Image size: 74.4 x 53.8 cm
Ng Eng Teng (b. 1934; d.2001) is one of Singapore’s most beloved sculptors and well known for his forays in figuration. When studying at the Farnham School of Art in 1963, Ng had the opportunity to explore the nude subject – it was not possible then at NAFA to work with live nude models. Ng resumed life drawing in 1991 through a group called Group 90 which was started by S Namasivayam, Chia Wai Hon and Sim Tong Khern; they were art teachers, semiretired from schools and the Institute of Education. Ng came to use coloured pencils by chance in 1991 and found that he could “make sense” out of the coloured pencils and “depict the reality of the subject” despite its appearance of amateurishness and even though it could never completely depict life and flesh, if the colour pencils could tease out the human form that he desired, he did not mind what medium was used. Ng made numerous nude drawings of males and females in his career alongside the production of his iconic sculptures. In the same way that he expressed emotions through sculptures, Ng used life drawing to interpret and convey the essence of the subject's personality.
