Saturday, December 20, 2008

Tribute to Malaysian Art Icon


From Encyclopedia of Modern Asia Summary: Datuk Chuah Thean Teng (1914-2008) a Malaysian painter achieved an international reputation during the 1950s by developing a new art form that adapted the wax-resist techniques of batik textile production to create a painting medium. Chuah captured traditional Malayan ways of life on canvas in colorful scenes rendered in a semiabstract style.

During the decade following Malaya's establishment as an independent nation in 1957, Chuah was credited with giving artistic expression to a distinctively Malayan visual consciousness. Together with two sons, Chuah Seow Keng and Chuah Siew Tang, who have followed their father as painters in batik, Chuah established the Yahong Gallery in Penang.


Click here for a sample of his breathtaking works and a short introduction on the artist.

Himanshu Bhatt's tribute at The Sun: "For his place in our nation's history, it is only apt that we give due recognition to the legacy of Chuah. It is time that Chuah's profound contribution to our culture and art is celebrated, perhaps in the same vein that Holland trakes pride in Van Gogh, Spain in Salvador Dali and China in Xu Beihong."

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