34

 
IntroductionArt Works






Chuah Seow Keng

Chuah Seow Keng is recognized as one of Malaysia’s leading artists and is very well known for his batik and watercolour paintings. Born in 1945 in Kelantan, Malaysia, Seow Keng now makes his home in Penang. In 1968 he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Suddeutsche Kunststoff-Zentrum in Wurzburg, Germany. While attending this academy he specialized in fiberglass sculpture, a difficult, but rewarding art medium.

While being recognized as an accomplished sculptor, Seow Keng is also acknowledged as a masterful batik artist. His abilities as an artist were noticed at a very early age. He was exposed to the art of batik painting by his father, the renowned artist Chuah Thean Teng, who pioneered batik painting as a fine art form. Seow Keng excels in this intricate art technique and was chosen to demonstrate his batik skills at the International Freundschaftheim in Buckeburg, Germany. During 1974 Germany’s Television Channel Zweites-Deutsches- Fernsehen-Trans-Tel made a documentary film of Seow Keng and his brothers who demon- strated the art of batik painting for German viewers.

Seow Keng returned to Malaysia after com- pleting his studies in Germany. Soon thereafter, in 1970, the Malaysian Singapore Airline (M.S.A.) commissioned him to do a fibre-glass relief sculpture entitled "Space" for their lpoh office. The following year M.S.A. commissioned another fibre-glass sculpture entitled "Time & Space" for its Penang office. Seow Keng also created the "Bank Crest", a fiberglass sculpture commissioned by the Bank Negara of Malaysia and that sculpture is currently displayed at the entrance of the Bank Negara in Penang. Another fibre-glass sculpture entitled "COMPO- SITION" is on permanent display at the Yahong Art Gallery in Penang, Malaysia.

The excellence of Seow Keng’s mastery in both batik and watercolour paintings has been internationally acknowledged. The art world’s publications frequently feature his work and his thoughts in both local and foreign journals. His art reviews have appeared in "Asia Magazine" (1982, 1983), "La Jolla Light", California, U.S.A. (1986), "The Asian Expo", Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (1986), "Artist" (1989), "Yazhou Zhoukan" (Asiaweek’s Mandarin Issues) (No: 47, 1989), "Impression" (The American Express Magazine) (199-), "Malaysian Tatler" (August, 1991), and "Wings Of Gold" (Malaysian Airline System in-flight magazine) (June, 1992).

In 1988 two batik paintings by Seow Keng entitled "Fish" and "Rural Life" were selected by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for their greeting card selec- tion. This is a prestigious honour for the coun- try, Malaysia, as well as for the artist, Seow Keng.
In 1989 Seow Keng was awarded the Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement at the Artitudes 7th International Art Competition in New York, U.S.A.

Seow Keng’s art is much sought after by international art collectors as well as by patrons of the local art circles.

Exhibitions of his works include:

1972 Dewan Sri Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia.
1973 Travelling Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan.
1974 International Art Exhibition, Basel, Switzerland.
1975 International Art Exhibition, Basel, Switzerland.
1975 Kanda Gallery in Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa, Japan. 1975 Art Exhibition in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, Australia.
1976 Penang Week in Singapore.
1981 Georgetown Gallery, B.C., Canada.
1986 Eva Chan Gallery, California, U.S.A.

Currently on permanent exhibition at the Yahong Art Gallery, Penang, Malaysia. Seow Keng’s depictions of the Malaysian cul- ture in batik painting portrays his style in a con- temporary manner; the elegance in his paint- ings demonstrate the artist’s versatile abilities. Seow Keng integrates the serenity, harmony and gentle way of life of the Malaysian people in addition to the peaceful beauty of the Malaysian countryside. He also employs an exciting contrast in myriad of urban activities occur seemingly independently, yet interwoven with a strong thread of commonality in the Malaysian way of life. Seow Keng utilizes colours with orchestrated care to create a style that is genuinely unique to his batik paintings.

Seow Keng’s batik paintings are of simple, daily life; and his harmonic scenes reveal his perceptive treatment of colours and light. He is constantly experimenting and expanding the boundaries of expression; accentuating a skill- ful treatment of forms and shapes. He com- bines a rich, harmonic blend of colours into bold, rhythmical patterns showing an under- standing for spatial depth and vertical perspective.