In celebration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence, The Private Museum is proud to present The Art of Lee Boon Ngan: Celebrating 60 Years of Singapore through the Love of Chua Mia Tee & Lee Boon Ngan, a landmark exhibition honouring the love and legacy of two Singaporeans who have dedicated their lives to art and nation.
While her husband, Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee, is widely recognised for his contributions to Singapore’s national visual identity through his realist paintings, Lee remained the steadfast and quiet strength of the family as a wife and mother—while continuing to pursue her practice, and secured her spot alongside Chua as an artist in her own right. This exhibition centres her story, highlighting her unwavering commitment to her practice across decades, a profound devotion to artistic expression and excellence while finding fulfilment in her role meeting needs and nurturing familial bonds.
This exhibition is a poignant tribute to dedication and resilience, featuring rarely seen portraits of their children and grandchildren, offering a unique biographical window into the private world of a family bound by art. Alongside a selection of Chua’s renowned landscape paintings and portraits of public figures, the exhibition presents a series of Lee’s exquisite flower paintings she was widely lauded for—a visual realisation of their shared sensibilities, rooted in their passion for realist art, and a quiet reverence for our country.
From glimpses of their shared studio space to works that speak of everyday affection, this presentation harmonises two monumental figures and foregrounds the often invisible labour of love behind art. As Singapore reflects on 60 years of independence, this exhibition reminds us that nation-building is not only about grand gestures, but also the tender, often uncelebrated choices that shape lives and legacies.
This exhibition marks the third instalment in The Private Museum’s exciting lineup of programmes for 2025.
The exhibition will run from 10 July to 21 September 2025.
The Private Museum is delighted to present Love Connects: My Life in Dance by Goh Soo Khim, a book launch accompanied by a special exhibition that offers a glimpse into her journey in dance, her artistic influences, and her enduring legacy in the cultural landscape in Singapore.
Cultural Medallion recipient Goh Soo Khim is a pioneering figure whose influence extends far beyond the stage. As co-founder of the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT), now known as Singapore Ballet, the doyenne has shaped the landscape of dance in Singapore, nurturing generations of dancers.
Her memoir, as told by Phan Ming Yen, traces a life in motion—chronicling the triumphs, sacrifices, and the devotion that have defined her life in dance and beyond. In dialogue with the book, the exhibition explores vignettes of life-long relationships forged through art and poignant moments from her time with SDT.
The exhibition presents a series of photographs by Robin PE Chee and Tan Ngiap Heng, long-time photographers who have documented SDT’s performances for decades—alongside an intimate selection of works from her private collection, featuring renowned and established artists whose works resonate with her journey. Through the lens of photography and the visual arts, it highlights the artistic collaborations, shared influences, and her enduring love for the arts.
At the heart of both the book and the exhibition is a singular theme—love. Love, in its purest form, is the driving force behind all that Goh Soo Khim has built: the communities she has nurtured, the dancers she has inspired, and the legacy she continues to shape.
The exhibition will run from 21 March to 13 April 2025.
About the Author
Co-founder and Artistic Director of Singapore’s first professional dance company, Singapore Dance Theatre, Goh Soo Khim (b.1944, Singapore) is a highly respected figure in Singapore’s dance scene and has been closely associated with the development of ballet in Singapore. Hailing from a family of well-known dancers, teachers and choreographers, Goh first trained at the Singapore Ballet Academy (SBA) before becoming the first Asian to be admitted to the Australian Ballet School in 1964. She assumed leadership of SBA in 1971 and was actively involved in the dance scene as educator, dancer and choreographer throughout the 1970s and 1980s culminating in the founding of the Singapore Dance Theatre in 1988. Goh was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1981 and the National Day Public Service Medal in 1989 for her contributions to dance. She was also named Her World magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2008. Goh was inducted to the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014.
In conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2025, The Private Museum is proud to present Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh. This exhibition marks the second showcase of Richard Koh’s evolving journey as a collector and gallerist, showcasing over 50 works from his personal collection. This new selection of works reflects an evolving journey that continues to resonate with new meanings in The Private Museum’s expansive space at the Osborne House.
Building upon the narrative of the first instalment in 2019—held at the museum’s former home at 51 Waterloo Street—the second instalment expands the scope of Koh’s deeply personal collection. The first showcase offered an intimate glimpse into Koh’s collection—emphasising monochromatic, abstract, and landscape works that reflected quiet introspection. Now, Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story continues to unfold a collection rich in personal meaning—presenting works that trace Koh’s decades-long interactions with art and the artists he admires.
