Wu Chaoshu was an avid art collector between the 1940s and the 1970s who played an important role in promoting Chinese art in Malaysia. Originally from China, he was as an assistant for one of the military aviation personnel in the Flying Tigers, an American volunteer flying force during World War II. He migrated to Singapore during the Second Sino-Japanese war and worked as a representative for the Kuomintang leader, Chiang Kai-shek.

Upon retirement, he resided in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia where he was involved in the tin mining business. It was then that he pursued his art activities and organised many exhibitions for Chinese artists in Malaysia which included Chen Wen Hsi. He had organised a solo exhibition for the great pioneer in Ipoh in December 1957. Here, Chen Wen Hsi had created a sketch in honour of his good friend. Executed in pastel on paper, the drawing illustrates the artist's adeptness in portraiture.

Chen Wen Hsi was an artist and one of the finest finger-painters, an academician and a gallerist (1976 to 1985). The highly regarded painter and art educator received his formal art schooling from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts (1928) and then enrolled at Xin Hua Academy of Fine Arts (1932) in Shanghai, during which he was exposed to both traditional Chinese painting as well as Western art. His tutelage under the great Pan Tian Shou and Zhu Wen Yun had given him a solid foundation although he also benefited from the sense of Western perspective under the training of Tan Hemu and Ni Yide.

 

The celebrated Chinese ink painter Chen Wen Hsi illustrates a host of sparrows, three perched on a tree branch while the other fluttering away. His swift and decisive strokes are evident in this well-composed piece. The artist was known for his alluring rendering of nature through the medium he loved most - the Chinese ink. He was fond of painting various species of birds like pelicans, flamingos, and storks as well as other animals namely gibbons, cockerels and squirrels.

The highly regarded painter and art educator received his formal art schooling from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts (1928) and then enrolled at Xin Hua Academy of Fine Arts (1932) in Shanghai during which he was exposed to both traditional Chinese painting as well as Western art. His tutelage under the great Pan Tian Shou and Zhu Wen Yun had given him a solid foundation although he also benefited from the sense of Western perspective under the training of Tan Hemu and Ni Yide. He arrived in Singapore in 1949 and taught at the Chinese High School for 20 years and at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from 1951 to 1959. In 1975, the National University of Singapore awarded him an honorary degree and he was honoured with a Retrospective exhibition in 1982.

Reference:
Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition, Singapore Art Museum, 2006.

The innovative artist Huang Yao began experimenting with ceramic tiles in the last years of his life in the 1980s. He worked with young potters and ceramic art experts to create wonderful art objects by undergoing a complex process of baking or firing. One needs to be extremely masterful to apply water-based painting technique onto porcelain due to various technical challenges. In a solo exhibition displaying ceramic paintings held in Kuala Lumpur in 1986, an article in the catalogue explains the process:

"Colours using the underglaze method will change after firing, whereas in the case of overglaze, both the exercising of a brush and the use of ink present major problems. There are three processes of firing in overglaze: biscuit firing, glaze firing followed by overglazing. This process will make the colour firm and resistant to wear and tear..."

The themes adopted in Huang Yao's ceramic tile paintings often depict amusing children imageries, deities or as seen in this particular piece, a scholar sitting in a poetic setting accompanied by a frog nearby.

Reference:
Huang Yao's Solo Porcelain Painting exhibition catalogue, Moon Gallery, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 1986.

Huang Yao had always adored children and this special affinity was evident in many of his works. Painting the innocence of children brings Huang Yao back to the fond memories of his childhood. In this depiction of folk culture, a monk in the posture of the laughing Buddha or Budai Heshang sits on the ground while a child climbs onto his shoulders and is cleaning his ear. Another child with his back to the viewer is also in the act of picking his own ear. The image represents contentment through the simple performance of a hygienic favourite past time.

In 1935, Huang Yao became Art Editor of the Shanghai Post and drew a huge following with his cartoon character, Niubizi, which had also become his nom de plume, from 1934 to 1956. He had written and published numerous educational books namely A Chinese Soldier (1941) for the army during the war in China, Ten Talks on Niubizi for art classes in schools which was later translated into Malay language as Eight Talks on Niubizi, Chongqing in Cartoon (1943) and many more. He travelled extensively during his lifetime, leaving China for Vietnam before moving to Thailand, Singapore and finally settling down in Malaysia. His legacy has seen a great resurgence since his retrospective exhibition in Singapore and Shanghai, China, in 2001 and 2011 respectively. A special memorial show titled The Remarkable Guest of Malaya was displayed at the National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 2013.

Renowned for his stylised figures adorning signature phoenix eyes set amidst an idyllic rural landscape, Tew Nai Tong captures the rusticity of simple living in his coarse yet refined quality of oil paintings. Malacca River illustrates fishing boats along the river executed in his hallmark finish displaying a rustic charm.

Tew Nai Tong received his early art education at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, graduating in 1958. He worked for a while to raise funds for his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts, Paris (1967 - 1968). In the early years, he signed his work as 'Chang Nai Tong'. His first solo was at the British Council, Kuala Lumpur in 1964 and he had his Retrospective at the National Art Gallery in 2007. He taught at the Malaysian Institute of Art from 1969 to 1980, the Central Academy of Art from 1982 to 1985, and the Saito Academy of Art (head of department, 1986 - 1988). He concentrated full-time in art in 1992. His awards included Second Prize, Chartered Bank Mural Design Competition (1964); Shell Watercolour Award (1981); Best Award, Esso (1982); Dunlop Watercolour Award (1983); and Grand Prize Asia Art Award (Malaysia) in Seoul in 2009. He is the co-founder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society (1982 - 1983), the Contemporary Malaysian Watercolourist Association (1994) and the now defunct Le Beaux Art Gallery.

