Eng Tow

Artist, Singapore
 

13 from series "Kelong" by Eng Tow. Year: 1986. Medium: Handcast paperwork. Size: 89 x 110 cm.

Eng Tow began her art education in Singapore at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts but later left for the UK where she completed a Bachelor of Arts at the Winchester School of Art (1972), followed by a Master of Arts at the Royal College of Art in London (1974). She then worked in London for a number of years before returning to Singapore in 1981.Eng Tow is a noted mixed media artist, having produced important works in hand-cast paper, textiles and a variety of other media. In the 1980s, she was acknowledged by Kwok Kian Chow (Director ofthe Singapore Art Museum) as one of the most outstanding female artists in Singapore. One of her recent major achievements is a work commissioned by the Land Transport Authority for Kovan MRT Station on the North-East Line. Titled ‘The Trade-Off’, it is a site-specific, permanent installation of floor-works based on maps of the area. Since 1974, her works have been showcased at numerous group exhibitions and seven solo exhibitions spanning Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Australia, UK, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, France and USA. Eng Tow was awarded the New Craftsmen's Grant from the Crafts Council, UK in 1977 and the British Crafts Award (Textiles) by Telegraph Sunday Magazine (UK) the following year. She was also presented the Fellowship Award by the Asian Cultural Council/JDR III Fund, USA and the Japan Foundation in 1986 and 1989 respectively. In 1991, she was awarded Artist Residency at the Curtin University in Western Australia.

Shikoku Isle by Eng Tow. Year: 1989. Medium: Mixed media. Size: 80 x 100 cm.

Excerpt from Women Artists by Kwok Kian Chow

The 1980s saw the emergence of many outstanding women artists including Eng Tow, Chng Seok Tin, Lin Hsin Hsin and Han Sai Por.

Eng Tow's Kelong series and Shikoku Isle are works recording the transformation of mixed media materials through pressing, casting and shaping, A graduate of NAFA, Eng studied textile in Britain and worked there as a lecturer and designer in textile before returning to Singapore in 1981. Eng's work in the 1970s was mainly textile construction and in the 1980s she became interested also in handcast paperwork.



Artists who have worked with the Victorian Tapestry Workshop - Eng Tow, Ian Woo, Simon Wong

Postcards of Tropical Rainforest Flora 5 designs in watercolour by Singapore artist Eng Tow showing plants of the rainforest of the Southeast Asia. The cards are packed in an attractive pocket which includes a write-up of each plant species