Ruben Pang’s artistic process explores automatism as a philosophy of becoming, where the act of painting reveals the inherent neurosis in the human condition. Each work emerges as a meditation on transformation, allowing thought and emotion to find form through colour and movement.

Ruben Pang’s artistic process explores automatism as a philosophy of becoming, where the act of painting reveals the inherent neurosis in the human condition. Each work emerges as a meditation on transformation, allowing thought and emotion to find form through colour and movement.

Born in Singapore in 1990, Ruben Pang is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and music. Trained as a painter, he later extended his exploration into the dynamism of ceramic sculpture and the collaborative process of sound through A Talon Touches a Lake. Pang uses a combination of oils, alkyds, and acrylics on aluminum panels, Pang paints, scratches, and erases using brushes, hands, palette knives, and sandpaper. The layered surface reflects the movement of his thoughts and emotions, revealing a continuous negotiation between intention and intuition. He prefers aluminum for its rigidity and reflective qualities, which capture the nuances of each gesture while allowing the image to evolve through time. Pang’s painting is both reinforced and counterpointed through sculpture. In ceramics, he embraces the immediacy and vitality of falling into a motif, and actively resists unnecessary meddling with the motif, in order to “never erase (his) eccentricities”.

Born in Singapore in 1990, Ruben Pang is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and music. Trained as a painter, he later extended his exploration into the dynamism of ceramic sculpture and the collaborative process of sound through A Talon Touches a Lake. Pang uses a combination of oils, alkyds, and acrylics on aluminum panels, Pang paints, scratches, and erases using brushes, hands, palette knives, and sandpaper. The layered surface reflects the movement of his thoughts and emotions, revealing a continuous negotiation between intention and intuition. He prefers aluminum for its rigidity and reflective qualities, which capture the nuances of each gesture while allowing the image to evolve through time. Pang’s painting is both reinforced and counterpointed through sculpture. In ceramics, he embraces the immediacy and vitality of falling into a motif, and actively resists unnecessary meddling with the motif, in order to “never erase (his) eccentricities”.

A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest
A formal oil painting of a man in a black coat, wearing a medal on his chest

Pang resists binaries in genres such as ‘abstraction’ and ‘figuration’ and embraces both experimental and traditional approaches, often combining both within the same painting. A sensitivity to superficial finish is characteristic of his work. Working without a preconceived image of the final composition, his approach allows the imagery to surface spontaneously; a “visual syncopation, like searching for a melody in white noise”. Pang treats the creative process as an adventure, with a narrative arc and conflict. Painting distilled from a creative journey is a life within itself and offers a world to the world. His recent exhibitions include Medea at Antico Mercato di Ortigia, Italy (2023); Contemporary Chaos at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway; Meccaniche della Meraviglia at MO.CA, Brescia (2018); and The Figure in Process: De Kooning to Kapoor at the Paul Allen Brain Institute, Seattle (2015). His works Fear of Lying (2020) and Type 0 Civilization (2018) are part of the Singapore Art Museum’s collection. Pang received the Georgette Chen Arts Scholarship (2009–2010) and the Winston Oh Travelogue Award (2010).

Pang resists binaries in genres such as ‘abstraction’ and ‘figuration’ and embraces both experimental and traditional approaches, often combining both within the same painting. A sensitivity to superficial finish is characteristic of his work. Working without a preconceived image of the final composition, his approach allows the imagery to surface spontaneously; a “visual syncopation, like searching for a melody in white noise”. Pang treats the creative process as an adventure, with a narrative arc and conflict. Painting distilled from a creative journey is a life within itself and offers a world to the world. His recent exhibitions include Medea at Antico Mercato di Ortigia, Italy (2023); Contemporary Chaos at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway; Meccaniche della Meraviglia at MO.CA, Brescia (2018); and The Figure in Process: De Kooning to Kapoor at the Paul Allen Brain Institute, Seattle (2015). His works Fear of Lying (2020) and Type 0 Civilization (2018) are part of the Singapore Art Museum’s collection. Pang received the Georgette Chen Arts Scholarship (2009–2010) and the Winston Oh Travelogue Award (2010).

Artist CV
Artist CV
Artist CV
Artist CV

Artwork Showcase

Alleviation Through Michael

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminium composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Alleviation Through Michael

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminium composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Alleviation Through Michael

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminium composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Minerva A Woven Storm

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminum composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Minerva A Woven Storm

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminum composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Minerva A Woven Storm

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminum composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Alleviation Through Michael

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminium composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024

Minerva A Woven Storm

Oil, alkyd and dammar varnish on aluminum composite panel

80 x 100 cm

2024