Lot 052
CHUAH THEAN TENG, DATO’
b. China, 1912 - d. Penang, 2008
MOTHER AND CHILD, undated
Signed ‘Teng’ (lower right)
Batik
61cm x 45cm
*PINKGUY CONSERVATION FRAMING
ESTIMATE RM 35,000 - RM 45,000
PRICE REALISED RM 33,600.00 |
An illustrious batik painter, Dato’ Chuah Thean Teng’s most celebrated theme is the mother and child. On offer here is a common scene in a rural domestic household perhaps between the 1950s and 1980s depicting a mother resting on the floor while her child is asleep on a makeshift baby hammock. Presented in a quirky manner, the mother figure is composed in a spherical shape – one of the artist’s stylistic trademarks – and the hammock is constructed in a triangular form above against a green and brown palette.
Dato’ Chuah Thean Teng is undisputedly a recognised artist internationally after his successful first exhibition abroad at the Commonwealth Institute in England in 1959. His paintings, Two Of A Kind (1968) and Tell You A Secret (1987), took on iconic status when they were selected for UNICEF greeting cards. Teng first studied at Xiamen (Amoy) Art Institute in China but could not complete because of ill health. He was the first Malaysian to be honoured with a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery (NAG) in 1965, and his next was by the Penang State Art Gallery in 1994. The Penang State Government awarded him ‘Datoship’ in 1998 and the ‘Live Heritage Award’ in 2005. In 2008, the NAG again offered recognition to Teng, this time billing it a “tribute” exhibition. His major works are on show at his Yahong Art Gallery in Batu Ferrringhi in Penang, which is a veritable museum of his art. Yahong also showcases the works of Teng’s three sons and two grandsons who have all followed his creative footsteps. His works can be viewed at The Batik Painting Museum Penang and a thematic exhibition titled Love Me in My Batik at Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur until June 2016.
REFERENCE
Chuah Thean Teng Retrospective, Penang Museum and Art Gallery, 1994.
Teng Batik, Yahong Gallery, Penang, 1968.
Teng: An Appreciation, National Art Gallery, 2009.
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