National Master Artists since 1993
Arts Merchant
In May 1993, Wei Dong founded Dong Lee Investments Pte. Ltd. From its early days, we organized our own shows or participated in activities organized by overseas Chinese associations. Our inaugural show in 1995 of sculptures by Wei Chao Fa at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce was one of the earliest solo exhibitions by a Chinese avantgarde sculptor from Fujian in Singapore. We also facilitated the exchange of Chinese arts and crafts.
Dong Lee’s curation of artworks was along two tracks. The first track focused on masterpieces and works of fine art by artists with the title of Master of Art and Crafts, or artists who made breakthroughs in their artistic mediums. Woodcarver Lu Si Li became renowned for his “likeness to wood” (xiangmu) technique. He conceptualized and carved many public commissions in Fujian Province. Zisha teapot carver Jiang Rong (1919-2008) became the first woman to receive the title of National Master of Art and Craft. Stone carver Pan Jing Shi became peerless in craft with his hyper realistic carvings of bugs, mollusks, and reptiles that were unorthodox in Shoushan stone carving history. Lin Fei pioneered a Modern style of carving that amalgamated Chinese and Western aesthetics and mythology. Zheng Shi Bin, a prodigy of stone carving, impressed collectors with his mastery of painterly, floating, and low relief carving on Tianhuang stone. And Zhou Jin Fu, a stonecarver who brought Qingtian stone from the scholar’s study to the outdoors with enormous and photorealistic carvings of garden scenes.
In May 1993, Wei Dong founded Dong Lee Investments Pte. Ltd. From its early days, we organized our own shows or participated in activities organized by overseas Chinese associations. Our inaugural show in 1995 of sculptures by Wei Chao Fa at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce was one of the earliest solo exhibitions by a Chinese avantgarde sculptor from Fujian in Singapore. We also facilitated the exchange of Chinese arts and crafts.
Dong Lee’s curation of artworks was along two tracks. The first track focused on masterpieces and works of fine art by artists with the title of Master of Art and Crafts, or artists who made breakthroughs in their artistic mediums. Woodcarver Lu Si Li became renowned for his “likeness to wood” (xiangmu) technique. He conceptualized and carved many public commissions in Fujian Province. Zisha teapot carver Jiang Rong (1919-2008) became the first woman to receive the title of National Master of Art and Craft. Stone carver Pan Jing Shi became peerless in craft with his hyper realistic carvings of bugs, mollusks, and reptiles that were unorthodox in Shoushan stone carving history. Lin Fei pioneered a Modern style of carving that amalgamated Chinese and Western aesthetics and mythology. Zheng Shi Bin, a prodigy of stone carving, impressed collectors with his mastery of painterly, floating, and low relief carving on Tianhuang stone. And Zhou Jin Fu, a stonecarver who brought Qingtian stone from the scholar’s study to the outdoors with enormous and photorealistic carvings of garden scenes.
1996
Special guest Tan Sri Dato' Chan Kong Choy views Masterpieces by Lu Si Li.
1999
Pan Lingling, host of City Network, talks to Shou Shan Stone Carving collector Mr. Guo. Aired in 1999 on Channel 8. Video by Mediacorp for City Network. Directed by Gu Xiu Zhen.
2001
Chia Ngiang Hong, General Manager of City Developments Ltd., hosts the opening ceremony of an exhibition.
2002
LIANHE WANBAO, For S$350,000, a Shoushan stone is as Much as a House, by Xu Yueying.
2003
Works of art on display in the company gallery at Singapore Handicraft Centre at Chinatown Point. Photo from company archives.
2003
Artists Lei Yin Jin, Sun Qing, and Lin Shu Yue.
2004
THE STRAITS TIMES, At $5m, this stone’s worth more than its weight in gold.
2007
National Master of Art and Crafts Zhou Jin Fu's works displayed in the Singapore Management University library.
We also organized activities with the participation of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage artists like Dong Xue, Ge Zhi Wen, Mu Xiang Bo, Wang Chun Guang, Yang Shi Chang, Yu Qing Cheng, and others. Dong Lee’s curated artworks breached the norms of Chinese traditional painting and sculpture. In 2014, Dong Lee created the Crystal Creations brand that launched several collection waves of paintings inside bottles made from quartz that combined nature with craftsmanship. These paintings were received with competitive collectorship.
2010
“A Rejuvenating Change” Crystal Painting Exhibition.
2012
“Wang Chunguang and Dong Xue Crystal Bottle Painting” exhibition. Collectors design artworks then commission artists to draw from observation inside quartz bottles.
Dong Lee’s other business activity had been the design, manufacture, and distribution of souvenirs. In 1998, Dong Lee established Fuzhou Xindongli Crafts Company in Fuzhou, China. The creative team consisted of Singaporeans and Chinese artists. Illustrator K. Lim was the concept artist. Sculptor Lin Ying Mei, who studied at the Xiamen Academy of Arts and Design from 1986 to 1990, joined Fuzhou Xindongli Crafts Company in 1998 as product developer-technician. She was the maker of exquisitely carved and standout models in the market. From 1998 to 2004, Dong Lee distributed its souvenirs to the DFS Group, Sentosa Development Corporation, Singapore Tourism Board, Ace Marketing Services Pte. Ltd., and San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf.
