In this vivid still life composition, the artist explores the relationship between forms and light, rendered with deft strokes in warm tropical colours. Auspicious fruits which consists of a pineapple and oranges are placed in the center of the painting amidst local vegetables, a jar and a bottle of soy sauce. The Chinese pronunciation of pineapple “wong lai” means luck has arrived and is a symbol of wealth, while oranges are a symbol of abundant happiness.
 

Khaw Sia was perhaps the most flamboyant of the pioneer artists, accessorised in scarf, bow tie, smoking pipe et al. He had his early art tutelage at Sin Hwa Academy in Shanghai, graduating in 1932. In 1933, he took informal private classes under the great British watercolour painter Sir Russell Flint in London. He migrated from China to settle in Penang in 1937 and held his first solo there in 1955. His watercolours were already of such impeccable quality that they were accepted by the prestigious Le Salon Paris in 1956, the 14th Summer Salon at Royal Institute Galleries in London in 1957, and the 25th National Society Exhibition in London in 1958. The Penang State Art Gallery honoured him with a posthumous Retrospective in 1998.
 

REFERENCE

Penang Artists 1920s-1990s , The Art Gallery Penang, editions: 1990 and 1992.

Pioneers of Malaysian Art , The Art Gallery, 1994.