Collected with a focus on memory and emotion, Koh’s private collection spans Southeast Asia and beyond, blending local, regional, and global perspectives. This exhibition deepens the dialogue between art and life, revealing Koh’s ongoing exploration of what he calls a “visual diary”—works that evoke deeply personal moments and emotions.
As both a collector and the founder of Richard Koh Fine Art, Richard Koh has played a pivotal role in shaping and contributing towards the art ecology in Southeast Asia. This collaboration with Richard Koh underscores the collective effort and dedication towards fostering meaningful exchanges between artists, collectors, the arts communities, and audiences from all walks of life.
Kickstarting the Museum’s 2025 programme, Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story invites all to explore the richness of art and discover how collections can tell deeply personal stories. As Richard Koh aptly states, “Art, in any collection, should have its own story,” inspiring audiences to embark on their own journey of collecting and storytelling through art.
The exhibition will be run from 9 January to 9 March 2025.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
The Private Museum is pleased to present As One Thing Flows To Another, curated by guest curator Ng Hui Hsien. The exhibition reimagines culture, heritage, and traditions in contemporary contexts—connecting an expansive range of artistic forms through multidisciplinary collaborations. It explores the works of eight visual artists, and features special collaborations with leading Singaporean music charity, The TENG Company as well as Photographer and Author, Dr Chua Yang, daughter of Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee. The exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of The TENG Company and the launch of the second book in the Women Inspiring Women series by Dr Chua Yang.
As One Thing Flows To Another explores the eight graces within Chinese culture: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and tea. Each of these elements carries a long history and profound philosophies in Chinese culture, evoking images of leisure, serenity, and refinement. Historically, they served as cultural capital, conferring status on practitioners within the realm of the literati. During ancient China, the term “six arts” developed to encapsulate some of these elements, and later, the term “four arts” emerged. In more recent times, the umbrella term “eight graces” is used.
Such observations highlight the creative evolution of language and culture. Embracing the idea of change and departing from a historical understanding, As One Thing Flows To Another reimagines the eight graces in our contemporary context, drawing inspiration from their modern associations. In this exhibition, artworks intertwine and diverge in their characteristics, forming loose and free connections that weave together broad themes of nature, everyday life, and nationhood in contemporary times.
As One Thing Flows To Another invites visitors to experience moments of inspiration, humour, and contemplation, aiming to foster a renewed appreciation for the fluidity of cultural elements and the bending of conventions that shape our world.
The exhibition will be run from 10 August to 22 September 2024.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
A primary essential element in calligraphy is time. What is time? I do not know. I only know eternity means that time no longer exists. Buddha is dead, Jesus is dead. Eventually all life form vanishes. Beings exist in the present, live and die between to be and not to be.
Fung Ming Chip, 2012
The Private Museum presents a special exhibition developed from the long-term relationship that began 15 years ago between Singapore-based collector, Christopher Franck, and Hong Kong-based artist, Fung Ming Chip. Franck’s collection of Fung’s works introduces the artist’s early experimentation with the medium of traditional Chinese calligraphy. The large-scale site-specific conceptual installation of his Chan & Heart Sutra Series is a development of Fung’s recurring theme of Heart Sutra in his earlier works. Fung’s latest work is a result of transforming an established art form into an entirely new style that challenges the values which shape human behavior and perception. In his continuous search of what calligraphy is, Fung pushes the boundaries of the medium and explores the element of time.
In conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2017, The Private Museum is proud to present 21st Century Calligraphy: Selections from the Nanshun Shanfang Collection. The exhibition features 19 Chinese calligraphy works from 5 established Chinese calligraphers such as Wang Dongling, Sun Xiaoyun, Wang Tiande, Wei Ligang, and Guan Jun.
Wang Dongling’s artworks illuminate the essence of gestural abstraction through his bold experimentations of embodied action and performance in Chinese calligraphy. Wang Tiande’s artistic practice explores the ambivalent relation between contemporaneity and the traditional. Wei Ligang’s background in mathematics contributes to his unique approach of the deconstruction and re-construction of Chinese characters in his artworks. Sun Xiaoyun’s emphasis on her brushstrokes and aesthetics, along with Guan Jun’s neoclassical style, portray distinctive interpretations of historical transcripts by renowned Chinese poets such as Du Fu and Su Dong Po.
Viewers will gain the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the wide array of calligraphy styles-reflective of their various artistic development and practices in breaking the conventional approach of Chinese calligraphy-displayed through this collection.