Oscar Xyh (b. 1999, Singapore) is a Singapore based artist known for his abstract Chinese ink paintings. Xyh’s relationship with Chinese ink painting is sudden and unexpected. He initially undertook the NAFA Diploma with the intention of exploring Western painting. However, after being introduced to Chinese ink, he found his attraction towards the medium’s complexity.
Xyh’s reflection of Chinese ink painting is that it takes patience, practice, sensitivity, and a contemplative yet calm and uncluttered state of mind. He has since stuck to honing his ink-painting skills, opting for Chinese ink as the main medium of artistic expression. Due to the nature of the medium, it enhances working spontaneously, confidently yet cautiously all at once. The artist could easily express himself through the gestures of brushstrokes, leading him towards abstraction.
His stylistic contemporary abstract ink paintings were chosen to exhibit in “Perceptions 感知: Chinese Ink at NAFA” (2018), “Explorations 探索: Chinese Ink at NAFA” (2019) and shortly after completing his National Service in 2021, Xyh co-hosted a group art show called “PA3otic” (2022) at Crane (Arab Street), featuring his latest abstract explorations. Soon after, his traditional Chinese paintings were exhibited in another group show, “Baisheng Church Art Exhibition” (2022).
In 2023, Xyh’s artistic direction shifted towards high abstraction with “black on black” as the start of his inquiry. His first two black on black, large-scale abstract ink paintings were shown in his BA (Hons) in Fine Art graduation show and his subsequent work was shown in Temenggong Artists-In-Residence’s Zhong Yuan Festival 2023 event.
