One of Singapore's most significant modern artists, Georgette Chen's love of painting was the mainstay of her eventful and peripatetic life: across the world, through two World Wars, and two Chinese Revolutions, her commitment to her practice never waned. Paris, Shanghai and New York: Georgette Chen, one of Singapore s foremost artists, once counted these cultural capitals as home and cut her teeth as a painter there. Chen, who also lived through wars and revolutions, eventually found in Singapore a veritable paradise, enchanted by its tropical climes and unexpected forms. It is these remarkable and cosmopolitan life experiences that have informed Chen s uniquely syncretic artistic practice and aesthetic style, as shown in this exhibition catalogue of over 100 full-colour image plates of Chen's paintings reproduced in sumptuous detail. Many of these works will be shown to the world for the first time. With critical essays and never- before seen archival materials, this monographic survey departs from prior biographical studies of Chen, and brings new perspectives on her independent artistic voice and vital role as an educator in the development of the Nanyang style.
