The Artistic Journey Of Singapore's Oldest Living Artist Lim Tze Peng

Tracing the artistic journey of Singapore’s oldest living artist Lim Tze Peng, who turns 100 this month, from his Chinese ink works to his explorations in abstract art

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

While his calligraphy works would often feature Chinese sayings and proverbs, it is interesting to note that artist Lim Tze Peng’s favourite Chinese character is ai, or love. The subject of love, in particular his love for his family, his friends, his country, is explored in a whole chapter in Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100, a new book that celebrates the life and work of Singapore’s oldest living artist, who turns 100 on September 28.

“The book is not just about Lim Tze Peng, the artist, but also Lim Tze Peng, the man—and what we can all learn from this 100-year-old man,” shares its author Woon Tai Ho during our Zoom interview. “Love is very important to Mr Lim. He says in the book that ‘in life, we must have a higher goal. My higher goal is love.’”

Ai is one of two Chinese characters the painter and calligrapher has written many times, with the other being guo, which is country. The two words put together, ai guo, translates as “love for country”. Lim’s love for his country is apparent in his Chinese ink drawings and paintings of historically significant places such as Chinatown and the Singapore River. And this was recently underlined when he indicated during the book launch in mid-June his intention to donate an entire collection of his works to the country, if given the space to exhibit them.

“When I was young, art was an aspiration. And then it became my life. Today I am old, and art is many things. It is my history, my present and also my hope. And it is my hope that I place the most emphasis. I hope my art can inspire a new generation to treasure their past, and through my art allow them to believe in their own art,” Lim shares.