Lim Hsiang Iu was born in 1963. During his childhood and youth, he developed a keen interest in photography and fine arts. However, after college, he stopped painting and was guided by his father into the study of Architecture. He graduated in 1990 with an honours degree in Architecture from the National University of Singapore, and was subsequently awarded a scholarship by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to pursue a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University of New York City in 1995. He has spent much of the last 30 years practising as a professional Architect in his own firm. Despite the proliferation of computer-based design tools, he is still steeped in the old school ways of pencil sketching and rendering in colour pencils and markers.
In 2014, with the encouragement of a good friend, he was persuaded to start painting in watercolours, and was admitted into the Singapore Watercolour Society in 2016.
With no formal pedagogy in fine arts, his approach to painting is self-taught. His education and experience have fostered a strong aesthetic foundation that naturally carried through into his paintings. They are a reflection of his character and professional background; carefully executed, meticulous and detailed to a fault, with emphasis on light and shadow, and on depth of field. They are a pure representation of what he thinks he sees, that is meaningful to him. Hopefully it may affect the viewer in his own way from his own life experiences.
He has participated in the annual exhibitions of the Singapore Watercolour Society and the American Watercolor Society.
Singapore Watercolour Society 47th Annual Exhibition, 2016
Singapore Watercolour Society 48th Annual Exhibition, 2017
Singapore Watercolour Society 49th Annual Exhibition, 2018
American Watercolor Society 152nd Annual International Exhibition, 2019
Singapore Watercolour Society 50th Annual Exhibition, 2019
The Watercolour Society of Western Australia, International Watercolour Exhibition Fremantle 2020
Singapore Watercolour Society 52nd Annual Exhibition, 2021
The 12th Incheon World Art Exhibition, 2021