Lot 072
CHUAH THEAN TENG, DATO'
b. China, 1912-2008
DURIAN SELLERS, 1990
Signed ‘Teng’ (lower left)
Batik
87.3cm x 86.5cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Penang;
acquired directly from the artist.
LITERATURE
Chuah Thean Teng Retrospective 1994,
Dr. Tan Chong Guan, Penang Museum
and Art Gallery, 1994, illustrated plate 50.
ESTIMATE RM 90,000 - 120,000
PRICE REALISED RM 137,500 |
This exquisite batik layers numerous connotations within its cool aquatic tones. The artist once again strives to chronicle the daily toil of the humble men and women. Here we see two women probably at early dawn; one helps the other lift her durian filled basket which she must sell to make ends meet so as to feed her child who is the focal point in the composition as the little boy looks towards the durian seller indicating which women is his mother. Perhaps the other female figure will look after the child while the mother is off selling durian for the day. In the image of the two women helping one other, the artist celebrates the strength and tenacity of women and speaks of a supportive and protective community. Note the intricate details of their dress, basket weave and spikes of durian which the artist had managed to capture.
Born in China in 1914, Chuah Thean Teng, or popularly known as Teng, studied at the Amoy Art School. He adapted the age-old craft of batik as a medium of fine art and thus was acknowledged as the Father of Batik Painting in Malaysia. He received international fame when his paintings entitled Two of a Kind and Tell You a Secret were selected by UNICEF for its greeting cards. He had exhibited extensively around the world, and was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur in 1965 and Penang State Art Gallery in 1994. A memorial exhibition was also held in 2008 by National Art Gallery to pay tribute to Teng. For his contribution to art, he was awarded the title ‘Dato’ by the Penang State Government in 1998.
REFERENCE
Chuah Thean Teng Retrospective 1994, Penang Museum and Art Gallery, 1994.
Teng Batik, Yahong Gallery, Penang, 1968.
Teng: Appreciation, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2008.
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