LOT 44
TEW NAI TONG
B. Selangor, 1936-2013
Study for Durian Seller, 1990s
Ink on paper
10.2 x 10.2 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 250 – RM 700
Tew Nai Tong has a proclivity for the rural settings; it is his brand and forte. Featured here is a group of women at a marketplace, at a fruits corner with durians and mangosteens. This piece is a sketch, a study for a work on canvas. It is a simple setting, highlighting a simple life of agricultural trade. The perception of uncomplicated lives is enriched through his thoughtful and vivacious rendition. Through this piece, the artist’s affection for the lifestyle here is flagrant, and he effectively captures the blissfulness of practicality and the feeling of being close to nature and the community around you.
Tew Nai Tong studied art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore (NAFA) and graduated in 1958 before furthering his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. Among the awards he received were the Second Prize in the Chartered Bank Mural Design Competition, the Shell Watercolour Award, Best Award from Esso, the Dunlop Watercolour Award and the Grand Prize Asia Art Award (Malaysia) in Seoul. He was also the cofounder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society and the Contemporary Malaysian Watercolourist Association.