Lot 87
CHIA YU CHIAN
b. Johor, 1936 - d. Kuala Lumpur, 1991
PARIS, 1959
Signed and dated ‘Yu Chian 1959’ lower left
Oil on board
62.5cm x 51.5cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur
ESTIMATE RM 20,000 - 28,000
PRICE REALISED RM 77,000
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The cluster of matchbox houses with uneven levels, different facades and rooftops with various colours and designs, was typical of the haphazard building construction in Paris at that time. The vibrant hues are indicative of bold and rich scenes and atmosphere that can be found in Paris. On Yu Chian’s draughtsmanship, Singaporean art curator Bridget Tracy Tan commented: “His paintings define not just what was visionary about Malaysian art, but what was visionary about Nanyang. There was no aping of Western traditions, but a gentle distillation of established idioms to articulate a persistently catalytic Modernity, one that was shaping and would continue to shape, the communities of Nanyang and their interests over many more decades.”
A graduate from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1958, Yu Chian was the first artist in Malaya to be awarded a French Government scholarship to study at the famed Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1959 to 1962. He has his works accepted 15 times in prestigious Salon exhibitions in Paris and received Honourable Mentions in the Salon des Independent and Societe des Artistes Francaise, which was rare for a non-French artist. He was also commissioned to do a mural titled Life In Malaysia for the Malaysian High Commission in Paris. He returned to Malaysia in February 1962 and held a solo exhibition at the British Council in Penang where all 110 works were sold.
REFERENCE
Chia Yu Chian Memorial Exhibition, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2002.
Contemporary Artists of Malaysia, Dolores D. Wharton, 1971.
Chinese Art of the 20th Century, Dr. Michael Sullivan, England, 1965.
Who’s Who In Malaysia, J. Victor Morais, 1975-76.
Modern Artists of Malaysia, T.K. Sabapathy and Redza Piyadasa, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1983.
Chia Yu Chian in Nanyang, Lim Hak Tai Gallery, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, 2009.
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