Hey folks! I just have to make sure everyone here knows this. Kurt Wenner, the master street painter that does the most amazing street art, is here on our little island! I’m sure many of you have received one of those forwarded emails with his incredible anamorphic paintings. If you haven’t, just google for his name. I guarantee you’ll be awed by his work. Here are some examples: [1] [2] [3]

He is painting live at the newly revamped National Museum of Singapore over a period of five days. It was raining heavily and I cabbed down specially to catch him at work!

Kurt Wenner hard at work

Quoted from Channel News Asia:

In anamorphic art, paintings are meant to “deceive the eye”.

A painting may look ordinary from one angle, but view it with a curved lens and it becomes 3-dimensional.

When standing at a particular point in space, the architecture also blends with the anamorphic painting, forming an extraordinary combined image for the viewer.

Over here, Kurt Wenner is drawing a picture of Iskandar, the last king of Singapore in the 14th century. This picture spans a 5.6 by 2.6 metre area on the floor.

Kurt Wenner hard at work

A couple of images that zoom in more closely. You would notice that the painting looks somewhat distorted from these angles. This is because you have to look at it through a special lens to be able to see how it’s intended to look.

Kurt Wenner's painting, Iskandar


Kurt Wenner's painting, Iskandar

Through the lens, this is what the painting actually looks like:

Kurt Wenner's painting, Iskandarn, through a special lens

And these are the chalks and crayons he uses to draw out the huge picture.

Kurt Wenner's tools of trade

At 6pm he calls it a day. And at the end of each day, he would take a photograph of his work in its half completed state.

Kurt Wenner taking a photo of his work

Some kids from a school were performing opera nearby. He rounded them up around his artwork to get a picture of them together, sort of like what he did in another of his works, “sky woman”. The white bearded old man is my favourite!

Kurt Wenner taking a photo of his work

Finally, we had the privilege of taking a photo with the man himself! Wow!


My friend Ruwan, Kurt Wenner and I

Kurt Wenner is currently painting live at the National Museum from 10am to 6pm daily, ending on Tuesday when he would finish his painting. The completed artwork would be on display at the museum until end of the month.

National Museum of Singapore
Glass Atrium
93 Stamford Road
Singapore 178897
Tel: +65 6332 3659

Opening hours: 10am – 6pm
Admission: Free

Ends December 19, 2006