Nanyang 2016

the 2016 nanyang show the 2016 nanyang show

9 - 12 JUNE 2016, 11AM - 8PM VISUAL ARTS CENTRE, SINGAPORE 10 Penang Road, #01-02 Dhoby Ghaut Green, S238469

CONTACT +6016 298 0852 | [email protected] | www.christay.com

foreword

The Nanyang Show held at the Visual Arts Centre, Singapore features 47 artworks by 19 artists from Malaysia and Singapore. Organised and presented by Chris Tay, this exhibition/sale event provides an opportunity for art collectors to view and acquire some of the well sought after works by important artists practising in the Nanyang Style.

Art by Malaysian and Singapore artists in recent years have surged in popularity and are widely collected. Works of the early period have become particularly rare. Offered at this exhibition/sale are over 16 early works by the Nanyang pioneers. I congratulate Chris for presenting The Nanyang Show to all art lovers.

Koh Seow Chuan Architect and Art Collector

interpreting nanyang art the 10 essentials sarah abu bakar

The theme Nanyang is distinctive of Southeast Asian history Prominent historian and scholar Wang Gungwu explains its particularly in the study of cultural identity and Chinese diaspora geographic meaning: “the word ‘Nanyang’, the ‘Southern Ocean’, that is significant in the development of art in alternative is used as an equivalent of the more recent coinage, ‘South-east Asia’. modernism.1 This essay is an accompaniment to The Nanyang But there is an important difference. There is implied in the word Show from 9 to 12 June 2016 at the Visual Arts Centre in ‘Nanyang’ territories which have been reached by sea, by the South Singapore, showcasing 47 artworks by selected artists who have China Sea, and consequently, the areas which specially concern the created paintings centered on the Nanyang theme, either the Nanyang Chinese have been the key coastal strips of mainland South- artists had lived during the time when the call for “local color” east Asia.”4 was at its peak or as a continuity of an artistic approach still apparent today.2 In this exhibition, viewers are able to examine the amalgamation of Eastern and Western painting techniques in illustrations that Featuring works by Chen Wen Hsi, Chia Hui Chian, Chia Yu depict a particular time and space. For instance, Tan Choon Chian, Chong Hip Seng, Fung Yow Chork, Heng Eow Lin, Ho Ghee’s use of Chinese ink with calligraphy brush and watercolour Khay Beng, Khaw Sia, Khoo Sui Hoe, Kuo Ju Ping, Le Chek on rice paper to depict Singapore River landscape dated 1977 Wen, Lee Cheng Yong, Lee Joo For, Ong Kim Seng, Seah Kim and Chia Hui Chian’s rendition of the Morning Market, which Joo, Tan Choon Ghee, Tew Nai Tong, Tsai Horng Chung and illustrates a group of multiethnic figures adorning vibrant attires Yong Mun Sen dated since the 1930s, the artworks not only offer in a market setting executed in Post-Impressionism manner. Both visual aesthetics, but also historical narratives in Malaya, Malaysia pictures are geographically domestic in context achieved in a and Singapore. combination of methods.

Much has been written about the Nanyang Style and its artists. Another observable example is Yong Mun Sen’s depiction of local In this text, ten essential points about Nanyang Art covering its farmers planting paddy in the field executed in oil on canvas origins, advocates, purposes, period, context, viewpoints, stylistic laid on board. Created in 1946, Paddy Planting illustrates four method, geographic importance, influences, and its present agriculturalists – three figures are bending over in chorus to plant relevance are gathered. With reference to the artworks on offer, the rice seedlings into a muddy bed of soil, while the other figure viewers are able to observe various interpretations of a newfound is watching over them holding a bunch of rice plants in her hand land at its essence. – painted in a Western manner.

