The mention of ceramics often brings about associations with Chinese porcelain or European Delftware. Little is it known that the ceramics scene in Singapore today is in fact very active and vibrant. Hobbyists and retirees made up the bulk of the practitioners, learning and making at dozens of pottery studios dotted around the island. Many of these studios, hidden in shophouses, industrial estates, and community centres, are helmed by semi-professional artists. Functional works — the cup, the bowl, the plate and the vase — remain highly popular, and are showcased every year or two at the Singapore Clay Festival, where potters come together for an annual grand bazaar. The objective of this short introduction to the ceramics scene is not meant to be representative of the industry, but to feature the most contemporary works that this writer has seen coming from established and emerging ceramics artists.
This month, two exhibitions, entitled Pottery Presents and Crystalline Ceramics, are on show at the LASALLE College of the Arts. They feature a fine array of Singaporean ceramics produced over the past five years, fired at the potters’ own electric kilns or the gas kilns at Ceramic House and Jalan Bahar Clay Studios. Running till 16 May, Pottery Presents plays on the different meanings of the word “present.” Presents can be ceramic gifts given between diplomats or friends; presents can also be the many concurrent time periods in which works of clay are created. Featuring works by potters from different generations and heritages, the exhibition reveals the mastery of ten artistic talents living and working in Singapore.
Inspiration from nature
Our shortlist must certainly begin with Dr. Iskandar Jalil and his student, Dr. Suriani Suratman. The master potter is famous for two things: the imprint of Jawi calligraphy on his vessels and the unique glaze known affectionately as “Iskandar blue.” Dr. Iskandar has been producing artworks since the 1970s, but new pieces in the art market are hard to come by. One of his latest works is a sea green chawan (tea bowl) that he has titled I See the Mountain. Jagged lines are carved onto the chawan’s body to imitate mountain ridges, while compressed nodes provide an ergonomic grip.
Dr. Iskandar Jalil’s student, Dr. Suriani Suratman, is equally fascinated with natural elements. Her works, mostly distinguished by a brown buff raku base material, imitate the shapes of seeds, leaves, and barks from the natural world. In one of her latest creations entitled Asas (Foundation), she uses a golden kintsugi technique to depict the tall roots of mangroves holding up hand-pinched Petri dishes. A swamp is formed with ceramic angsana seeds spreading themselves around the roots.
Other esteemed master potters working during the same period as Dr. Iskandar are Chua Soo Kim and Lim Kim Hui, whose spherical vases and tenmoku-glazed vessels have remained popular among collectors.
Cultural influences
The second-generation potters that follow in the master potters’ footsteps tend to draw inspiration from the ceramic forms of their Chinese forefathers. Ong Kok Peng and Kim Whye Kee derive the shapes of their 20-centimetre-tall vessels from the ancient Chinese globular and plum vases (meiping) respectively. Through years of practice and refinement, they have achieved the superior craftsmanship needed to create symmetrical vase shoulders on the potter’s wheel. Ong uses crystalline glazes to create crystal blooms in greens, blues, and reds, while Kim paints the national flower and little garden ladybirds on his beige meiping.
For veteran painter, printmaker, and clay artist Chua Chon Hee, the allure of traditional Chinese culture is always imminent. Buddhist philosophy and Chinese history surface again and again in her artworks of different mediums, from seals to scrolls. Her most recent masterpieces are a couple of three-legged jué wine holders. They are rendered in Chua’s typical cubist mosaic modelling with a faux lid. Like most of her ceramics works, these could also be described as modular, separated by lines and sections of different tints. As with her counterparts Ong and Kim, her aesthetics are characterised by the play of earthy yet vibrant hues.
Japanese and Korean ceramics have also made a major impact on the tableware crafted by local potters. Half a dozen independent ceramicists, including Keneth Tan, Lee Shen Lung, and Ummu Nabilah, have created distinct and attractive pieces for everyday use. Two other enterprising artisans to look out for are Daisy Toh and Lerae Lim, whose sake and coffee cups are currently on sale at the SOJAO Shop along Joo Chiat Road. Their colour palettes are in stark contrast to each other — Toh’s works display kaleidoscopic bravura, while Lim’s are imbued with monochromatic zen. Compared to their smaller-scale functional works, the larger trophies and moon jars in the exhibition further accentuate these brilliant effects.
Diverse expressions
Amongst the young potters in Singapore, Ng Yang Ce and Hans Chew could possibly be labelled as the two enfants terrible of the local clay scene. Ng enjoys carving rocks and mountain terrains. Her colourful ridges are engraved onto bowls, cups, and stools, which one can literally sit on!
Chew tends to be more experimental in his creativity by integrating ceramic sculpture with everyday urban environments, drawing inspiration from the likes of streets, buildings, and man-made objects. In one of his Curious Vessels series from 2021, he reshaped teapots and cups into animal-like forms and adorned them with minimalist patterns. After he graduated from his ceramics degree in Tokyo, Chew’s return to tropical Singapore motivated him to create life-sized objects modelled after plants and branches, though he replaced the browns and greens with fantastic, radiant shades.
Beyond the curated displays in the LASALLE exhibitions, the ceramic arts in Singapore today have been advancing by leaps and bounds. Local practitioners are diversifying their creative expressions through functional and sculptural pieces: some sculptors like Emily Moh and Shayne Phua have exhibited in prestigious galleries, while other clay artists, such as Ken Lu, Nelson Lim, and Todd Tok, are furthering their careers in Jingdezhen and Taiwan. There are also illustrious potters from India and Japan interacting and practising together with the Singaporean ceramicists, all of whom participate frequently in studio sales and charity sales at various hospitals and other sites. The next time you are in need of crockery and other tableware, consider supporting a local ceramic artisan near you.
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Pottery Presents runs till 16 May 2025, while Crystalline Ceramics by Alan Chong will be on show from 19th May to 19th June. Both exhibitions are held at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Library, Level 4, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, from Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Keen to learn even more about Singaporean pottery? Check out our 2020 interview with Dr. Iskandar Jalil and our 2023 visit to local studio Mud Rock Ceramics.
Header image: Key visual for Pottery Presents.
