LOT 20
SEAH KIM JOO
B. Singapore, 1939
Three Women, 1970’s
Batik
83 x 32 cm
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
Signed “Seah Kim Joo” on lower right
RM 3,000 – 7,000
Born in 1939 and raised in Terengganu, Seah Kim Joo was exposed to the process of traditional batik making very early in his career as an artist. His passion for batik painting only grew in the 1950s, when the Penang based artist Chuah Thean Teng first pioneered painting using the batik medium. It also resulted in Seah being an ardent follower of the late Chuah and his works, since the manifestation of contemporary themes in a traditional medium was regarded as a direct expression of Nanyang regionalism. Seah’s works is nature and people, apart from occasional abstract pieces. Perhaps it was the cultural background of his upbringing in Terengganu that influenced his choice of subject matters. Ever equipped with an ethereal quality, ‘Three Women’ is a batik work rendered in brown earthy tone where three ladies are portrayed with motif lined sarongs and tops.