"I perceive my life and career as waves in the ocean – there is always a high after every low. Just as one door closes, another will open for me. I am very fortunate to have been able to live my life dedicated to the making of art.”
- GOH BENG KWAN
Goh Beng Kwan was taught by two of Singapore’s revered pioneer artists Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng in his early days. He attended the prestigious Art Students’ League of New York in USA in 1962 and Provincetown Workshop in Massachusetts USA in 1964. During his time in NYC, Goh was awarded multiple art scholarships, as well as mentorship from acclaimed painter Sidney Gross and Leo Manso. For over half a century, Goh has been an influential artist in Singapore - contributing significantly to the development of local contemporary art. He was awarded first prize at the inaugural UOB Painting of the Year Competition in 1982 and received the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 1989. His work has been featured in more than120 exhibitions across Asia, Europe and the United States, and is in private collections locally and throughout Asia.
Life of Goh Beng Kwan and his artworks
1937 Born in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
1945 Migrated to Singapore from Indonesia
1952-1957 Studied art in Singapore under artists such as Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng
1962 Studied at Art Students’ League, New York, USA, with Sydney Gross
1964 Studied at Provincetown Workshop, Massachusetts, USA, with Leo Manso and Victor Candell
Solo Exhibitions
1965 Goh Beng Kwan, Ruth Sherman Gallery, New York, USA
1971 One-Man Show, National Library, Singapore
1975 One-Man Art Exhibitions, National Library, Singapore
1977 One Man Show, Dewan Sri Pinang, Malaysia
1981 Collages, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1982 One-Man Show, Citibank, Singapore
1983 Miniature Paintings, Raya Gallery, Singapore
1987 Recent Works by Goh Beng Kwan, Art Forum, Singapore
1991 Journeys, National Museum Art Gallery
1992 One-Man Show, C-Line Gallery, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
1992 One-Man Show, C-Line Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia
1992 The Journey Continues, Room at the Top Gallery, HELP Institute, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2001 Goh Beng Kwan – Works on Paper, Art Forum, Singapore
2003 The Elite Painters – Quantum Leap, Esplanade, Singapore
2005 Journeys Revisited, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Galleries, Singapore
2007 Renewal, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore
2007 Journey to the East, CJ Gallery, San Diego, USA
2022 #GBK85 – A Retrospective on Singaporean Artist Goh Beng Kwan, Conrad Centennial Hotel Singapore
Selected Group Exhibitions
1960 Pameran Kesenian:Exhibition of Works by Local Artists, Victoria Memorial Hall, Singapore
1961 Five-Men Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1965 Six Best, Ruth Sherman Gallery, New York, USA
1968 Operation Junk Show, Singapore
1969 ASIA Convention, Contemporary Sculpture Centre, 2007 Tokyo, Japan
1969 Singapore’s 150th Anniversary Art Exhibition, Victoria Memorial Hall, Singapore
1970 Six Young Contemporaries, Tang Chou Art Gallery & Framers, Singapore
1971 Inaugural Exhibition, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1971 Collages 71, Tang Chou Art Gallery & Framers, Singapore
1972 Festival of the Arts, Singapore International School, Singapore
1972 Refugee Relief Action Art Exhibition, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1972 American & Singapore Artists, National Library, Singapore
1972 New Work by 12 Top Artists, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1972 Adelaide Arts Festival, Adelaide, Australia
1973 ASEAN Touring Art Exhibition, Singapore
1974 3rd Annual Festival of the Arts, Singapore International School
1974 Alpha Group Show‘74, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1974 Singapore Art Society Exhibition, Victoria Memorial Hall, Singapore
1975 Paintings: Four Artists, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1975 Contemporary ‘75 (Southeast Asian Art Festival), Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Day (APAD), Singapore
1976 5th Annual Festival of the Arts, United World College of South East Asia, Singapore
1977 Art’77, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1978 Ten Contemporaries, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1978 Alpha Group 78: An Exhibition of Paintings by 9 Artists, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1978 7th Annual Festival of the Arts, United World College of South East Asia, Singapore
1978 Singapore Contemporaries, Cultural Centre of Philippines, Manila, Philippines
