Ng Eng Teng, one of Singapore's foremost sculptors, was born on 12 July, 1934 in Singapore. His pioneering works in the (then) relatively new medium of ciment fondu such as Contentment (1974), Mother and Child (1980) and The Spirit of Man (1984) are familiar and striking focal points of Singapore's public cityscapes. Ng was a firm believer in art education, and after a period of training and practice in the UK during the 1960s, returned to his homeland to set up his own pottery workshop. He picked up a slew of accolades including the Cultural Medallion for Visual Art in 1981 and Montblanc Patron of the Arts Award. Ng continued working until the end of his life, leaving behind some 1,700 works in important galleries, institutions and private collections in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific. He passed away at the age of 67 in 2001.

The human form in its imaginative possibilities – as amorphous myth, calcified animal or, simply, abstract geometry – mark the distinctive characteristics of Ng Eng Teng's style. Although best known as a sculptor in Singapore, Ng's talents also include pottery, ceramics, drawing and painting.

Ng first developed his feel for sculpture playing with Plasticine, a brand of moulding clay, as a child and eventually signed up for art classes with the British Council in Singapore. After a period of private study with the artist Liu Kang in 1958, he entered the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts to continue learning from Singapore's first-generation masters, including Georgette Chen and Chen Wen-Hsi. An encounter in 1959 with a British sculptor led Ng to pursue his interests further in the United Kingdom.

This saw him take on formal arts courses at The Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and eventually take on an extended period of study with British potter Bernard Leach at St Ives. While Ng began to make waves himself as a commercial ceramics designer following his graduation in the UK, he decided to return to Singapore in 1966 to contribute to the society that had first nurtured his artistic talents.

Ng initially faced several obstacles, and his own alma mater, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, rejected his proposal to begin a new pottery course. Undaunted, he set up his own workshop and practice in the eastern part of Singapore, taking on non-art related administrative jobs to supplement his income.

As Ng continued to sculpt, his fame began to grow and supporters began to appreciate the humanist, often also whimsical, themes in his works: the inevitable desolation of old age (Declining Man, 1969); the arbitrary societal definitions of decorum (Modesty, 1986); and family bonds (Mother and Child, 1980). Public and private commissions began to come his way, climaxing in an international request to present a large scale work, Portrait, for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

He picked up a slew of accolades throughout his career. They include the Gold Medal at the Tagore Centenary Open Painting Competition in 1961, the Cultural Medallion for Visual Art in 1981, the ASEAN Cultural Award for Visual Arts (Sculpture) in 1990 and the Montblanc Patron of the Arts Award in 2001.

Today, many of Ng's pieces can be found on Singapore's busy streets and squares, including Orchard Parade Hotel, Fort Canning Park and the National University of Singapore. A believer in education and free creation, Ng frequently took part in charity exhibitions at local prisons. He eventually donated the majority of his works to the National University of Singapore (NUS), where a gallery at the NUS Museum is dedicated to his output. He passed away at age 67 due to kidney complications and pneumonia in 2001.