Artist: Khan Siong Ann (b. 1942)

Born in 1942, Mr Khan Siong Ann originated from the Chao Yang province in Guangdong. After graduating from high school, Mr Khan went on to study arts in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, where he graduated in 1967. Having keen interests in the French artistic style and technique, he embarked on a journey to Paris, which took him fifteen years of hard work and determination to master the artistic style of French painting. During those years, he also continued to practice his watercolour and calligraphy, which he managed to sell for his source of income during his stay in Paris.

In 1989, Mr Khan returned to Singapore and has since taken part in numerous group exhibitions. He is also active in cultural exchange programs with Malaysia. In 2010, he was invited by the Chinese Government to take part in the 60th National Celebration in conjunction with the Shanghai Expo’s opening. His works were also enlisted as “Artworks from popular Chinese Artist” and curated for postal stamp printing as well. Till today, the second generation artist remains popular in Singapore’s art scene and his artworks continue to be sought after by many private investors.

Mr Khan Siong Ann’s artworks vary in techniques and mediums such as oil painting, Chinese ink and watercolour, and a variety of themes, such as social gatherings, scenic records, lifestyle and nudes. Over time, his art series became an extensive scale of visual indulgence displayed in the colours and/or the subject matter(s) of his highly stylised works.

Abundance

Exploding with colour and with details packed like sardines, Abundance exemplifies Mr Khan Siong Ann’s artistic generosity in both its title and in the piece itself. Layering colours on top of each other alongside having overlapping fish subjects, Mr Khan creates a dynamic, textured piece that gives the impression of the fish jumping out of the painting. While using bold colours, the artist selects darker tones to avoid overstimulating his audience, thus effectively tiptoeing the boundary that distinguishes abundance from extravagance. The fish imagery may be in reference to the popular Chinese phrase “年年有余 (prosperity and abundance every year)” commonly heard during New Year celebrations, with the punning pronunciation of yu (余/abundance and 鱼/fish). 

Abundance may be categorised as a pop art piece since it radically transforms an ordinary, common aquatic creature into a high status, eye-catching subject of an exceptional painting. Mr Khan’s use of oil paint as his medium for this piece is brilliant since it allows the range of colours to blend seamlessly while retaining their individual intensity. This artwork by Mr Khan can instantaneously elevate any space by giving it an unrivalled individuality to become a place beloved by its inhabitants. Abundance gives the audience their heart's desire to experience the riches life has to offer by saturating their visual senses.  

Grand Canal

Grand Canal is a semi abstract art piece of said location, with one found in China and the other in Venice, Italy. Mr Khan Siong Ann is likely to be depicting the one in China, with the clue from the stone bridge over the waterway that is partially concealed by the trees. Awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the Chinese Grand Canal, also known as the Imperial Grand Canal, is the longest artificial river in the world that was built for transportation and commerce purposes as early as during the Sui Dynasty. Connecting the river systems of the Hai River, the Yellow River, the Huai River, the Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River, the Chinese Grand Canal has rich historical and cultural significance. 

The artist paints a modern version of the Grand Canal with its high buildings, cars, and streetlamps. Like in Abundance, Mr Khan mixes colours for the painted trees and sidewalk. With his unusual choice of colours, Mr Khan’s Grand Canal emotes freshness and novelty that renews the interest in the Imperial Grand Canal among a younger generation that may still be ignorant of its legacy. To learn more about one’s history through art is a pleasure and a privilege made possible only by terrific artists like Mr Khan with his profound insights garnered from his personal experiences with imprints of his generation’s happenings. 

Mr Khan Siong Ann is a highly underrated artist given the inventiveness of his oil paintings that fully utilises its medium’s uniqueness to produce pieces of high aesthetic quality that reverberate across cultures and stand out in the history of art. Born in Guangdong, China, the recipient of a French art education in Paris, and having lived in Singapore, Mr Khan is a cosmopolitan man with an artistic flair that enables him to execute his ideas creatively much to the delight of art appreciators.