A fresh perspective of Chinatown

ARTIST Tung Yue Nang is perhaps best remembered for his series of Peranakan chinaware - a plate or a bowl, viewed from the top and with intricately representative details, framed in strict lines and a solidly red cloth.

One can't think of any other artist who has put such a strong stamp on still life painting in Singapore like he has since 1997.

After a hiatus of about eight years since his last exhibition, Tung now returns with an almost completely opposite series of works. From his intimate and Buddhist philosophy-infused view of the Peranakan table, Tung has switched his gaze and trained his brush on the lines and life of Chinatown. From the soft colours of nyonya-ware, he's now gone monochromatic in Silence, the title of this exhibition of some 30 ink-on-rice-paper paintings featuring Chinatown and Singapore River.