In terms of Dato’ Chuah Thean Teng’s Mother and Child theme, this is a work that is quintessential Teng (as he is affectionally known). All the hallmarks of gesture, form and colours are depicted: colour harmony with the subtle nuances of green, the close cropped composition, the elegant configurations, supple forms of the mothers to emphasise the love and affection, the cherubic baby cradled in the mother’s lap with her left hand supporting the head. Somehow, mothers do it better when bathing babies and the bond is always there, forged as she wipes the child with a damp cloth. On the mother’s hair tied in a ponytail, is a fresh red flower, a contrast to the variegated floral imprints on the mothers’ sarung, adding an elegant touch to this beautiful picture of a tender moment.

Teng is the world-acknowledged founder of Batik Painting and he never looked back after his break-through exhibition in 1955. His paintings, Two Of A Kind (1968) and Tell You A Secret (1987), took on iconic status when selected for Unicef greeting cards. He studied at the Xiamen (Amoy) Art Institute in China. He was honoured with a retrospective exhibition by the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 1965 and by the Penang State Art Gallery in 1994. The Penang State Government conferred him the title “Dato” in 1998 and he received the Live Heritage Award in 2005. The National Art Gallery gave him a memorial exhibition in 2009. His major works are on show at Yahong Art Gallery in Batu Ferrringhi in Penang, which is a veritable museum also showcasing the batik works of his sons and grandsons.


REFERENCE
Chuah Thean Teng Retrospective, Penang Museum and Art Gallery, 1994.
Teng Batik, Yahong Gallery, Penang, 1968.
Teng: An Appreciation, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2009.