LOT 72
SEAH KIM JOO
B. Singapore, 1939
Back from the Market, Undated
Signed on lower right
Batik
86 x 57 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Canada
SOLD – RM 12,320
There is something very charming about the countryside and the simple village folk, as observed through many of the subject matters that are chosen by many successful artists.
Seah Kim Joo definitely believes so as he captures the demure, village women by the rich greenery that surrounds them. This piece is elegant, as Seah Kim Joo details the scenery and subject meticulously and matches them with hale and hearty greens and stonewashed browns that often bedeck the untouched countryside. This piece also somehow has an antique quality to it, as there is an air of nostalgia and memory surrounding it.
Born in Singapore in the year 1939, Seah Kim Joo was raised in Terengganu, during which he was exposed to the process of traditional batik-making. He studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1959 before returning to Malaysia to enhance his batik skills through his travels around the east coast. After having won the First Prize at the Malayan Federation Open Art Competition two years in a row, he has then been recognised for his use of dye-and-resist technique in batik. His murals have adorned the Singapore Pavilion, and one of his paintings was selected for Singapore’s commemorative stamp series.