Memories of Time: Leo Hee Tong 时光印迹： 梁其栋

Towards the Future 奔向未来 (2019), Acrylic on canvas, 82cm x 122cm


The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) is proud to present Memories of Time: Leo Hee Tong时光印迹： 梁其栋, an exhibition showcasing the works of iconic Singaporean painter Leo Hee Tong. Featuring close to 50 paintings, both early and recent works from the NAFA alumnus will be on display. Held from 16 to 28 April 2024 at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Galleries, the exhibition affords audiences a glimpse into the visual panorama of the artist’s life, memories, and imagination. This exhibition will be Leo’s sixth solo after a decade, and his first at his alma mater.

From 1957 to 1960, Leo studied at NAFA under the guidance of pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng, a mentor who shaped his formative years as an artist. Leo later furthered his studies at the Ashiya Art College in Japan, where he encountered Western abstraction and Cubism through the lens of Japanese artistic traditions. This exposure sparked his experimentation with abstraction, colour, and compositions that opened new painterly expressions, one which has become a hallmark of his works today – graphically rich, tactile, and textured with nuanced tonal variations.


Kite Making (1969), Oil on canvas, 76 x 102cm

Over six decades of artistic pursuits, Leo created his pictorial vocabulary of texture and symbols that reflect the way he perceived the world. For example, in Towards the Future (2019), Leo contrasts the abundance of the present symbolised by pigeons feasting on fruit, against a nostalgic memory of a yearning in his childhood.  This longing is represented through the motif of bicycles, an item which he could not afford in his youth. Other survey pieces in exhibition include Kite Making (1969), On The Way Home (2021), and Summer Holiday in Bali (2018). Leo’s most recent public art commission Culture and Harmony was unveiled in 2022 and graces the entrance of the Stamford Arts Centre at Waterloo Street, in nearby vicinity of NAFA’s main campus at Bencoolen Street.

As part of the exhibition, Leo is also launching an accompanying publication. This publication carries a selection of Leo’s artworks, Chinese text with accompanying English translations, and essays by Dr Seng Yu Jin [Senior Curator and Deputy Director (Curatorial and Exhibtions), National Gallery Singapore]; Chia Wai Hon [Lecturer, N.D.D (Painting), Chelsea School of Art, London]; Art Historian T.K. Sabapathy; Dr Bridget Tracy Tan [Senior Director (Institute of Southeast Asian Arts & Art Galleries), NAFA]; as well as the artist himself.

Memories of Time: Leo Hee Tong时光印迹： 梁其栋 pays homage to artistic heritage and legacy, and illustrates NAFA’s pioneering spirit of exploration, while underscoring the academy’s commitment to regional arts through leading research, practice and development. The exhibition’s opening on 17 April 2024 (Wednesday) will be graced by Guest of Honour Ms Low Sin Leng, Chairman of the NAFA Board.

ANNEX 1 – Background Information
ANNEX 2 – Artist Biography
ANNEX 3 – Highlighted Artworks