Tay Bak Koi, Fishing on a Rock, Undated

Watercolour on paper
46 x 45 cm
Condition: Very good, with some superficial stains on the matboard and interior glazing of the frame.
Certificate of Authenticity from the Estate of Tay Bak Koi available.

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Alongside his signature water buffaloes, Tay Bak Koi's other constant subject was the working waterway of fishing villages, floating markets, boats drawn up on rocks, rendered in the muted browns, blues and yellows he reserved for the Singapore River and its trades. Of this group, Floating Market (1967) is the earliest artwork painted while that world was still fully intact; Trees (1989) and Returning Home (3) (1989) comes after the waterfront's clearance, looking back at the same subject from further away, and while Fishing and Fishing on a Rock are undated, they sit within the same body of work. Together they trace one subject across decades of Tay's career.

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Tay Bak Koi (Singaporean, 1939–2003) studied under Cheong Soo Pieng (Chinese, 1917–1983) at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1957. During his three-year course, he supported himself by selling crabs at a market stall while experimenting with oils and watercolours. Frustrated by the structural rigidity and formal instructional methods of art academia, he was determined to pursue a lifelong career in the arts but recognised the need to cultivate a distinctive style to establish himself as an artist.

Tay’s early works captured Singapore’s vanishing landscapes, portraying geometric kelongs and kampongs with a keen sensitivity to texture. His restrained use of colour acted as a form of punctuation, emphasising contrast and meaning within his compositions. Blending fantasy and reality, his art often reimagined urban landscapes through abstraction. A master of elimination and distortion, Tay distilled complex forms to their essence, developing a visual language that was both striking and deeply introspective.

(Photographed in July 2026)

Watercolour on paper
46 x 45 cm
Condition: Very good, with some superficial stains on the matboard and interior glazing of the frame.
Certificate of Authenticity from the Estate of Tay Bak Koi available.

-

Alongside his signature water buffaloes, Tay Bak Koi's other constant subject was the working waterway of fishing villages, floating markets, boats drawn up on rocks, rendered in the muted browns, blues and yellows he reserved for the Singapore River and its trades. Of this group, Floating Market (1967) is the earliest artwork painted while that world was still fully intact; Trees (1989) and Returning Home (3) (1989) comes after the waterfront's clearance, looking back at the same subject from further away, and while Fishing and Fishing on a Rock are undated, they sit within the same body of work. Together they trace one subject across decades of Tay's career.

-

Tay Bak Koi (Singaporean, 1939–2003) studied under Cheong Soo Pieng (Chinese, 1917–1983) at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1957. During his three-year course, he supported himself by selling crabs at a market stall while experimenting with oils and watercolours. Frustrated by the structural rigidity and formal instructional methods of art academia, he was determined to pursue a lifelong career in the arts but recognised the need to cultivate a distinctive style to establish himself as an artist.

Tay’s early works captured Singapore’s vanishing landscapes, portraying geometric kelongs and kampongs with a keen sensitivity to texture. His restrained use of colour acted as a form of punctuation, emphasising contrast and meaning within his compositions. Blending fantasy and reality, his art often reimagined urban landscapes through abstraction. A master of elimination and distortion, Tay distilled complex forms to their essence, developing a visual language that was both striking and deeply introspective.

(Photographed in July 2026)

Artwork located in: Singapore