PasTheSEA

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