艺术无价~如获至宝

(this is Samsui Head, red rocker)

I bought a Samsui Head (orange rocker), stoneware, 红头巾雕像作品-- 黄荣庭遗作

I bought a piece of Ng Eng Teng, a piece of Singapore history and an evidence of the 1970s. Thanks to my friend YL who curated and recommended the piece! I have every intention of buying a nice glass encased side table so when you look into the table surface, you find the samsui face. Or, it can be besides the phone, rock it when I feel bored.

I first budgeted for "Hen with Head" another piece but it has been sold, and from what was left, this is quite an iconic collectible piece. I did not want to buy "Thumb" erotica art form. Woman figure appeals to me.

Yes I hope it appreciates in time to come. Because you cannot possibly put his big sculptures at home, they are commercial works usually. So such small figures are good for home display. Moreover Samsui women is part of Singapore heritage. At least this was how I convinced myself to part the money on impulse :D


Information on the Rocker series:
Torso (Rocker)
1973
Ciment-fondu
21 x 68 x 25 cm
In the early 1970s Ng Eng Teng entered a light-hearted
phase, producing a series of roly-poly faces and
rocking torsos which demonstrate the whimsical side
of his character. They are upturned faces and
abstracted torsos, universally appealing and fun
objects created by a clever transformation and
simplification of parts of the human body. They are
delightfully playful floor mobiles which invite the
spectator to a hands-on participation, oscillating or
gyrating at a touch, and regaining their stability by
employing the ancient balancing principle of the
Chinese bu dao doll. In some, pellets of clay or
cement, sometimes as moveable eyes, are left inside
so that a rattling sound ensues when they are rocked.

information on the exhibition
Apr 3, 2010
Enter the world of Ng Eng Teng

An ongoing exhibition of the works by the late artist reveals his interest in seeing how his craft can become art

About 190 small sculptures and 22 paintings by one of Singapore's most prolific and well-known sculptors, the late Ng Eng Teng, are being displayed at his alma mater, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa).

The exhibition, titled Fantastic Universe: The Imagination Of Ng Eng Teng, is on at the school's Lim Hak Tai Gallery till April 25.

Almost all the works are for sale. The prices for the sculptures range from $300 to $30,000, while those for paintings are between $8,500 and $20,000.

All the works belong to Ng's family who, Nafa says, decided to release them after careful consideration. This was mainly due to storage limitations and the lack of resources to maintain an exhaustive archive of Ng's work.

A portion of the sales proceeds will be donated to Nafa and the remaining funds are likely to be used to set up a scholarship or foundation in Ng's name. Discussions for this are ongoing.

Speaking of the timing of the exhibition, MsBridget Tracy Tan, director of art and corporate knowledge at Nafa, says: 'Ng was Nafa's alumnus and his place in the history of the academy's artistic evolution is seminal and deeply rooted.

'Nafa is the only art school that teaches ceramics with access to a gas-firing kiln in the public domain and we have always wanted to do a show to highlight Ng's importance.'

Ng died from pneumonia in 2001, aged 67. Over a 40-year career, he created works ranging from monumental public sculptures to intimate pieces in bronze and ceramics, many of which are on display in this exhibition.

Also a gifted painter and potter, he favoured two distinct styles - rounded, evocative sculptures based on the human form, and angular geometric shapes. His huge sculptures of mother and child often left the viewer with a sense of peace, while many smaller pieces were imbued with a wicked sense of humour.

A Cultural Medallion recipient, he studied at Nafa before learning sculpture in England. He worked as a designer at an Irish pottery and created visual aids for the International Planned Parenthood Federation before becoming a full- time artist.

He donated more than 1,000 of his works to the National University of Singapore and the Ng Eng Teng Gallery was opened there in 1998.

Ms Tan says this exhibition adds to what is on display at the university. 'Some of the works being featured in this show are a little unusual and possibly a little rare,' she says.

'Ng's legacy is more than what can be seen in the works he donated. The works here demonstrate that he was interested in both the limits and the potential of his craft to become art.

'He stretched both the physical conditions and the imaginative possibilities to create accessories and objects with a rich range of expressions.'

Also featured in this exhibition are the ciment fondue marquettes of the Changi Airport sculptures: Success and Achievement that are collectively known as the Spirit of Man. The ciment fondue versions are handmade and would have been hand-formed by the artist.

Says Ms Tan: 'We often know Ng to be a ceramist whose works have symbolic geometric values or as a sculptor who enjoyed humour and wit in his play of physical forms.

'But he was a great thinker in dogged pursuit of the next unattainable ideal. Which is why he was so prolific, producing thousands of objects in his lifetime.'

Some links:

http://oceanskies79places.blogspot.com/2007/03/nus-museum-works-of-ng-eng-teng.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng_Eng_Teng