Born in 1937 in Johor, Malaysia, Tan Teng Kee received a B.A in Fine Arts from New Asia College in 1962 and later furthered his studies at the State Academy of Art, Dusseldorf, Germany in 1967. In 1971, he arrived in Singapore to take up a teaching position at the Baharuddin Vocational Institute. Considered to be one of the pioneers of metal-sculpting in Singapore, Tan is known for using industrial materials as his sculpting medium.