LOT 42
CHIA YU CHIAN
B. Johor, 1936 – 1991
Petaling Street KL, 1981
Oil on canvas
52.5 x 45 cm
Private Collection, Singapore
Signed and dated “Yu Chian 1981” on lower left. Signed, dated, and titled on verso
RM 25,000 – 35,000
Born in Johor in 1936, Chia Yu Chian studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and graduated in 1958. He was known for being the first artist from the Straits Settlement to receive a French Government scholarship at Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris and was commissioned by the Malaysian High Commission in Paris to paint a mural painting called Life in Malaysia. He received a Honourable Mention by the Salon des Independent and Societe des Artistes Francais. This work, illustrating the street scene of Petaling Street was executed in Chia’s maverick manner. The artist captured the venue during its heyday, where the street was lined with food stalls, canopied by umbrellas. The buildings exude a nostalgic and dated quality to them, with clothes hung to dry and marketing banners blanketing its facade.