Lot 044
SEAH KIM JOO
b. Singapore, 1939
FARMERS
Undated
Signed ‘SEAH’ with seal (lower left)
Batik
60cm x 38cm
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur.
ESTIMATE RM 5,000 - 8,000
PRICE REALISED RM 6,720 |
One of the finest batik artists in this region, Seah Kim Joo celebrates the heroes of daily village life by embracing them and putting them under limelight as his choice of subject matter. Two figures adorning conical hats and farming instruments are finely illustrated here. He enunciates various planes within the composition with a spectrum of sepia and green tones marked by the patterning of stripes, dots and floral motifs in wax.
Seah Kim Joo actively produced paintings and sculptures in the 1960s and 1970s. He was recognised for the use of dye-and-resist batik technique when he won First prize for two consecutive years at the Malayan Federation Open Art Competition. He has participated in group exhibitions abroad, most notably at the Osaka World Exposition, Japan in 1970 where his acclaimed murals decorated the Singapore Pavilion. In 1972, one of his paintings was selected for the commemorative stamp series - an honour by the Singaporean government for his contribution to the art industry - to symbolise the early development of art in post-independent Singapore.
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