Reference:
Odyssey, Tew Nai Tong Retrospective, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2007.

Lorong Prangin or Prangin Lane is one of the lanes in the old quarters of George Town which runs parallel to Prangin Road, linking Beach Street to Carnarvon Street. The Beach Street end of Prangin Lane was a working-class neighbourhood. This is where support trades for the Sia Boey Market are located, activities such as drying of salted fish and rattan making can be found in this area. Today Prangin Lane has been sanitized, now that the Sia Boey Market has moved to Macallum Street Ghaut.

Tan Choon Ghee is legendary for his watercolour scenes of Penang street life. He graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art in Singapore in 1951 and went on to study at the Slade School of Art, London graduating in 1959. Then, he received a German Government painting scholarship and an Australian Government TV set design scholarship. He worked for TV Singapore and TV Broadcast Ltd in Hong Kong before deciding to become a full-time artist. Choon Ghee was given a Retrospective (1957 - 2000) by the Penang State Art Gallery in 2000 and another Retrospective (1957 - 1992) by The Art Gallery, Penang.

Reference:
Tan Choon Ghee Retrospective (1957-1992), Penang State Art Gallery, 2000.

Though rendered in a nostalgic quality, a sense of modernity is evident in Lui Cheng Thak's illustration of the historical street Jalan Tun HS Lee in Kuala Lumpur. A towering office building and a Monorail train track is seen in the background. Named after Colonel Tun Sir Henry Lee Hau Shik (1900 - 1988) Malaysia's first Finance Minister (1957 - 1959), the street has always been a treasure trove for good food and old trades. The hustle and bustle of traders and consumers and the antiquated buildings surrounding the high street have stood the test of time since the earliest shop houses were built in the mid 1880s.

Lui Cheng Thak turned full-time artist after graduating from the Kuala Lumpur College of Art in 1989. He is one of Malaysia's foremost fine artists today. Cheng Thak's greatest muse has been old buildings and street scenes in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Penang, and is normally recognised for his iconic paintings of windows and birdcages that pay homage to Malaysia's heritage, history and culture. It is through exquisite technique and continual development that this artist manages to keep the art of painting alive and relevant in modern times. To date, Cheng Thak has taken part in numerous exhibitions and has found much recognition for his works. He held his first solo called As I Was Passing in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 followed by Reborn held in 2012. His most recent exhibition titled Circles displaying works of nostalgia and collective memory was held in July 2014. His paintings can be found in several prestigious collections public and private including the National Visual Arts Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.

Celebrated as one of the preeminent contemporary artists of Singapore, Jimmy Ong is known for his large-scale, figurative charcoal works on paper since his first solo exhibitions in the 1980s. His early, pioneering work focused on sexual identity and gender roles, often within the context of the traditional Chinese family. Over the past three decades, he has explored ways in which multiple identities and perspectives - whether sexual, ethnic, national, or even generational - can coexist within the individual.

Jimmy Ong was enrolled into the Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, USA between 1984 and1985 and was awarded the Alliance of Independent Colleges of Art Scholarship. In 1988, he was granted the Anna K Meredith Scholarship and studied at Studio Art Center International, Florence, Italy. He then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA from 1989 to 1992 and was awarded Charles Toppan Drawing Prize. His solo exhibitions included Lovers' Rocks at Taksu Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (2001), Trees in a Garden, Lunuganga, Bentota, Sri Lanka (2003), Ancestors on the Beach, Post Museum and Valentine Willie Fine Art, Singapore (2008), Elo Progo, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York (2013) among others.

Accomplished multi-disciplinary artist, Zulkifli Yusoff is presented here with an early work on canvas dated 1997 titled Teenager's Dream. The boldly outlined organic and monochromatic figures are executed in dream-like quality against the rigidity of an ink scrawled background. Zulkifli incorporates the colour red in minimal to accentuate the floating state of the surreal forms.

Zulkifli Yusoff is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Art in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim in Perak. He was conferred the National Academic Award (Visual Arts) in 2007. He pursued his Masters at Manchester Polytechnic, England in 1991, after his Diploma at the Mara Institute of Technology in 1989. He became a local art superstar when he won the coveted Grand Minister's Prize and the Major Award for Sculpture at the Third Salon Malaysia in 1992. In 1988 and 1989, he won the Major Award in the Young Contemporary Artists competition. He was selected for the First Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition in Brisbane, Australia in 1993 and exhibited at the Venice Biennale fringe in 1997. He also participated in the Seychelles Biennale in 1992 and was in the Malaysian team that won Second Prize in the Sand Sculpture Hong Kong competition in 1988. He has represented Malaysia at the 2013 Art Stage fair in Singapore with his compelling installation pieces Rukunegara 2 "The Voice 1" and Rukunegara 2 "The Voice 4". Another installation piece entitled Pendita was displayed at the Singapore Art Museum's The Collectors Show - Weight of History in 2013. He has also recently participated in Singapore Biennale 2013 themed If the World Changed with a suite of six piece installation titled Rukunegara 1 Belief in God occupying a space on the ground floor of the Singapore Art Museum.