Victor Tan, a practicing sculptor, earned himself a reputation in the art scene with his unusual and persistent choice of medium, wire. His work is characterized by the use of wire and wire alone. Coupled with his unique techniques, which he employs with great success, he investigates existential ideas about humanity, the isolation of the human emotions in the moment, and through the passage of time and life. Sculpture to him, is a way of exploring and experiencing the constant change and movement around him. For Victor, each change, each movement, each experience suggests a new possibility.
The vast majority of Victor’s sculptures have been centered on the human figure, birds, horses etc. His earliest pieces seemed to express a language or voice which Victor uses to work through his anxieties and traumas. Or perhaps a therapy even to release his inner fears and thoughts, through a language that words cannot express. Creating sculpture at this point in his existence is about healing, about seeking happiness, about contemplation, about finding meanings in life.
As he grows in his artistic career, Victor continues to find inspiration from his feelings, and also through his interactions with people, his beliefs and through world issues that touch and move him. In his hands, the everyday are reworked such that it makes one starts to ponder. His work highlights the mundane, the humble person that we are, caught perhaps in a certain journey, examining and perhaps releasing a variety of emotions and wonderings.
Victor has completed work for numerous prestigious commissions including his first commission in 1998, a dramatic pageant of five larger than life human figures representing the fingers of a hand making the ‘OK’ sign. In the same year, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture) from RMIT. His works are now held in many corporate and private collections in US, The Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and Singapore.
In 1999 Victor was awarded The Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award, which led to a 6 months residency in London and in 2000 his first solo exhibition was staged in London. The experience was eye-opening and exposed Victor to the arts scene in London, meeting with students and artists, museums and galleries, giving him a clearer idea on his artistic career path.
The second solo exhibition, in his home country “between 2 and 3” re-affirmed the growth of a young exciting sculptor. His sold-out pieces were of a series of entrances; man in the moment of crossing through a frame into a new space. The artist’s statement for the works suggests a metaphor for human existence being in a continual state of flux and that the frame does not draw out the boundaries but instead offers a platform of possibilities.
Numerous other exhibitions followed in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. At the same time, he was also commissioned to work on sculptures now permanently at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, Orchard Central, Sentosa and more.
A visit to Victor’s studio at Telok Kurau Studios, sees a large gathering of sculptures, each sending his own message whilst relaying and connecting with the rest in their own ways. In his next solo exhibition which lasted 3 long months at the concourse of the Singapore Esplanade in 2006-7, Victor brought his studio, and his works spanning the past 10 years into the public eye. The sheer number of works being exhibited, nearly a hundred of them, an explosion of sorts, all seemingly floating and dancing around in a dreamlike state, this site specific installation imbued them with new meaning and demanded their re-evaluation.
Even as he continues to enjoy the process of making art in this studio, it is also here that Victor explores and deals with life’s frustrations and the constant questioning of what he can do to help the needful. The world remains much more to be understood, the outrage happenings of the world, the calamities happening one after another, and many more appalling stories from the BBC radio that is kept on while Victor is working. This probably explains why the sculptures that Victor creates seem to explore on one side the calm, light and reflective contemplation of human life, and on the other, the serious philosophical concerns and frustrations of the world we now live in.
Many would agree that Victor’s work makes one feel time, see mood and touches one’s heart. As for Victor, who is still searching for ways artists can contribute to make this world a better place for everyone.
“My sculptures are about being on a journey. Whether you are standing, sitting or lying down, the journey continues. In my journey and through my sculptures, I hope I can touch the hearts and influence the minds of fellow passengers. And if I can in some way alleviate human sufferings through my art; that would make my journey a worthy one.”
陈为达是一位执业雕塑家。他凭借对独特的媒材，金属丝，的选择与执着，在艺术界赢得了声誉。他的作品的特点就是单单使用金属丝。建立在他独特并且熟练的技巧之上，他尝试探索，研究关于人性的存在、人类情感的孤立以及时间和生命的流逝。雕塑对他来说是一种探索和体验周围不断变化和运转的方式。对于陈为达来说，每一次变化、变动、不同的经历都可能意味着一种新地可能。
陈为达多数雕塑都以人物、鸟类、马等为中心。他早期的作品被评价为陈为达用来抒发缓解焦虑和创伤的表达方式。也或许是一种疗愈，通过语言无法表达的方式来释放他内心的恐惧与意念。现阶段的陈为达所创作的雕塑有关治愈、寻求幸福、沉思、并且寻找生活的意义。
随着他的艺术生涯的逐渐成长，陈为达也从他的感受，通过他与人的互动、他的信仰以及他有感触的议题来寻找灵感。他通过作品，让人开始思考日常生活中被忽略的议题。他的作品凸显了我们平凡而谦虚的人，也许陷入了某种旅程，开始审视并释放各种情感和疑问。
陈为达已经完成了许多著名的委托项目，包括 1998 年的第一个委托项目，是一场戏剧性的盛会，由五个比真人更大的人物雕塑组成，代表一只手做出“OK”手势的手指。同年，他毕业于皇家墨尔本理工大学，获得美术学士学位（雕塑）。他的作品至今有被美国、荷兰、日本、香港、墨西哥和新加坡的许多企业和收藏家收藏。
1999年，陈为达荣获英联邦工艺美术奖，并在伦敦驻留了6个月，并于2000年在伦敦举办了他的首次个展。这次经历让陈为达大开眼界，接触了伦敦的艺术界，与学生和艺术家、博物馆和画廊交谈，让他对自己的艺术职业生涯有了更清晰的想法。
他在祖国新加坡举办的第二次个展“2和3之间”再次肯定了这位年轻，令人兴奋的雕塑家的成长。他的售罄作品是一系列入口；人在穿越框架进入新空间的那一刻。这些作品隐喻着人类存在处于不断变化的状态，框架并没有划出界限，而是提供了一个可能性的平台。
随后在日本、香港和新加坡举办了许多其他展览。与此同时，他还受委托在新加坡植物园、乌节路、圣淘沙等地方永久创作雕塑作品。
参观陈为达在直落古楼的工作室 (Telok Kurau Studios) 时，会看到一大堆雕塑，每个雕塑都传达着自己的信息，同时以自己的方式与其他雕塑进行互动与沟通。 2006年 7月，陈为达在新加坡滨海艺术中心大厅举行了为期三个月的个展，将他的工作室和过去10年的作品带入了公众的视野。展出的作品数量之多，近百件，种类繁多，似乎都在梦幻般的状态下漂浮和跳舞，这个特定地点的装置赋予了它们新的意义，并要求它们重新评估。
即使他继续享受在这个工作室里创作艺术的过程，维克多也在这里探索和处理生活中的挫折，并不断质疑自己能做些什么来帮助有需要的人。这个世界还有很多有待理解的地方，世界上发生的令人愤慨的事情，一场又一场的灾难，以及维克多工作期间 BBC 广播中不断播放的更多令人震惊的故事。这或许可以解释为什么维克多创作的雕塑一方面探索人类生活的平静、轻松和反思性的沉思，另一方面探索我们现在生活的世界的严肃的哲学关注和挫折。
许多人都会同意陈为达的作品让人感受到时间、看到情绪并触动心灵。至于陈为达，他仍在寻找艺术家可以做出贡献的方式，让这个世界对每个人来说都变得更美好。
“我的雕塑就如一段旅程。无论您站着、坐着还是躺着，旅程都持续着。在我的旅途中，通过我的雕塑，我希望能够触动其他乘客的心，影响他们的思想。如果我能通过我的艺术以某种方式减轻人类的痛苦；这将使我的旅程变得有价值。”