Lot 85 | 3 October 2021

 

 

LOT 85

CHEONG LAI TONG

B. China, 1932

Untitled, 1981

Signed and dated on lower right

Oil on canvas

133 x 128 cm

Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur

RM 50,000 – RM 75,000

Cheong Lai Tong was the artist responsible for the masterpiece that is the mural outside the National Museum of Kuala Lumpur, another at the Sultan of Selangor’s Palace and another at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in Kuala Lumpur. “The murals at the National Museum were designed in the post-Merdeka years and they take on a deeper significance as we celebrate 50 years of independence.” He is considered a living national treasure, with his artistic contributions to the country spanning for over six decades. His career as an artist began during Malaysia’s independence and his works are an undeniable asset to the country indeed. Cheong LaiTong once said that the paintings will tell an artist what colour to put, and as you keep painting, it will lead you. Most abstract artists would agree with him, that the paintings will direct an artist. If it doesn’t, it merely means one is not mature enough as an artist. Evidently, this piece creates such a painting – whose colours move and flow, in constant motion as if persuading the viewer to be one with it. The viewer will lose themselves in this piece, a painting of Nature herself, as they watch every movement and discover more mysteries.