Though this exhibition may only feature a fraction of a more extensive premise – focusing mainly on artists from Malaysia 2. The Making of Nanyang Style - it must be noted that some of the more important Nanyang artists comprising of names like Liu Kang, Lim Hak Tai, Lim Yew There are various social and political occurrences that have Kuan, Georgette Chen, Chua Mia Tee, Cheong Soo Pieng, Tan instigated the need for a cultural revolution in China – the Tee Chie, See Cheen Tee, Yeh Chi Wei, Lim Mu Hue, Lai Foong opening up of treaty ports in China in the nineteenth century, the Moi, Chuah Thean Teng, Chong Pai Mu, Chen Chong Swee, Lim acceptance of Western artistic ideas and materials, the inculcation Tze Peng, to name a few, produce remarkable works that also of Western and Chinese ideals in Chinese education by Cai express the spirit of the Southern Seas. Yuanpei (1868 – 1940), which leads to the New Culture and May Fourth movements, the increasing number of Overseas Chinese in Malaya and Singapore, imperialism and communism, Sino- 1. Defining Nanyang Japanese wars – any of which may have influenced the change either directly or indirectly as recounted by historians.5 Nanyang or ‘Southern Seas’ is a term originally coined in the late 1920s by literary intelligentsia to indicate contemporary Chinese Publications also played a critical role in promoting the Cultural narratives written based on local subjects.3 Revolution in Malaya (including Singapore). A number of

7 essays discussing the issue of Nanyang literature were produced Nanyang (Nanyang Artists Retrospective Exhibition) catalogue.9 by Singapore’s writers between 1927 and 1933 with titles like “Singapore Artists, Awake,” “Literary Culture and the Overseas Evident in the work of Tsai Horng Chung titled Young Tribal Lady Chinese,” and “Literature and Local Color” were published in Playing Gong, the artist has incorporated his surroundings into his Huang Dao, Ye Lin, Wenyi Zhoukan, and Fan Xing.6 paintings. Born in 1916 in China, Tsai graduated from Shanghai Art Academy and was one of the pioneer Nanyang artists who Zeng Shengti (1901 – 1982), editor of Wenyi Zhoukan wrote in migrated to Sarawak to teach art in 1943. Trained in traditional an essay for the 1929 inaugural edition: “Singapore artists, awake! Chinese painting, he skillfully illustrates a native playing a The old world has melted under the fierce heat of the sun. Let us hang traditional music instrument in a stylised manner using ink and our flag upon the towering coconut tree. The immense and cloudless colour on rice paper mounted on scroll. sky affirms our openness. The elephant symbolizes our resoluteness. The long green leaves declare our freshness. The sea rings out our triumph Kevin Chua, in his essay titled Painting The Nanyang’s Public: Notes cry. Our fresh environment provides us with unlimited material. Toward A Reassessment elucidates another accurate description of Come, let us blow by blow and layer by layer construct our artistic, the Nanyang Style from the 1950s: iron tower.”7 “What marks so many Nanyang paintings of the early 1950s is the Around the same time in Penang, versatile artist Lee Cheng Yong sense that subjects were available, and close at hand: a prahu or displayed a strong expression of regionalism through his work. fishing boat, cows grazing, even something as prosaic as a rubbish Created circa 1930s, Fertile Soil features a pastoral landscape by dump. Thrown back into the world, painting was confronted with the the coast, consisting of a few huts that could perhaps suggest an everyday, the ordinary. The story of Malayan painting of the 1950s agricultural area amidst a seascape background. His warm and was the struggle to represent and thus speak to the public, to find that earthy colour palette of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna with hints imaginary exterior point that could capture both inside and outside.”10 of blue and green illustrates “the fierce heat of the sun”. The descriptive subject matter is evident in the works of Kuo Ju The New Culture Movement in Singapore was aimed to promote Ping (Boat Construction, Reaching Home, Rice Mill, The Hut by nation building and enlightenment in cultural change. With the Back Alley, Unloading Cargo), Fung Yow Chork (By the Jetty vernacularisation as the intellectual’s first quest by using Mandarin at Pulau Ketam), Ho Khay Beng (Stilt Houses) and Yong Mun Sen as the “national language” and to approach their writings in “local (A Hut Near Water, Singapore Riverside Scene, Still Life with Pots). color” by making Southeast Asia as their canvas and calling this Based on these images, the artists have captured the realities of a new culture “Nanyang” or “huaqiao” or Overseas Chinese culture.8 specific place at a particular time.

