LOT 35
CHEN CHONG SWEE
B. China, 1910 – 1985
Balinese Lady
Stamped with seal of the artist on top left
Watercolour on paper
74 x 36 cm
Private Collection, Singapore
RM 40,000 – RM 70,000
Chen Chong Swee was Singapore’s pioneering first-generation artists — an educator, writer and painter. Born in Guangdong, China in 1910, Chen migrated first to Malaysia then to Singapore in the early 1930’s and became a key figure in the development of the Nanyang style. A passionate art scholar and activist, he taught art at various schools, nurturing not only talent but also a sense of place. An analytical and prolific writer, he wrote many essays that contained keen observations and discourses on all aspects of visual arts. A realist painter, he was the first to depict Singapore subject matter in traditional Chinese ink as well as a pioneer in integrating Western and Chinese aesthetic traditions, painting the story of Singapore and its people with sensitivity and a sense of revelation. Chen believed that art should accurately represent its subject matter and be relevant to and easily understood by its audience, that it should communicate ideas and emotions, evoke empathy, and, at its most ideal, “embody truth, goodness and beauty”. In this work entitled ‘Balinese Lady, Chen brought forth his forte of amalgamating Western and Chinese traditions, through the simple painting of a Balinese lady dressed in their traditional outfit, arranging the offerings before her.