Lim Nang Seng Art for Sale and Sold Prices

b. 1916 -

Lim Nang Seng (born 1916 in Kuching, Sarawak) was a pioneer of sculpture in Singapore (although many articles refer to him as just a "craftsman"). According to his entry in the Sculpture '67: Singapore Art Society - First Sculpture Exhibition, he exhibited regularly at the annual art shows of the Singapore Art Society and other shows in Singapore and Malaysia.

He is mentioned in Marco Hsu's History of Malayan Art as follows:

"Since 1958, Lim Nang Seng's sculpural works have often been selected for annual art exhibitions in Singapore. He had studied sculptural techniques since young, starting from the making of clay figurines in southern China. During the Second World War, he began sculpting images in a modern style, in Vietnam. He came to Malaya after the war and taught at a Chinese school in Bekok, Johore. By then, his works, which use a local black river clay as medium, have become rather abstract while displaying a character which is typically Malayan. While he had begun to use pottery clay only recently, his works are no less expressive in power and Malayan in thematic consideration for which he received international acclaim. However, because most of his works are small in size, they were not taken seriously."

- Ma Ge (Marco Hsu), writing in 1963

A recent article in the Straits Times (posted on the Singapore Heritage Yahoo Group website), gives some further information about him and his family. (Registration may be required).

According to the article, "Lim designed Singapore's first batch of one-cent coins in 1967. His other works include the sculpture of a dancing girl in Tiong Bahru estate and a monkey clock tower in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. Both the statue and clock tower are still around today." We'll try and get images of the other works.

The National University of Singapore has several of his sculptures in its collection. (Thanks to Lai Chee Kien for helping with this entry.)