Lin Hsin Hsin, What Happen Next?, 1990
Oil on paper
26 x 27.5 cm (visible), 28 x 29.5 x 1 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good, with mould present within the frame, reframing is advised.
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Rendered in a pale ultramarine wash, this piece is built around a single, decisive stroke of hot pink cutting through the centre, a spare, gestural approach where one mark carries the whole composition. The title reads as an open question posed by that gesture itself: the wash is calm, almost held in suspension, like still water, until the pink stroke breaks across it the way a wave breaks without warning, leaving the moment right after the mark is made as the piece's real subject.
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Lin Hsin Hsin 林欣欣 (Singaporean, b. 1952) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist renowned for her pioneering work across diverse media, including early innovations in digital art for visual and performing arts. With a foundation in mathematics and computer science, she is also an accomplished poet and composer, finding a shared abstractness in art, mathematics, and music.
Her artistic journey began in childhood but took shape after high school, when she delved into oil painting under the guidance of Nanyang-style pioneer Cheong Soo Pieng (Singaporean, 1917–1983). Inspired by European masters like Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró—who also explored the intersections of music and mathematics—Lin developed a unique approach to abstraction.
Her oil paintings from the 1970s to 1990s are marked by vibrant chromaticism and rhythmic compositions, reflecting philosophical meditations on the complexities of contemporary life in Singapore. Lin’s work stands as a significant contribution to Singapore’s post-independence arts landscape.
(Photographed in April 2026)