Chuah Thean Teng

Figure 1: Dato' Chuah Thean Teng
B. China, 1912 -2008

Dato' Chuah Thean Teng was born in Chenkiang Village in Fujian, China in 1912, but in Malaysia he is widely known as the Father of Batik Painting (Ku Seman, 2009). Before becoming an artist, Chuah used to worked in various field.He is also the founder of Penang Art Studio.

His early style of painting was greatly influenced by Picasso. Later on his artwork was influenced by Paul Gauguin. (Ku Seman, 2009) before focusing on batik. However, before making his mark in batik, Chuah also a master in woodcut, Chinese brush paiting, oil painting and watercolor (Kim, 2006)

Chuah is consider the first artist to convert batik from a functional material into a medium suitable for aesthetic expression (Sabapathy & Piyadasa, 1983).  Ku Seman (2009) supported this by claiming that Chuah had elevated the traditional art form,  batik, with nuaces of expressionism, modernism and abstract.

His artwork usually depicted Malaysian muti-racial lifestyle and culture especially cultural activities in the rural area. In 1968, he was acknowledged by UNICEF in 1967 when his painting, Two of a Kind, was chosen to be printed on greeting cards. He was the first Malaysian artist that received that honor. His work , Tell You a Secret, was once again selected by UNICEF twenty years later.

Figure 2: Mother and Daughters : The Fruit Season
Batik
57.5 x 45 cm

References

Sabapathy, T.K & Piyadasa, R. (1983) Modern Artists of Malaysia. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Kuala Lumpur

Ku Seman. (2009, January 18). Apresiasi Seni Batik Teng. Utusan Online. Retrieved from http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0118&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=sastera&pg=sa_01.htm

Kim, C.K. (2006, December 3, 2006) Father of Batik Painting.  The Star Online. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2006/12/03/father-of-batik-painting/

[Mother and Daughters : The Fruit Season]. Retrieved June 12, 2018 from http://kl-lifestyle.com.my/lot-28-auction-xx/

[Dato' Chuah Thean Teng]. Retrieved June 5, 2018 from http://www.theedgegalerie.com/artist/chuah-thean-teng-dato%E2%80%99