Impress Galleries proudly presents Lim Tze Peng: A Century in Ink, an exhibition that celebrates the extraordinary life and practice of late Singapore artist Lim Tze Peng (b. 1921-2025). Lim, a Cultural Medallion winner in 2003, was also posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Order (Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang) in August 2025 for his contributions to Singapore’s visual arts and cultural heritage.
Featuring over 70 paintings and calligraphy works created by Lim between the 1990s and 2024, the exhibition pays tribute to a lifetime devoted to the brush. On showcase are ink works of Singapore landscapes, kampong scenes, still lifes, trees, and calligraphy accomplished by Lim across different decades and styles. In a rare unveiling, 80% of the works have never been seen publicly, with a large number drawn from Lim’s family collection.
Lim Tze Peng: A Century in Ink will be officially opened by distinguished Guest-of-Honour, Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, on Friday, 12 September 2025, 6:30-8:00pm at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Multi-Purpose Hall (Level 7).
Born in Singapore in 1921, Lim devoted himself to painting and calligraphy while still a teenager studying at the Chung Cheng High School in the 1940s. Largely self-taught, he became a full-time artist in 1981 after retiring as the principal of Sin Min School. Lim’s artistic oeuvre traces not only the arc of a singular artistic vision, but also the unfolding story of a nation in transformation. Lim’s paintings from the late 1970s-1980s captured the vanishing Malay kampongs, riverside godowns, and bustling shophouse streets of a bygone Singapore – each work a reflection on memory, place, and belonging. In his later years, Lim turned inward, distilling the essence of form into bold, calligraphic abstractions that pulse with rhythm and energy. These works, liberated from representation, embody both the discipline of tradition and the daring of innovation. Lim Tze Peng: A Century in Ink invites the audience to witness the inexhaustible spirit of an artist and a body of work that is at once personal record, cultural memory, and a lifelong devotion to artistic innovation.
Exhibition Opening
Date: Friday, 12 September 2025
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Guest-of-Honour: Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies
Exhibition Period
Date: 12 – 21 September 2025
Time: 11am – 7pm daily
Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Multi-Purpose Hall (Level 7), 1 Straits Boulevard, Singapore 01890
