Ong Kim Seng (b. 1945, Singapore ), BBM. A.W.S. DF. N.W.S is one of the most acclaimed watercolour artists in Asia. A full-time artist since 1985, Mr Ong was awarded the Cultural Medallion in Visual Arts by the Republic of Singapore in 1990 and is a recipient of 8 awards from the prestigious American Watercolour Society (AWS) in New York. In 1990, he became the first Asian outside of the United States to be awarded the AWS membership. He was conferred the distinguished Dolphin Fellowship by the Society in 2000.
Ong Kim Seng's watercolour paintings are remarkable for their lyrical expressiveness and poetic charms. His works have been featured in numerous exhibitions around the world, including Singapore Art Museum, Agung Rai Museum and Neka Museum (Bali, Indonesia), and in other foreign missions and embassies of the Republic of Singapore. The watercolour maestro also counts Queen Elizabeth II of England, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, President of the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, President of the Republic of the Philippines, Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of India, the Governor of Hokkaido, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations amongst the long list of royal figures and luminaries who have come to be collectors of his art.
Ong Kim Seng has been an Art Advisor to the National Arts Council since 1998 and is a life Fellow of the National University of Singapore’s Centre of the Arts. He previously served as the President of the Singapore Watercolour Society from 1991 to 2001 and is currently their Honorary President. The artist’s most recent appointment was as Chief Judge for the International Watercolour Exposition held in China, among an international panel of judges from China, USA, Australia, Uruguay, Russia, France and Sweden.