Chen Wen Hsi’s Gibbons not only retains elements of Chinese culture, firstly in its medium and format, secondly in its subject 4. Western Influence Eastern Context matter – Chen was first inspired by a painting by the 13th century Southern Song Dynasty Chinese artist Mu Xi titled White Robed From a formalistic perspective, paintings created by the Nanyang Guanyin, Crane and Gibbon while he was still in China – but it artists that is being referred to as Nanyang Style encompasses “a also demonstrates his commitment in artistic endeavours when he combination of techniques and approaches from the School of purchased a white-faced gibbon for $300 at a pet shop shortly Paris, Chinese traditional ink painting from the literati tradition, after arriving in Singapore in the late 1940s and nurturing it in as well as the Shanghai School.”11 his garden to study the postures and characteristics of the primate. The three distinctive categories of artistic solutions are the fusion of Eastern and Western techniques, the adaptation of new subject 3. Subject Matter and Technique matter into traditional Chinese painting, and the depiction of local context through a distinctive Western art movement. In the quest for finding new pictorial language that reflects the tropical milieu, “the Nanyang artists adopted an experimental Khaw Sia’s watercolour treatment of the exterior of a Buddhist approach, using styles and techniques derived from two sources: temple, Lee Cheng Yong’s Cubist-style Four Ladies, Lee Joo For’s Chinese pictorial traditions, and the School of Paris” as described vibrant expressions on canvas, and Fung Yow Chork’s impression by T. K. Sabapathy in the 1979 Pameran Retrospektif Pelukis-Pelukis of the Pongal celebration either fit one or all of the criteria. This

innovative approach reflects Lim Hak Tai’s vision for the Nanyang who taught watercolour and oil painting.15 Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), as stated in his manifesto.12 While the categorisation of “Nanyang artists” deriving exclusively Good Time by Tew Nai Tong dated 1974 illustrates organic forms from NAFA is debatable, I am in agreement with Emelia Ong in in blue and pale yellow and Khoo Sui Hoe’s painting titled referring to Nanyang artists as “to those who taught at NAFA, Cloud with Reflection dated 1978 - which features a circular form those who graduated from the academy and those who shared dominating a square canvas in sky blue with a single white cloud close relationships with them and played important roles in the perched above a flowing grey pole and the cloud’s organic-shaped shaping of an eclectic approach to art-making.”16 reflection illustrated beneath – indicate that experimentation in various techniques contribute to the “development of the spirit of There are a number of art educators who simultaneously pursue science and trends of modern thinking”. Such Western-influenced their artistic practice namely Chen Wen Hsi (South China representations demonstrate the magnitude of the Nanyang Style. College, Shantou, China 1946 – 1947, The Chinese High School, Singapore 1949 – 1968, NAFA 1951 – 1959, Singapore), Lee Cheng Yong (Chung Ling High School, Penang), Kuo Ju Ping 5. Painting The Southern Seas (Chung Ling High School, Union High School, Li Tek School, Han Chiang High School, Penang), Khaw Sia (Chung Ling A historic painting excursion to Bali by four Singapore pioneer High School, Penang 1949 - 1958, Penang Chinese Girls High artists Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee, Cheong Soo Pieng and School, 1958), Lee Joo For (Penang Free School, Head of the Art Liu Kang in 1952 aimed to seek “new pictorial structures and Department, Malaysian Teacher’s College, Johor Bahru, lecturer expressions to reflect the tropical environment, the multicultural in Creative Arts, Catholic University, Victoria, Australia) and Ho aspects of Nanyang and cultural themes rooted within the Khay Beng (Han Chiang High School, Penang 1958).17 region.”13 The next generation of Nanyang artists who was trained by pioneer The following year, an exhibition titled Four Artists to Bali artists is Tan Choon Ghee (attended NAFA from 1949 – 1951 showcasing fresh visual vocabulary created during the sojourn was with the influence of his mentor Kuo Ju Ping), Chia Yu Chian held at the British Council. Art historian T. K. Sabapathy noted (who took personal art trainings with Chen Wen Hsi) and Khoo the significance of this group show “particularly in relation to the Sui Hoe (attended NAFA and was trained by Georgette Chen and depiction of the human figure resulted in the creation of figure Cheong Soo Pieng). types which are indelibly linked with the Nanyang artists, and which proved to be influential for other artists” in his essay titled Self-taught artists comprise of Yong Mun Sen (who played Modern Art in Singapore: Pioneers and Premises.14 a seminal role in forming the Penang Chinese Art Club and Singapore Society of Chinese Artists as well as the establishment Khoo Sui Hoe’s interpretation of Bali dated 1968 manifests the of NAFA) and Fung Yow Chork (founder member of Thursday Art effects of both the exotic island as a source of artistic inspiration, Group, member of Wednesday Art Group, Selangor Art Society, and the use of “figure types” in most of his paintings. In this Singapore Art Society and Malaysian Artists Association). piece, the artist illustrates the demon character Rangda from the mythical traditional Barong dance alongside his signature figure. The involvement of these artists in spreading art knowledge is just Again, in 2009, Khoo Sui Hoe revisits the subject matter with a as important as the need to create new modes of visual expressions painting titled Dancer from Bali. thus making them key contributors in the Nanyang Style.

