Chan Lim, a family of artists, has opened a unique art exhibit featuring 260 Chinese and Western lanterns at SM City Clark on Sunday.
Artist and art teacher Alex Chan Lim said the lanterns were hand-painted by a total of 43 family members and students. He added that the lantern concept took two years to complete.
He added that Chan Lim art exhibits are uniquely crafted for each city of exhibition depending on the venue size and audience preferences.
“Here in Pampanga, they say anything that flies like lanterns and hot air balloons so we say, it had to be lanterns,” Alex said when asked about their exhibit.
The opening of the art exhibit coincides with the celebration of Chinese New Year on Tuesday.
Alex said the whole exhibit, which will be on display until February 24, is dedicated to Henry “Tatang” Sy Sr., who recently passed away.
The very first Chan Lim Family art exhibit was mounted in 1995 at SM Megamall. Since then, the family has held 17 exhibits in and out of the country.
The family
Chan Lim is the name used by the family patriarch in signing all his artworks. The pen name was crafted out of his and his wife’s last names.
None of the Chan Lim family members have formal degrees related to arts. The Chan Lim siblings Alex, Felix, Rolex, and Jolex are all engineers and are engaged with multinational companies in various industries.
The family holds five doctor of philosophy degrees, advancing their knowledge in the fields of engineering, educational technology, and management.
Their first family interaction painting was an oil painting done in 1998. It was a Chinese style painting given as a gift to the family patriarch’s, Chan Lim, 60th birthday. The painting One Fine Day is currently displayed in their family residence.
Creativity in arts is an important area of focus for the family. Infusing Western art with Eastern art and expressing these in different media enabled the family to develop masterpieces on fans, lanterns, and porcelain plates.
The largest number of art on display for a Chan Lim family and students exhibit was 396 pieces at SM Seaside City Cebu in 2018. (Photos by JP Manalang)