2000
Between 2000 and 2002, Wei Dong flew to the United States twice a year to promote Dong Lee’s original design and manufacture in New York, San Francisco, and the Las Vegas Market.
Souvenirs
Dong Lee’s Famous Landmarks series: The Merlion, Changi Airport Terminal 1, and Singapore Skyline.
Between 2004 and 2008, Dong Lee collaborated with national art associations to present highly successful exhibitions in Singapore. By the end of the decade, Dong Lee has grown from one to three shops at Singapore Handicraft Centre at Chinatown Point. In 2010, the company moved to Midpoint Orchard. In 2014, Dong Lee established a studio and gallery at its newly acquired shophouse in the heritage and arts district of Singapore at 261 Waterloo Street.
Dong Lee has hosted hundreds of artists and craftsmen from China and organized many art and culture exhibitions and activities. Collectors, artists, and visitors enjoyed each exhibition, relieved themselves from the pressures of living in the city, and experienced innovative iterations of traditional artworks.
Live Demonstration
Since January 1995, Dong Lee and the Chinese Folk Literature and Arts Association, the Beijing Arts and Crafts Industry Association, and the Yangzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles jointly organized hundreds of artists to disseminate Chinese folk art and culture in Singapore via “The Dissemination Movement of the Quintessence of Chinese Folk Arts” series of exhibitions and activities. They demonstrated artworks and performances made from wood, bamboo, stone, mud, paper, grass, beans, cloth, thread, crape myrtle, compass, acrobatics, and more. Folk artists flew to Singapore from over thirty provinces and municipalities. They specialized in a wide range of handicrafts: embroidery, carving, calligraphy, painting, clay sculpting, printmaking, weaving, paper-cutting, cloth-stuck painting, and many more. Artists include Wu Jian Mei, Ou De Xian, Liu Jiang Hua, Xu Shou Xiang, Teng Teng, and others.
They proved their amazing skills and creativity to the public and the President of Singapore, the Prime Minister, locals, and tourists. Our activities not only propagated the eternal optimism and dedication of Chinese culture, but also improved esteem and confidence in one’s culture.
2005
“Greatest Chinese Folk Arts” graced by a visit from Guest-of-Honor, former SM Goh Chok Tong.
2005
Liu Jiang Hua represented by Dong Lee was invited to paint and present a portrait to His Excellency President S.R. Nathan during the opening ceremony of the Hwa Song Museum.
Inheritance Education
For nearly two decades, Dong Lee has played the role of a cultural ambassador between China and Singapore. Our educational programs in malls and community centers had a positive influence on their participants. The wisdom and aesthetic values from Chinese folk arts play an essential role in character development of growing children and youths.
From sincere and detailed planning, Dong Lee’s educational activities has produced award-winning artists. The artists that trained them, Zheng Guang Yu, Zhuang Wei Ming, and Guo Jian Feng, attached equal importance to the imparting of knowledge and shaping of a student’s character. Dong Lee embraces its role as an advocate of the safekeeping and passing on of heritage arts in an environment of weakening connections between communities and their heritage.
Fine Art
Between 2008 and 2021, Dong Lee has built a substantial collection of fine sculptures and paintings. In the collection are oil paintings by Miao Yao Sheng. From 2021, Dong Lee began a reorganization of its programming around art that originates from an ecological state of living. The first of its “new normal” exhibition will begin in February 2022 about a series of paintings completed in a Hmong village in 2008 by Miao Yao Sheng. The virtual and in-person exhibition will be complemented by photographs and video.
Looking forward, Dong Lee will continue to organize art and culture exhibitions that are unique in the art gallery context to showcase not just Chinese, but global heritage arts and paintings that reflect an ecological state of living.
Mommy Has Gone to Work
Miao Yao Sheng. Oil on canvas. 80 x 100 cm.
Design of the Gallery
The gallery’s layout is inspired by a classical Chinese courtyard and its principles of harmony between self with nature and people. Behind the gallery’s floor to ceiling glass façade, there is a screen of folding doors. These folding doors with patterned windows were recycled from Chinese rural architecture. In an original setting, things that were placed along a corridor of a rural courtyard were used by residents in their daily lives. In the gallery, wood and stone sculptures that decorate the corridor reflect their purpose for self-cultivation and improvement. The studio area is a functional white box studio and sound stage. It is also equipped with a skylight ceiling that is fully customizable and resembles a sky well of a traditional courtyard that reduces a feeling of isolation. The gallery’s design is modern with naturalistic colors. A decorative facade made from pieces of traditional furniture contrasts with a minimalist interior to achieve harmony between functional and decorative interior design.
Designed by William Wei and K2LD Architects