6. Educators as Artists 7. Writings and Exhibitions

The establishment of NAFA in Singapore in 1938 by Lim Hak Tai In 1979, prolific artist, educator and cultural thinker Redza was driven by the quiescent presence of the British in the art scene. Piyadasa presented an important exhibition titled Pameran Consisted of only fourteen students in its first year of opening, Retrospektif Pelukis-Pelukis Nanyang at Muzium Seni Negara, the school had three full time teachers, Kao Fei Tse who taught Kuala Lumpur, which featured 40 artists over the period 1938 drawing and Chang Meng Tse who taught design including Lim to 1965. In the exhibition catalogue, Piyadasa recounts the

11 atmosphere at NAFA as conveyed by students who studied there: 8. Perspectives

“Ho Khay Beng recalls that the influence of Cheong Soo Pieng and Cultural observer Kwok Kian Chow explained that the term Chen Wen Hsi was especially strong on the students, such that nearly Nanyang was initially used to describe literary theme: all the senior students would end up imitating one or the other of the two ‘masters’. In Western painting, Cheong Soo Pieng’s influence “The term was a generic one which was used to characterise the subject was nothing less than mesmerising. Lim Mu Hue (class 1953 -55) matter of such writings, Nanyang Style did not denote a specific has described the conditions at the academy during the 50s as being aesthetic paradigm as did notions of linguistic vernacularism (as in the symbolised by the overwhelming presence of three studio teachers - May Fourth Movement), Social Realism or aestheticism. In the late- Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Chong Swee and Chen Wen Hsi. According 1920s and 1930s, some proponents of the Nanyang Style associated to him, Cheong Soo Pieng’s influence was most powerful on his writing with the articulation of a Nanyang/Overseas Chinese identity students, and that his influence was determined in no small way by and took the literary discourse even further to deal with the larger his approach to easel painting considerations. Cheong Soo Pieng was social issue of a Nanyang regionalist culture.”20 perhaps singularly responsible for establishing several of the styles that were imitated by the students of the academy, and which subsequently In Kevin Chua’s writing, he highlights the progress of Nanyang Art came to be associated with that institution.”18 in the generation after 1950s whereby members of the Equator Art Society criticised the works of their predecessors: In conjunction with the fourth Singapore Biennale in 2013, the National Museum of Singapore presented an exhibition titled A “In raising the banner of social realism, the painters of the Equator Art Changed World: Singapore Art 1950s – 1970s, which showcased Society rejected the so called “Western” post-Impressionist abstraction key pieces to highlight social, political and economic responses of the generation that preceded them.”21 to post-war development of art in Singapore. The exhibition catalogue consists of a dialogue between curators Szan Tan and Daniel Tham in which they noted that - with reference to Cheong 9. Beyond Malaysia and Singapore Soo Pieng’s untitled work depicting the Singapore River scene - as “symbolic”. Daniel Tham elaborates in his discussion: The regional dynamism of cultural transformation extends beyond the borders of Malaysia and Singapore. Though these artists “Perhaps it’s symbolic for them. Even though they probably didn’t may not have attended NAFA or are not directly associated with arrive at the Singapore River when they first came to Singapore, yet the Nanyang artists, they are either settlers or children of Chinese River symbolised this entry point to Singapore. In addition, it was the migrants who have made the Southern Seas their home and have commercial heart of activity in Singapore as a port and in terms of its adapted to the social conditions. entreport trade. So for the artists, perhaps as new immigrants settling in Singapore, the Singapore River represented that new beginning and Among some of these artists include Lee Man Fong (Singapore) their entry into this new world. We are, after all, concerned with the – curator and advisor to President Soekarno’s art collection from artists’ attempts at capturing the new worlds they were settling in, and 1961 to 1965 - and Lim Wasim who are both Palace Artists and the Singapore River is emblematic of that, as you point out.”19 are responsible for the compilation of a five-volume edition of the presidential art collection, resided in Indonesia. In the Philippines, In this show, there are depictions of the Singapore River by Yong Ang Kiukok painted the realities of an oppressed time - people Mun Sen, Kuo Ju Ping and Tan Choon Ghee created between 1946 living in squalour, domesticated animals such as dogs and and 1977, demonstrating the significance of the river particularly roosters while confronting these desolations through his faith in to the Nanyang artists. Christianity in Cubist and Surrealist manner - a distinctive style of painting termed figurative expressionism by many. In Myanmar, Another pivotal exhibition titled Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in U Aung Twin is a prolific artist, educator and a traditional dance Singapore Since the 19th Century, which uses six broad themes - choreographer whose paintings and sculptures of Buddha images Tropical Tapestry; Nanyang Reverie; Real Concerns; New Languages; and Ramayana figures gained him prominence. In Vietnam, Doi Tradition Unfettered; and Shifting Grounds - document significant Ngoan Quan is known for his calligraphy besides watercolour, seal moments of art development and is currently on display at the and microcarvings.22 newly opened National Gallery Singapore.

