BAK KOI, TAY (1939-2005)

“Fishing Village” (1969)
Ink, watercolour & gouache
91 x 43.5cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Tay Bak Koi was a leading second-generation Singaporean Artist. He studied at the prestigious Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) from 1957. It was at NAFA where Tay befriended and soon after became the disciple of the late Cheong Soo Pieng, one of the founding fathers of the Nanyang-style of paintings. Cheong is widely revered for his experiments in brush techniques & the amalgamation of East-West elements in his paintings. Cheong had a great influence on Tay’s works. In fact, many artworks produced during the primordial days of his artistic career in the 1960’s resemble the mark of his former teacher’s style. He gained his first commercial breakthrough in the late 1970’s when the prestigious Hilton Hotel recognised his talent & commissioned him to create 300 paintings to line the walls of the hotel. This marked the beginning of an illustrious art career for Tay. To date, his works have been featured in numerous exhibitions around the world, including Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, Japan & the United States. Tay’s paintings of the landscapes in Singapore thrive on a palette dominated by cool colours. Their complexity & richness both in texture and form far surpass those of his earlier paintings. Progressing from the bold & abstract, Tay’s works subsequently embodied a dreamlike quality, often blurring the lines between fantasy & reality, emitting a sense of tranquillity, & even timelessness.