Lot 74 | Auction XV

LOT 74

CHUAH SIEW TENG
(B. Penang, 1944)

Nude Portrait –
Class Study Ravensburne College,
London, 1966

Signed and dated “S. Teng 1966” on lower right
Oil on canvas
60.5 x 60.5 cm

Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur

SOLD – RM 3,776

Known for his excellent technique in working with the batik medium, Chuah Siew Teng is a veteran in the Malaysian art scene, bringing with him a vast range of experience. Siew Teng has a reputation of a brilliant artist in this segment where he is one of the most celebrated Malaysian artists today. He comes from Penang and was born in 1944 where he had long established himself and cement a place among Malaysian artists before he finished his education in 1965 at the Ravensburne College of Art and City & Guild Art School in England. Depicted here is the masterpiece created during his study at the aforementioned school, a nude portrait of a lady in a shadowy, murky and ghostly colours.

Siew Teng expressed a great interest in batik art at a very early age and was exposed to this art medium by the master of batik art, his father, Chuah Thean Teng. In 1961, 1962 and 1963, Siew Teng was the winner of the “Art Prize” in the open art competition held in North Malaysia. In 1964 he won the “Certificate of Merit” at the National Art Competition with his painting entitled “Joy of Living”. The following year he was awarded a prize at the Malaysia Artist Competition for his painting “Outdoor”.