02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
SG60 and the visual arts: Artist Ong Kim Seng looks back at turbulent ‘SG25' commissions for SG60
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Renowned Singaporean watercolourist Ong Kim Seng looks back at a pivotal newspaper commission from 1984 at his solo exhibition Miracles at Confluence Art Space.
SINGAPORE – Watercolourist Ong Kim Seng counts former United Nations chief Kofi Annan among his collectors and his commissions can go for five figures today. But he recalls how his first big commission in 1984 came in at just $120 a piece.
'You paint, but nobody buys. So, you've got to depend on illustrations,' says the 80-year-old self-taught artist.