10. Nanyang Art Today RogueArt, 2012, p. 65.

12 The objectives of NAFA are: Fusion of art of the East and West, Integration of the cultures and The spirit of Nanyang aestheticism still prevails today in the works cultural essences of the four races, Development of the spirit of science and trends of modern thinking, Expression of a local tropical flavour and the creation of a Nanyang art style, Emphasis of Khoo Sui Hoe, Seah Kim Joo and Ong Kim Seng as presented on the educational and social functions of fine art, The reflection of the needs of the local (the in this exhibition. Other artists who are actively creating in this Chinese term benbang is used here) people. style include Lim Ah Cheng, Lee Long Looi, Keng Seng Choo, Picturing Nanyang: The Cultural Effect of the Chinese Diaspora in Malaya, Sarah Abu Bakar, Tay Mo Leong, Eng Tay, Tay Chee Toh, to name a few. Artists Nanyang: A Private Selling Exhibition catalogue, Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Sdn Bhd, Kuala who were born after the Malayan independence and continue to Lumpur, 2014, p. 15. paint local landscapes in Western manner are the likes of Chang 13 The Nanyang Artists: Eclectic Expressions of the South Seas, Emelia Ong, Imagining Identities: Fee Ming, Peter Liew and Lui Cheng Thak, although they may not Narratives in Malaysian Art Volume 1, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Beverly Yong, T. K. Sabapathy, RogueArt, 2012, p. 62. exclusively label their artistic approach as “Nanyang Style”, which leads us to ponder the future and relevance of the Nanyang Style 14 Art Hats in Renaissance City: Reflections and Aspirations of Four Generations of Art Personalities, Renee Lee, World Scientific, Singapore, 2015. today especially after the 1980s when younger artists’ concerns have shifted to challenge the idea of identity in their works.23 15 A History Of The Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts (1938 – 1990), Ong Zhen Min, A Thesis Submitted For The Degree Of Master Of Arts Department Of History, National University Of Singapore, 2006, p. 7. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/bitstream/handle/10635/15776/Ong%20ZM.pdf?sequence=1

