Lot 12 | Auction XX

LOT 12

Seah Kim Joo
B. Singapore, 1939

Chinatown Singapore, 1970s

Signed “Seah Kim Joo” on lower right

Batik

55 x 42 cm

Provenance Private Collection, Canada

RM 5,000 – RM 9,000


Known as one of the first few advocates of traditional batik-painting, Seah Kim Joo chooses a certain street in Singapore as his muse. Highly abstract and vague, the painting leads the viewer to dissect and distinguish between figures and the stalls and the streets. The mood is nostalgic, which makes one feel like they are revisiting memory lane by viewing it – especially those who have experienced Chinatown during its earlier days.

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.