Wan Soon Kam

b. 1943, Singapore

Wan Soon Kam | 王春鑫 (b. 1943, Singapore) is a watercolor and acrylic painter. He is known locally for his tranquil portrayals of landscapes, rustic kampongs (village), woods, fields and deserted streets and lanes. He is inspired to create these from having spent his childhood in a small village in Hainan Island, China.

Wan received his training in commercial art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1961 and worked as a book designer and illustrator with a publishing company. It was his experience in book illustrating that acquainted him with oil, watercolour and acrylic media. He painted in his spare time after work, and in 1976, he quit his job to become a full-time painter.

Wan is a low-profile but prolific painter. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally. He enjoyed several solo exhibitions in the 1970s and 1980s, and in 2016 presented the Wan Soon Kam Retrospective Exhibition at the ARTrium@MCI at the Old Hill Street Police Station. His group exhibitions include Represented in Singapore Art 1974-1983 at the National Museum (1984) and the National Museum Centenary Art Exhibition (1987).

For his contributions to art, he was awarded a medal from the Ministry of Culture in 1977.

Wan’s works have been collected by Singtel, the National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore’s embassies and high commissions abroad, and Singapore Press Holdings.