My story & career
My name is Ai Ghee and I’m an artist based in Singapore.
My story
My approach to art draws influences ranging from contemporary art to classical fine art. I studied under Singapore artist Mr Tan Seng Yong - Singapore’s master “Tiger Painter’’ - throughout her secondary school years where I nurtured my passion for art and in particular, portraiture. My journey back to art came full circle in 2012 when I joined my first painting class at Singapore’s largest painting studio My Art Space where I self-developed my painting skills under the watchful guidance of numerous artists like Teh Chankerk, Yap Wen Shan, and Le Matt.
I have a deep interest in connecting my life-long interest in world affairs and political science into my art. My art is how I express the world and societal changes happening at the moment. Over the last few years, I created a series of political paintings filled with hidden symbolism and satire of world leaders, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, el at.
I am a pioneering member of the Naked Optimism Art Collective (est. 2019), where I investigated the human form, both the body and mind, down to the unconscious, metaphysical level, and exhibited in a group show - The Dominant Line - in January 2020. In the latest Naked Optimism collection - An Ice Cream State of Mind - I explore the impact of hidden emotions and lost memories that have unraveled during these life-changing COVID years, which will be shown at Affordable Art in November 2022.
Bio
Born and educated in Singapore, I spent several years studying and working in China and the United States. After completing my masters in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University and working for a Washington D.C. policy think tank, I returned to Singapore in 2012. I co-founded a tech start-up and also is the head of the Young China Watchers chapter in Singapore since 2016.
Group Shows
An Ice Cream State of Mind, Naked Optimism, Affordable Art Fair, Nov 2022
The Dominant Line, Naked Optimism, 1880, Jan 2020
Blowin' in the Wind: Global Refugee Crisis, My Art Space, Apr 2018
My Art Space 10th Members' Exhibition, My Art Space, Mar 2018
Media Interviews