Chua Chon Hee (1960- ) is a fine arts educator and a multi-disciplinary artist who works extensively with ceramics and prints. Her intuitive approach to art making is characteristic of her personality: humble, gently persuasive, and always purposeful. Her works are formally inspired by nature and spiritually rooted in the Zen philosophy of ‘being in the moment’; they reflect the immediacy of everyday human experiences through spontaneous, organic forms.

This series of functional ceramics, titled Transformation, was a special commission by Audrey Koh for 5 Kingsmead Road. The soil from Chen Wen Hsi’s former residence had been kiln-fired and transformed into a new form of artistic existence, and now meaningfully integrated into the daily environment of the new residence. Elements of Chen’s paintings, such as colours and brushstrokes, find renewed life as compositional motifs upon these ceramic vessels. For instance, the malachite green and sky blue of his landscape paintings are translated into the glazes of the ceramics, while the cubist structures observed in his murals are reimagined through facets and cuts across the ceramic forms.

Compositional Breakdown