UOB wants to ‘inspire, heal and unite’ through art
The theme of its 41st UOB Painting of the Year competition is ‘Optimism’
Helmi Yusof
AMID continuing uncertainties about the near future, UOB chooses to err on the bright side with its annual UOB Painting Of The Year (POY) competition. The bank picked “Optimism” for this year’s theme, believing in the power of art to uplift hearts and minds.
Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive officer of the bank, said: “Art plays an essential role in enriching our lives and bringing our communities together. Over the last 4 decades, our annual regional UOB POY programme has helped more than 1,000 South-east Asian artists share their works on a larger, regional stage, and promoted greater appreciation of the rich and diverse cultures in Asean.”
To mark the launch of the contest, the bank is holding an exhibition of works by emerging artists who earned prizes in previous editions of the competition. Among them is Arick Lee’s colourful depiction of the Gamcheon Village in Busan, South Korea. The village was once one of the poorest areas in Busan — before artists took over the space, painted the buildings in bright hues, and turned the place into a tourist attraction, replete with quaint cafes and craft shops.
Another work seems counter-intuitive, but is a contrarian reminder that “optimism” is not just an emotion, but also an act. Wong Yee Heng’s The Day After Tomorrow depicts a natural landscape of mountains and rivers transforming into built-up areas of steel and concrete. The artist wants to remind the viewer that cities must co-exist with the natural environment and city folk must play their part in reducing pollution. Both works won awards in the Emerging Artist category of the 2021 edition.
The contest has always been astute in its selection of not just figurative art, but also abstract works. Included among the paintings on display is Jamie Teo’s beautiful mélange of blue, yellow and red, which radiates positivity and optimism. It won the Silver award in the 2018 edition of the contest. Teo, who was then an emerging artist, has since held exhibitions at the commercial gallery Art Porters and art fair SEA Focus.
Wee said: “This year’s programme identity highlights the theme of ‘optimism’ and how UOB has been strengthening the social fabric in the communities in which we operate. As the leading patron of the arts in Asia, we will continue to make art accessible to the wider community and uncover the next generation of great South-east Asian artists to collectively realise the power of art in inspiring, healing and uniting us all.”
The submission period for this year’s contest ends on Jul 31. Artists may submit their entries digitally. The country winners from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will compete for the coveted regional UOB South-east Asian POY Awards and a month-long residency programme at the renowned Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.
The exhibition is held at UOB Gallery, UOB Plaza 1, 80 Raffles Place. Competition details can be found at UOBandArt.com.
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