage and visual arts landscape.
Painting career
A self-taught artist, Lim was skilled in Chinese brush and calligraphy. The only formal art training he had was the drawing classes he attended in his school days. Lim started learning how to paint in his twenties and after his retirement, started to paint professionally.Lim opted for an early retirement from his job as a school principal in 1981 in order to spend his time painting scenes of the Singapore River, Boat Quay, Hock Lim Street, Merchant Road, Smith Street, Trengganu Street, Sago Lane, and Pagoda Street.
Painting for Lim meant sketching on the spot with Chinese ink and brush. It was a total experience in that he took in what he saw and felt at a single moment in time, selecting, analysing, composing, and recording details simultaneously. His handling of tonal values and the swift notations of light and dark complemented the decisive brush strokes to give life and movement to the subject matter. The calligraphic brushwork, rooted in the artist's deep knowledge of Chinese writing, is the most characteristic feature of Lim's work.
In 2003, Lim was awarded the Cultural Medallion and in 2016, he was awarded the Pingat Jasa Gemilang.
Influences
Lim scrutinised the masterpieces of the leading Chinese artists in history. He was convinced that the power of their work often resided in one singular aspect which dominated their overall achievements. His observations are revealing: the visual power of Pan Tianshou's paintings radiates from the massiveness of his expansive forms; that of Qi Baishi's from his overpowering sensitivity of touch; that of Wu Changshou's from his intriguing balance of the painterly dynamics in his art.Works in Chinese art history impressed him, particularly those characterised by a tremendous sense of directness, the orthodox and liberation. He singled out Ming dynasty artists such as Xu Wei and Qing dynasty artists such as Pu Huan, whose dynamic works remain as powerful as they are contemporary today.
Old Singapore series
In 1981, Lim plunged into an uninterrupted marathon race to complete a large number of Singapore scenes which had captured his imagination. This feat produced 300 ink paintings, covering a range of places which included Teochew Street, Amoy Street, Chinatown, Elgin Bridge, shop houses and sweeping overviews of the Singapore River. The Old Singapore Series became a visual documentation of Singapore’s changing cityscape during a time when the country’s urban renewal was happening at a hectic pace.Artists' residency in Paris
In 2000, Lim took up a two-month artists' residency in the Cité internationale des arts, occupying an apartment belonging to the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. His residency resulted in a body of works documenting the Parisian landscape, which included landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, the Arc de Triomphe, and Notre-Dame de Paris as well as Parisian scenes of sidestreets and cafés.He later donated 45 of these Chinese ink and colour paintings to NAFA.
Major exhibitions
| Dates | Title | Location |
| 1970 | 1st Solo Exhibition | Singapore |
| 1977 | Royal Overseas League Exhibition | England |
| 1978 | Singapore Artists Art Exhibition in Moscow | Friendship House, Moscow |
| 1980 | Fifth Festival of Asian Art | Hongkong |
| 1981 | Singapore Calligraphy Exhibition | Singapore |
| 1982 | Seventh International Artists Art Exhibition | Taiwan |
| 1986 | Eighth International Artists Art Exhibition | Taiwan |
| 1987 | Three-man Art Exhibition | Ginza, Tokyo, Japan |
| 1988 | France Salon Exhibition | Palais, France |
| 1989 | New York Art Expo '89 First Bru-Sin Art Exhibition '89 | New York Brunei |
| 1991 | 2nd Solo Exhibition | National Museum Art Gallery Singapore Tze Peng by Himself, 1993, Singapore Art Fair presented by Gim Ng of Shenn's Fine Art, Singapore |
| 1995 | Moments by Lim Tze Peng | curated and presented by Gim Ng of Shenn's Fine Art and Takashimaya Gallery Singapore |
| 1998 | Meeting Places in Fleeting Spaces | Singapore Art Museum Singapore |
| 2003 | Tze Peng | Singapore Art Museum Singapore |
| 2006 | Tze Peng in Paris | Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore |
| 2008 | Inaugural Exhibition at NTU Art and Heritage Gallery | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |
| 2009 | Inroads: The Ink Journey of Lim Tze Peng | National Art Museum of China, Beijing |
| 2009 | Inroads: The Ink Journey of Lim Tze Peng | Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai |
| 2009 | Journey: A Collection of Work | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2010 | My Kampong, My Home | Singapore Management University Gallery, Singapore |
| 2012 | Tze Peng in Bali | Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore |
| 2012 | Black and White | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2013 | The Journey '攀登 | Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore |
| 2014 | Art Stage: Larger Than Life | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2015 | Impressions | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2016 | Evening Climb: The Later Style of Lim Tze Peng | National University of Singapore Museum, Singapore |
| 2018 | Portrait of the Heart 心象 | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2019 | The Spirit of Ink | Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, India |
| 2020 | A Century of Memories | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2021 | Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100 Exhibition | The Arts House, Singapore |
| 2022 | From Then to Now: Capturing Life | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2023 | Lim Tze Peng Solo Exhibition – From Lion City To London / Start Art Fair | Saatchi Gallery, London United Kingdom Presented by Premium Pages Singapore |
| 2024 | ART SG : Lim Tze Peng | Ode To Art, Singapore |
| 2024 | Becoming Lim Tze Peng | National Gallery Singapore |
| 2025 | Songs of The River' | Ode To Art, Singapore |