Artist Profile: Chua Mia Tee (1931-Present)

Singaporean Artist

Image of Chua Mia Tee. (Chua Mia Tee picture, n.d.).

History

Chua Mia Tee was born in Shantou, Guangdong province, China in 1931 but he fled along with his family to Singapore in 1937 because of the Japanese invasion of their homeland. In 1947, he attended Chung Cheng High School but withdrew halfway to pursue formal arts education in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) (Pereira, n.d.). He taught in NAFA after his education and went on to succeed as an artist both traditionally and commercially.

Artistic Education & Influence

The National Library Board’s (NLB) Infopedia quotes that “[h]e received training in drawing, sketching with watercolour and painting, both with oils on canvas and with Chinese ink and colours on paper from NAFA director Lim Hak Tai and artists Cheong Soo Pieng, Koh Tong Leong and See Hiang To” (Omar, n.d.).  Chua is a realist painter and one of the most prominent in his field locally. His portfolio includes artowrks depicting the dying historical scenes and traditional infrastructure of the 1960s – 1980s period. One of his more well-known artworks would be National Language Class (1959).

Key Accomplishments & Exhibitions

1974

•  Became a full-time artist after success of first solo exhibition at the Rising Art Gallery

1979

•        Commissioned to make 36 sketches of Ministers and Members of Parliament during meetings. Also painted the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on his return from London after the "Merdeka Talks"

1980

•        Art Exhibition of Mr and Mrs Chua Mia Tee, Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

1984

•              National Day painting on "The 25^th Year of Nation Building" appeared on the front page of The Straits Times

1988

•             Participated in the 50^th Painting Exhibition of R. Basoeki Abdullah R.A.N. in Jakarta, Indonesia

1990

•           Designed Singapore's new $50 to commemorate Singapores 25^th anniversary

1997

• Designed the One Million Dollars Commemorative Note, a souvenir note to mark the handover of Hong Kong to China

For more information about Chua’s accomplishments and history, please visit this the National Library’s Infopedia site: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1010_2008-07-30.html

References

Chua Mia Tee picture [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sagg.com.sg/page/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=693

Omar, M. (n.d.). Chua Mia Tee. Retrieved from http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1010_2008-07-30.html

Pereira, J.C. (n.d.). Chua Mia Tee: Painter of the common man. Retrieved from http://www.sagg.com.sg/page/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=693

Old Chinatown (1980)

By Chua Mia Tee

Image of painting (Old Chinatown, n.d). A sharper, larger version of the image is unavailable.

In this painting, Chua captures the scene of Chinatown of the past. Right now, most places in Singapore have been upgraded and historic locations have had modern elements infused into their surrounding environment, or even the buildings themselves. As a realistic painting, Old Chinatown reflects what is left as a memory. Chua’s brushstrokes and colours used are vibrant and has a vintage feel. Chinatown was the heart of Chinese culture back then and still is up till today, although it is slowly becoming more modernised with shops selling more commercial goods.

References

Old Chinatown [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/artists/chua+mia+tee/old-chinatown-onrrjjacWCn8T_ls4wSjIg2

Workers in the Canteen (1974)

By Chua Mia Tee

Image of the painting (Workers in the Canteen, n.d.)

The painting is one of the most discussed about out of all of Chua’s works. He captures the moment of workers during a break of their everyday work. The realist artist brings a renewed perspective to the audience of the present, as most people in modern Singapore would rarely chance upon such background scenes of society. The colours used are of darker tones and holds a sense of solemnity. The concept is simple, but the quality of realism in the painting is indeed high. Furthermore, Chua's painting invokes empathy and bares the unmistakable existence of social segregation in every society in the world.

References

Workers in a canteen painting [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHX_lpJ9datrOCRUr9vuXc3C_VaPrrza_-sl2hqdwcwalfosylF-ZpQLv1ivABL3eu3KR6j-i98LQmpl0kjUC0OSIVZDYACdaQemlHDjsOaFKOk-hcvj47926t0gQpjK5mVDivgx1K9Ws/s320/B2_Chua+Mia+Tee,Workers+in+a+Canteen,+1974,+Oil,+89x126cm.jpg

Artist Profile: Georgette Chen (1906-1993)

Singaporean Artist

The image of Georgette Chen (Georgette Chen, n.d.)

History of Artist

Georgette was born in Zhejiang, China in October 1906. She lived a comfortable adolescent life, travelling through out China, Paris and New York during that period of her growth. She attended art classes at the Art Students League in New York (1926-1927), and later in Paris she studied art at the Academie Colarossi and Academie Biloul. In 1930, she married her first husband, Eugene Chen Youren, the Chinese Foreign Minister. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1944 during the Japanese invasion. Georgette married a second husband Ho Yung Chi in 1949 but divorced by 1953 and moved over to Singapore within the same year (Creamer, n.d., para. 5). She became a teacher at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and taught visual art for almost 27 years (Introduction, 2005, para. 4). Up to date, she is one of the most respected pioneering artist and art teacher in Singapore.

Artist Style & Influence

Georgette was known to have been influenced by french artists like Jean Baptise Corot and Paul Cezanne (Creamer, n.d., para. 3), having had her art education there. Her paintings were often done with heavy and textured brushstrokes. Georgette's portfolio is classified into her different inspirations throughout her artistic career: Still life, Portraiture and Landscape (Introduction, 2005, para. 2).

Key Exhibitions

1937

• Paris World Fair, Paris
• Women Painters Exhibition, Paris

1940s

• Exhibitions in China

1949

• Salon d'Automne, Paris

1951

• Galerie La Licorne, Paris

1953

• Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Singapore

1954

• Singapore Art Society, Singapore

References

Introduction. (2005). Life and art of Georgette Chen. Retrieved from http://www.artoutreachprogram.org/images/pdfs/PORTFOLIOS/The%20Life%20&%20Art%20of%20Georgette%20Chen.pdf

Creamer, R. (n.d.). Georgette Chen. Retrieved from http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_698_2005-01-12.html

Still Life with Big Durian (1965)

By Georgette Chen

The image of the painting (Still Life with Big Durian painting picture, n.d.). 

This painting shows Georgette’s distinct Impressionism style infused with Asian elements, very obviously seen through the use of heavy brushstrokes, oriental reds and the choice of fruits depicted. The durian is the focal point in the picture with the green standing out from the background of paler colours. The mangosteens and rambutans give the impression of clutter, but add vibrance, to direct the audience’s eyes to the durian. The use of pleasant shades of colour give the painting a nostalgic and energetic feel.

Georgette masterfully expresses the simple joys of everyday living (Still Life with Big Durian, 2005) in Singapore through an accurate artistic representation of the local eating culture back in the 1960s. Back then, people did not demand much. The period of rapid industrial growth after independence made the locals focus on finding appreciation in the daily routines of life instead of the luxuries they dreamt of.

There is much to learn from this artwork. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”; Georgette definitely found beauty in the most common of things, especially fruits. You can check out other still life paintings by Georgette Chen here (auction and sale information): http://www.myarttracker.com/node/377936/artworks/by-artist/Georgette-Chen

References

Still Life with Big Durian. (2005). Life and art of Georgette Chen. Retrieved from http://www.artoutreachprogram.org/images/pdfs/PORTFOLIOS/The%20Life%20&%20Art%20of%20Georgette%20Chen.pdf

Still life with big durian picture [Image] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://poppypeppers.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img_1519.jpg