16 The Nanyang Artists: Eclectic Expressions of the South Seas, Emelia Ong, Imagining Identities: 1 The authors explained the term alternative modernities as: “Alternative modernities are born Narratives in Malaysian Art Volume 1, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Beverly Yong, T. K. Sabapathy, from the inoculation of the modern into non-western communities, whose modernities mutate RogueArt, 2012, p. 59. from its Euroamerican spring.” p. 43. 17 Eight Pioneers of Malaysian Art Second Edition, Dato’ Dr. Tan Chee Khuan & Penang State Chinese Diaspora and the Emergence of Alternative Modernities in Malaysian Visual Arts, Kelvin Museum & Art Gallery, Marshall Cavendish Editions, Singapore, 2014. Chuah Chun Sum, Izmer Ahmad and Emelia Ong Ian Li, Ph.D. Candidate. School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011 International Conference on Humanities, Society and 18 The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Redza Piyadasa, Pameran Retrospektif Pelukis-Pelukis Culture IPEDR Vol.20 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore, https://www.academia. Nanyang, Muzium Seni Negara, Kuala Lumpur, 1979, p. 32 - 33. edu/1933458/Chinese_Diaspora_and_the_Emergence_of_Alternative_Modernities_in_ http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/sculptors/ngengteng/notes/1in19.html Malaysian_Visual_Arts 19 A Changed World: Singapore Art 1950s – 1970s, Dialogues between Szan Tan and Daniel Tham, 2 New Culture in a New World: The May Fourth Movement and the Chinese Diaspora in Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, 2013, p. 23, 27. 1919 – 1932, David L. Kenley, Routledge New York and London, 2003, p. 178. 20 Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Beginnings of the “Nanyang School”, Kwok Kian Chow, 3 Picturing Nanyang: The Cultural Effect of the Chinese Diaspora in Malaya, Sarah Abu Bakar, http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/channel/7.html Nanyang: A Private Selling Exhibition catalogue, Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, 2014, p. 7. 21 Eye of the Beholder: Reception, Audience, And Practice of Modern Asian Art, John Clark, Maurizio Peleggi, T.K. Sabapathy, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, United States, 2006, p. 73. 4 Chinese Diaspora and the Emergence of Alternative Modernities in Malaysian Visual Arts, Kelvin Chuah Chun Sum, Izmer Ahmad and Emelia Ong Ian Li, Ph.D. Candidate. School 22 Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent, A Biographical Dictionary Volume I, Edited by of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011 International Conference on Humanities, Society and Leo Suryadinata, Foreword by Wang Gungwu, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, Culture IPEDR Vol.20 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore, https://www.academia. 2012. edu/1933458/Chinese_Diaspora_and_the_Emergence_of_Alternative_Modernities_in_ Malaysian_Visual_Arts 23 Artists who challenge the idea of identity in their works include Wong Hoy Cheong, Shia Yih Yiing, Tan Chin Kuan, Eng Hwee Chu, to name but a few. Perhaps this younger generation 5 A History Of The Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts (1938 – 1990), Ong Zhen Min, A Thesis comes from a different school of thought and is the children of an independent nation. The topic Submitted For The Degree Of Master Of Arts Department Of History, National University Of of identity requires a separate discussion. Singapore, 2006, p. 26. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/bitstream/handle/10635/15776/Ong%20ZM.pdf?sequence=1

6 New Culture in a New World: The May Fourth Movement and the Chinese Diaspora in Singapore, 1919 – 1932, David L. Kenley, Routledge New York and London, 2003, p. 178.

7 Ibid., p. 178.

8 Ibid., p.190.

9 The Nanyang Artists: Eclectic Expressions of the South Seas, Emelia Ong, Imagining Identities: Narratives in Malaysian Art Volume 1, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Beverly Yong, T. K. Sabapathy, RogueArt, 2012, p. 63.

10 Eye of the Beholder: Reception, Audience, And Practice of Modern Asian Art, John Clark, Maurizio Peleggi, T.K. Sabapathy, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, United States, 2006, p. 81.

11 The Nanyang Artists: Eclectic Expressions of the South Seas, Emelia Ong, Imagining Identities: Narratives in Malaysian Art Volume 1, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Beverly Yong, T. K. Sabapathy,

29 CHIA HUI CHIAN Going Home | 1966 | 55cm by 19cm | pastel on paper Signed and dated “Hui Chian 1966” lower right

31 YONG MUN SEN Singapore Riverside Scene | c.1946-55 | 101cm by 68cm | watercolour on paper | signed “曼生” lower right Exhibited in Yong Mun Sen Retrospective Exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, 1999 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue

32 33 KUO JU PING Singapore River | undated | 45cm by 63cm | oil on canvas laid on board | signed “若萍” lower left Exhibited in Kuo Ju Ping Memorial Exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, 1997 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue

