It’s time to party with art again, as the Affordable Art Fair, Singapore ’12 rolls around this coming November. During the month leading up to the fair, Artitute will be featuring Singaporean artists whose work will be on show.

We kick of this series with a look at the jubilant creations of William Sim, who will be represented by Utterly Art at the Affordable Art Fair.

Damsels And Fairies, Acrylic on wood
“Damsels And Fairies”, Acrylic on wood, 2012

It’s hard not to be smile when one encounters paintings and sculptures of William Sim, who also goes by the moniker of “Merchant of Happiness” (a title free of irony). If you’re a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s animations, you’ll love the whimsical ecosystem of Sim’s imagination – a realm drenched in candy colours, totally surreal, yet utterly relatable. His worlds are populated with characters and creatures that merge nature with the mechanical, the familiar with the fantastical.

Collaboration with Lush Tan The Windfall, Acrylic on polyvinyl chloride
Collaboration with Lush Tan, “The Windfall”, Acrylic on polyvinyl chloride, 2012

According to Sim, “people started to give feedback about how my paintings make them happy and forget about things that bothering them for a while, I started to feel that when somebody can connect to my work and bring it home, the transaction is not only the painting but also bringing back happiness with them too.“

Royal Hydraulic Fish, Acrylic on wood
“Royal Hydraulic Fish”, Acrylic on wood, 2012

Judging by sales for Sim’s recent solo exhibition “Happiness Private Limited 2012” at Utterly Art, where easily more than half of the pieces exhibited had red dots by the night of the opening, Sim’s work is sure to go fast at the Affordable Art Fair. Be sure to make a pit stop to Utterly Art’s booth at 3G-15, which will be visible from the entrance if you enter from the door externally.

For more information on Utterly Art, please visit www.utterlyart.com.sg.

The Affordable Art Fair runs from 15-18 November 2012 at the F1 Pit Building. For more information, please visit http://affordableartfair.com/singapore/.

For more information on William Sim, check out his website at http://merchantofhappiness.arboreal.sg/williamsim/.