Chua Ek Kay's best-known calligraphic works are from the Lotus Pond Series, where he captures the spirit and vitality of nature in the essence of the lotus flower.  A far cry from the elegant deliberations of lotus flowers in traditional ink paintings, Chua's lotuses hold only a vague resemblance to their realities.  These paintings are to be grasped by the intuition and imagination of the viewer, and not restricted by verisimilitude.

Painted in 1999, Lotus Pond sees Chua extending the boundaries of this traditional art form by experimenting with color.  A wash of bright blue pushes the perimeters of the pond to the edges of the painting, while almost arbitrary patches of red and orange color-in the buds and blooms add...