1979 Contemporaries ‘79, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1979 Three-Man Exhibition, Alliance Française, Singapore
1980 Painters’80, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1980-1984 Singapore Festival of Arts, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1981 10th Annual Festival of the Arts, United World College of South East Asia, Singapore
1981 Contemporary Art, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1981-1985 ASEAN Exhibition - Painting, Graphic Art and Photography, ASEAN countries
1982 Celebration, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1982 New Format 1982, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1983 3 Singapore Artists, Raya Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1984 Inspiration, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1985 Singapore Remembered, Art Forum, Singapore
1985 Artistes Contemporains de Singapour, Grand Palais, Paris, France; National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1985 Contemporary Asian Art Show, Fukuoka, Japan
1985 Artistes Contemporians de Singapour au Grand Palais, Meriden Hotel, Singapore
1986 8a: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Alpha Gallery, Singapore
1986 Invitation Exhibition, Singapore Arts Festival, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1986 Salon des Artistes Français, Grand Palais, Paris, France
1986 Salon Comparisons, Grand Palais, Paris, France
1986 Singapore-Japan Art Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1987 IBM Art Award Exhibition, IBM Towers, Singapore
1987 Contemporary Asian Art, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1987 New Directions, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1988 Masterpieces from Private Collections, Singapore Art Festival, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1988 Japan Art Exhibition, Soga Art Gallery, Yokohama, Kobe, Sapporo, Japan
1988 Club Med Asian Arts Festival, Cheating, Kuantan, Malaysia
1989 Contemporary Art in Singapore: Where East Meets West, Amsterdam, Croningen, The Netherlands; Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Neuerburg, Mannheim, Germany; Glasgow, Scotland
1989 First ASEAN Symposium on Aesthetics, Workshop and Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1989 2nd Exhibition of the Federation of Asian Art Association, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
1990 Artist Camp International 1990, Penang State Museum & Art Gallery, Penang, Malaysia
1990 International Art Fair, Hamburg, Germany
1990 Tradition-The Source of Inspiration, The Japan Foundation ASEAN Culture Centre Gallery, Tokyo; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan
1990 Modern Art Travels East-West, World Trade Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Empress Place, Singapore
1990 Twelve Singapore Contemporary Artists, City Hall, Macau (SAR), China
1990 Singapore Artists Speak, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1991 Southeast Asia Art Society Art Exhibition, Empress Place Museum, Singapore
1991 Singapore Art Fair, IMM Hall, Singapore
1991 NKF Art Exhibition, Empress Place Museum, Singapore
1991 Many in One: 25 Years of Art in Singapore, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
1991 Singapore Contemporary Art, Sri Lanka
1992 7th Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka and Tagawa, Japan
1993 Strategies: An Exhibition of Artworks by 7 Outstanding Contemporary Singapore Artists, Takashimaya Gallery, Singapore
1995 10th Asian International Art Exhibition, Bangkok and Hat Yai, Thailand; Penang, Malaysia and Singapore
1996 Modernity and Beyond, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
1997 12th Asian International Art Exhibition, Macau Museum of Art, Macau, China
1997 Asian Artists' Group, Artfolio Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1999 Six-Men Exhibition by Local Artists, Eagle's Eye Art Gallery, Singapore
2000 An Ode to Joyful Living in the Art of the Elite Painters 2000, Eagle's Eye Art Gallery, Singapore
2001 Painters of Praise: An International Artistic Assemblage of 12 Asian Artists from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Chiang Mai University Art Museum, Chiang Mai, The National Gallery, Bangkok, The Southern Thai Art Centre, The Institute for Southern Thai Studies, Thaksin University, Songkhla, The Siam Art Gallery, Hat Yai, Centre, Thailand; Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Central Academy of Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Eagle's Eye Art Gallery, Palais Renaissance, Singapore
2001 Passages in Art, Raffles Marina, Singapore
2001 Diversity, Telok Kurau Studios, Singapore
2001 Pulp Friction, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
2002 Singapore Modern: Art in the 1970s, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
