KEAN ONN SEE
Hailing from Sydney, Kean Onn See is an artist dedicated to the time-consuming practice of painting on carved woodblocks. Heavily inspired by Australian artist, Cressida Campbell and Japanese woodblock prints his work exhibits meticulous attention to detail and uplifting compositions of domestic scenes.
He is an artist who appreciates life’s minutiae - paint brushes and spray bottles, the form of a rice cooker and the fall afternoon light through the shutters, something he has adopted from the ethos of the Japanese artists he admires and Campbell.
Steadily garnering significant recognition for his fine work. He is a current finalist in the 2024 Archibald and Blake Prizes. In 2023 he placed as a finalist in the Sulman Prize, Mosman Art Prize KAAF Art Prize & National Emerging Artist Prizes.
Primarily self-taught, Kean Onn started painting as a hobby in his early 30s and pursued this interest while working full-time.
Kean Onn See was born in Malaysia and now lives and works in Sydney, the land of the Gadigal.
Original paintings on carved woodblocks by Kean Onn See for purchase…
3 NEW paintings from Kean Onn See
New work from Kean Onn will feature on our stand at the Singapore Affordable Art Fair, 7-10 November
Kean Onn See
Q and A with Kean Onn See
“My life changed when I came across a book, ‘The Woodblock Painting Of Cressida Campbell’. I was spellbound. It completely changed the trajectory of my practice and my life.
I was always drawn to Japanese woodblock prints, but that book that inspired me to carve. And I loved it, I knew I had found my medium.”
-Kean Onn See