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Profile
Artist Bio
Poh Lai is a Malaysia-born Singaporean artist who has been practising for the past decade, and has participated in many art exhibitions, including the prestigious President’s Charity Art Exhibition in 1997. He won several prizes and awards in art competitions over the years in Singapore and Malaysia.
He was awarded the Georgette Chen Scholarship by the National Arts Council (NAC) in 1996 for his second and third year course of diploma in Fine Arts on western painting at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore. In 2004, he gained a direct entry to second year of BA (Hons) Fine Arts programme at Falmouth College of Arts in UK, and graduated in July 2006.
From 2004 to 2006, he received a couple of bursaries, namely: NAC (Singapore) Overseas Bursary, and Lee Foundation (Singapore) for his studies on the BA Fine Art programme at Falmouth College of Arts, Cornwall UK. Apart from the course work, he also developed a body of works which he called a love series, a symbolic series in which he used the model of hands to express Different Ways of Expressing Love. It was featured at Falmouth Arts Centre – Spring Gallery from 7th to 13th June 2005. The show entitled ‘Different Ways of Handling Love – Windows of Fal’ received a very good response and positive comments from the public and tourists in Falmouth. In April 2007, he showcased his latest works at the Alliance Francaise de Singapore.
His three-month long artist residency at Cite Internationale Des Arts in Paris in 2003 has indeed helped him to learn more about European lifestyle, arts and cultures. Poh Lai said ‘My sojourn in Paris was an eye opener and memorable event in my life’. His direct experience with different cultures has broadened his horizons and perspectives. Not only Paris, but Cornwall, has also been a source of inspiration to his painting development.
In artistic development, he has moved from one subject to another, either through a conscious decision or due to the sudden dawning of insight. He is a very versatile artist who has also developed his own styles on street scene series and figurative works.
Finally, he made many art contributions amongst which are the mural paintings he did for schools and other public places. In addition, his paintings are collected and displayed by many private individuals and public institutions, such as the SMRT, Dr. Earl Lu Gallery, Youth Musical Society, St. Andrew’s Hospital, Police Coast Guard and the NAC collect his paintings.
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