36 TAN CHOON GHEE | Singapore River | 1977 | 60cm by 40cm | ink and colour on rice paper Signed and dated “公元一九七七年於新加坡河畔 1977” with Chinese seal lower left

37 TAN CHOON GHEE | Singapore Heritage Street Scene | 1981 | 51cm by 38cm | watercolour on paper Signed and dated “CHOON GHEE 1981” lower right

38 TAN CHOON GHEE | Penang Street Scene | 1991 | 52cm by 63cm | watercolour on paper Signed and dated “CHOON GHEE 1991” lower left

39 TAN CHOON GHEE KHAW SIA Masjid Maqbul, Penang | 1988 Wat Buppharam, Penang | 1950 34cm by 24cm | watercolour on paper 36cm by 27cm | watercolour on paper Signed and dated “CHOON GHEE 1988” lower right Signed and dated “SIA 1950” lower right

40 TAN CHOON GHEE | Penang Hawkers | 1983 | 45cm by 70cm | ink and colour on rice paper Signed and dated “公元一九八三年存義” with Chinese seal lower right

41 CHEN WEN HSI | Herons | 1981 | 34.5cm by 45cm | ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll Signed “文希指墨” with Chinese seal upper right

43 CHEN WEN HSI Gibbons | undated | 131cm by 63cm | ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll Signed “文希作” with Chinese seal upper left

44 45 YONG MUN SEN Still Life With Pots | 1954 | 38cm by 56cm | watercolour on paper | signed and dated “Mun Sen 54” lower left Exhibited in Yong Mun Sen Retrospective Exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, 1999 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue

46 47 KHOO SUI HOE KHOO SUI HOE Behind The Stage | 1995 Dancer From Bali | 2009 31cm by 23cm | oil on canvas 28cm by 36cm | oil on canvas Signed “SUI HOE” lower right Signed “SUI HOE” lower left

53 CHIA YU CHIAN Winter Lady In Red | 1960 | 64cm by 80cm | oil on canvas | signed and dated “Yu Chian Paris 1960” lower right

54 55 CHIA YU CHIAN London | 1960 | 78cm by 57cm | oil on canvas | signed and dated “Yu Chian London, 1960” upper left Exhibited in Chia Yu Chian Memorial Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2002 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue

56 57 KUO JU PING Self Portrait | undated | 49cm by 38cm | oil on board | signed “若萍” lower right

63 YONG MUN SEN Paddy Planting | 1946 | 96cm by 134cm | oil on canvas laid on board | signed and dated “Mun Sen 1946” lower right Exhibited in Yong Mun Sen Retrospective Exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, 1999 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue

64 65 TSAI HORNG CHUNG Young Tribal Lady Playing Gong | 1995 | 114cm by 45cm Ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll Signed and dated “洪钟九五” upper left and “H.C.Tsai ’95” lower right 66 CHONG HIP SENG | In The Garden I | 2014 | 122cm by 141cm (diptych, 122cm by 70.5cm each) | acrylic on canvas Signed and dated “HIP SENG 2014” lower left and centre

67 KHOO SUI HOE Around The Moon | 1980 | 90cm by 90cm | oil on canvas | signed and dated “SUI HOE 80” lower right

71 index of artists

Chen Wen Hsi 42, 43, 44 Chia Hui Chian 30, 62 Chia Yu Chian 54, 56 Chong Hip Seng 67 Fung Yow Chork 22, 52, 53, 61 Heng Eow Lin 60 Ho Khay Beng 27 Khaw Sia 40 Khoo Sui Hoe 48, 49, 68, 71 Kuo Ju Ping 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 34, 58 Le Chek Wen 36 Lee Cheng Yong 18, 21, 63 Lee Joo For 50, 51 Ong Kim Seng 29 Seah Kim Joo 28 Tan Choon Ghee 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 Tew Nai Tong 70 Tsai Horng Chung 66 Yong Mun Sen 31, 32, 46, 64

acknowledgement

Koh Seow Chuan Linda Neo & Albert Lim Angie Lee & Hoe Say Yong Christin Kam JT Lim David Leong Iola Liu Sarah Abu Bakar Kimberly Leong