He pioneered life figure drawing in Singapore, introducing it into the curriculum at the LASALLE College of the Arts in 1987. Singapore’s foremost art historian T. K. Sabapathy commented that his works were “the outstanding works” in a 1991 group show devoted to the human figure and nude form. His artistic trajectory, from art teacher to full-time artist, even mirrors that of the much-feted Singaporean Chinese painter Lim Tze Peng, who’s been celebrated as a titan of Singapore’s art scene.
Despite all of this, Singaporean artist Solamalay Namasivayam (1926–2013) never received significant recognition as a pioneering artist during his lifetime. Why?
This question gained force as I contemplated his nudes in Points of Articulation: Repose, a solo exhibition presented by Yeo Workshop earlier this year. One figure, especially, drew me in. It seemed to acquire more and more heft as I stared at its striking balance of white, ochre, and black against brown paper.