When taking in the turbulent yet exquisite paintings of James Tan, one word
comes to mind more than any other: harmony.
The harmony, that is, of two distinct artistic styles: the delicacy and
rigour of traditional Chinese painting, and the freedom and individualism of
Western art.
This fusion, a defining feature of Tan’s work, is in concord with how the
artist has divided his life between Asia and North America. He was born in
Malaysia, studied art in Singapore, moved to San Francisco in the 1970s
where he opened his own gallery, moved back to Singapore, and since 2001 has
resided in Vancouver, where he operates his anonymously named gallery in
Chinatown and lives with his partner, Dr John Giffen.
Tan’s art is rooted in what is known as the Lingnan School of Chinese
painting, which combines traditional Chinese brushwork with Western
innovations such as wider colour palettes and greater freedom of emotional
expression. But Tan often takes the “Western” part of his style to the
limit, displaying an abstract expressionism reminiscent of Kandinsky and
Pollock.
“Chinese painting should not be just plum blossoms, bamboo, and mountains,”
says Tan. “Contemporary painting gives me the chance to explore and to
expose myself to a new world where what matters is image and emotions, not
subject matter.”
Tan is regarded as one of the foremost Chinese brush painters in the world.
He has had 37 solo exhibitions, and his work hangs in museums, government
organizations, banks and hotels around the world.
The Glass Hotel in Singapore ordered 1,000 of his paintings. The Emir of
Bahrain owns an original in his private collection.
Not bad for the youngest child of a rubber estate caretaker.
Tan is modest about his enormous success. “I am happy people like my work. I
am happy that it sells. But it does not mean a lot to me whether my work
sells or not. I am more focussed on the quality of my work than on selling
paintings.”
But neither does he betray false modesty when asked whether he is surprised
by it. “No. Because of all the hard work that I put into it, I knew I would
[be successful], so no, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”
What may come as a surprise to many people is what he has to say about
Singapore, the country where he studied his craft and spent most of his
life. Contrary to the popular conception of it as a hostile and oppressive
country, Singapore, Tan says, “is actually very open [about gay issues]. You
can say that it’s difficult to be a gay man there if you’re in the closet.
But if you open up about yourself it is not hard at all, because Singapore
is an open society. The Singaporean government has just promoted a
homosexual to a top job. People don’t really care whether you’re a
homosexual or straight.”
The story of how he ended up in Vancouver is a touching one. “I was planning
for a round-the-world trip, and I had never been to Canada,” he says. “I
went to Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. I was looking for friends, so I put
an ad on the Internet. And my partner today, John, answered my ad. So after
that we did a little correspondence, and I told him that I would be in
Vancouver in June 1999. After we met, we found out that we were very fond of
each other. So we started planning our relationship. It’s not an easy job to
be in a relationship, but so far,” he adds with a chuckle, “it’s been good.