2002 The Power of Art on the Mekong River, Bangkok, Thailand
2004 ASEAN-Japan Art Exhibition, Amarin Plaza Shopping Complex, Bangkok, Thailand
2004 International Art on the Beach Festival, Burapha University, Chonburi, Thailand
2004 Crossroads: The Making of New Identities, NUS Museum, Singapore
2005 Lantern of the East, Burapha University, Chonburi Thailand
2007 Encounters and Journeys, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
2009 Exploring The Boundary: Large Paintings by 12 Artists, Cape of Good Hope Gallery, Singapore
2011 Exchange 2011, Singapore-China Art Showcase, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Singapore
2012 Contemporary Chinese Ceramics Painting, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing
2012 First Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale, Jeonbuk, South Korea
2013 Cascadence: Singapore Redux, iPreciation Art Gallery, Singapore
2014 Impressionist Contemporary, Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, Singapore
2015 As We Never Imagined: 50 Years of Art Making, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore
2015 Silk Journey to Art World Tour Exhibition, China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China
2015 URBANOA: Southeast Asian Platform, Florence Biennale, Italy
2016 Modern Art Society Singapore's Year Show, ION Art Gallery, Singapore
2016 Global Arts Agenda, Hangzhou Qianjiang International Art Museum, Hangzhou China
2016 Asian Watercolour Art Workshop and Exhibition, Krabi, Thailand
2016 Modern Art Society Singapore's Year Show, ION Art Gallery, Singapore
2017 Shanghai International Contemporary Art Exchange Exhibition and Workshop, Shanghai, China
2017 Trang International Art, 3/2 Art Gallery, Thailand
2018 Hatyai International Artists Camp, Thailand
2018 Journey in Art 28, Malaysia
2019 Art Charity and Mental Health Workshop, Thailand
2020 Shaping Visions, STPI Creative Workshop and Gallery, Singapore
2021 Something New Must Turn Up – Nervous City, Singapore National Gallery, Singapore
2022 Notations in Space, STPI Creative Workshop and Gallery, Singapore
2022 Artreimagined Singapore, Hatch Art Project, Singapore
2023 Hatyai International Artists Workshop, Thailand
2023 East Coast's Journey Art Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Selected Awards
1963 Allen Tucker Scholarship, New York, USA
1963 Ford Foundation Scholarship, New York, USA
1964 Provincetown Workshop Scholarship, Massachusetts, USA
1982 Inaugural United Overseas Bank (UOB) Painting of the Year Award, First Prize, Singapore
1984 Australia Business Council and Australia High Commission Art Award, First Prize, Singapore
1985 Salon des Artistes Française, Silver Medal, Grand Palais, Paris, France
1987 IBM Art Competition, 'Category' Award, Singapore
1988 IBM Art Competition. 'Merit' Award, Singapore
1989 Cultural Medallion, Ministry of Culture, Singapore
Commissioned Work
Straits Times Singapore
Conrad Centennial Hotel
Hyatt Regency Singapore
International Plaza
Land Transport Authority, Singapore
Punggol MRT
Maybank Main Singapore Branch
Ocean Towers, Singapore
Singapore Armed Forces
Singtel
Singapore Turf Club
Ascott Raffles Place
Westin Hotel
Farrer Park Hospital
Selected Bibliography
Sheares, Constance. Journeys - An Introduction, Deutsche Bank, Singapore, 1992
Kwok, Kian Chow. Channels & Confluences, A History of Singapore Art, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 1996
Chu, Marjorie. Understanding Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Art Forum Pte Ltd, Singapore, 2003
Koh, Buck Song. Southeast Asian Art, A New Spirit, Art & Artists Speak, Singapore 1997
Lee, Joanna. Narratives, National Arts Council, 2002
Choy, Weng Yang. Strategies, An Exhibition of Artworks by 7 Outstanding Contemporary, Singapore Artists, Takashimaya Gallery, Singapore 1993
Goh, Beng Kwan. Cresting the Waves. Singapore: Goh Beng Kwan, 2019
National Arts Council, National Heritage Board, Singapore Tourism Board, Ingression Impression, A foray into the visual arts in Singapore (CD-ROM), 2001
Corporate Collections Held in Singapore
Australian High Commission
Ban Hin Lee Bank Berhad
Bank of America
Chase Manhattan Bank New York
Westin Hotel, Singapore
Citibank N.A.
Deutsche Bank
Development Bank of Singapore
Exxon Mobil
Mount Elizabeth Hospital
Rabobank Netherlands
Raffles City Pte Ltd
Sheraton Towers
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Housing Development Board
Singapore Land Ltd
Singapore Trade Development Board
Singapore Treasury Building Pte Ltd
Tetra Pak Pacific Pte Ltd
United Overseas Bank
National Gallery, Singapore
Publications
2019 Cresting the Waves, Ilsa Sharp
2021 Goh Beng Kwan, Nervous City, National Gallery Publication
2022 #GBK85 – A Retrospective on Singaporean Artist Goh Beng Kwan Publication