🔥 Important Vintage Modern Asian Malaysian Print SIGNED - Chuah Thean Teng 蔡天定 For Sale
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🔥 Important Vintage Modern Asian Malaysian Print SIGNED - Chuah Thean Teng 蔡天定:
$1350.00
This is an Important & Rare set of Vintage Modern Asian Chinese Malaysian Prints, Woodcuts or Woodblock Prints on Paper, by the legendary Malaysian Modernist artist, and father of Malaysian Batik art, Chuah Thean Teng蔡天定(1912 - 2008.) These two prints likely date to the 1950\'s - early 1960\'s and depict traditional scenes of maritime working life for Malaysian dockworkers. Various figures can be toiling along the decks of ships or working alongside small boats. The style of these pieces is reminiscent of the German Expressionist woodcut prints of Weimar Era Germany. Each artwork is signed on plate: \"Teng,\" and also hand signed by the artist: \"Teng\" in the lower right corners. Additionally, an old Japanese framer\'s label on the verso reads: \"Distinctive Framing. KATO. Tokyo.\" Approximately 6 x 8 1/4 and 6 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches (including frames.) Priced to Sell. Teng\'s original early prints are incredibly rare, and the only similar artwork I could find online was in the permanent collection of the Lembaga Muzium Negeri Pulau Pinang (Penang State Art Gallery.) Acquired from an old collection in Los Angeles, California. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer. Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks!About the Artist:
Chuah Thean TengBorn:1912 - China
Died:2008 - Penang, MalaysiaKnown for:Portrait, figure, genre paintingName variants:Thean Teng Chuah, Thean Teng Chuan
Chuah Thean Teng (1912 - 2008) was active/lived in Malaysia, China.Chuah Thean Teng is known for Portrait, figure, genre painting.ChuahTheanTengwas a painter from Malaysia, mostly known under the nickname Teng. He mostly did Batik paintings, which were characteristic for their special interplay of expressive elements and bright colors.Chuah Thean Teng is often regarded as the artist who elevated the status of batik from craft to a fine art form. Chuah\'s initial foray into batik was as a business venture — he opened a batik factory in Penang at the end of the Second World War. While the business was unsuccessful, he became renowned for his batik designs and paintings. Portrayals of an idyllic and rustic Malayan lifestyle were a mainstay of his numerous batik paintings, and the individuals depicted are usually engaged in a variety of subsistence or agrarian tasks.Teng (1912 - 2008), as he is popularly known, was born in China, where he studied at the Amoy Art School. Teng received international fame in 1968 when his painting entitled \"Two of a Kind\" was selected by UNICEF for its greeting cards selection. 20 years later, his painting \"Tell you a secret\" was again selected by UNICEF.
His works have been reported extensively in local and international newspaper articles and magazines. He was featured twice inReader\'s Digest(Oct 1987, Asian Edition & Oct 1988, British Edition) and he is also mentioned in numerous books -Chinese Arts in the 20th Century(by Michael Sullivan),Modern Artists of Malaysia(by T.K Sabapathy and R. Piyadasa), andTeng-Batik(by Yahong Art Gallery).
He is listed in the \"International Who\'s Who of Intellectuals\", \"Who\'s Who in the World\" (1980-1981) and \"Men of Achievement\".
Biography from Henry Butcher Art saleeers
Teng is a legend, the only Malaysian artist credited not only as a pioneer but the progenitor, of a world art genre, Batik Painting. He developed it in 1953 and held the first solo of his batik art at the Arts Council in Penang in 1955. He was arguably the first Malaysian to have an exhibition abroad, at the Commonwealth Institute, London, in 1959, and the only Malaysian among great world artists to be invited, to take part in the Commonwealth Artists of Fame exhibition in London, to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1977. The images of his paintings, Two of A Kind (1968) and Tell You A Secret (1987), became iconic when used as UNICEF greeting cards.
He was the first Malaysian artist (after British-born Peter Harris) to be given a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery (NAG), and his next Retrospective was in 1994 by the Penang State Government, which also honoured him with its highest award, a ‘Datoship’ in 1998 and the ‘Live Heritage Award’ in 2005. The NAG honoured Teng again in 2008 with a Tribute exhibition – the only two artists to get a national ‘Retrospective’ and ‘Tribute,’ the other being Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal. His Yahong Gallery in Batu Ferringhi, Penang, is a veritable museum of his finest works in various forms, and it also showcases the works of his three sons and two grandchildren.
Chuah Thean Teng
Dato\'Chuah Thean Teng(Chinese:蔡天定;pinyin:Cài Tiāndìng;Jyutping:Coi3 Tin1 Ding6;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Chhòa Thian-tēng; 1914– 25 November 2008), also known asCai Tianding,was a Malaysian artist who is credited with the development ofbatikas a painting technique.
Early life and educationChuah Thean Teng was born in 1914 inFujian,China; Chuah\'s father traded sundries while his mother made shoes for women withbound feet. The family emigrated toPenang,Malaysiawhen Chuah was 14; Chuah returned to Fujian to pursue an education at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Arts, but was forced to return to Malaysia due to an illness. He subsequently experimented with various art media on his own under thepseudonymChoo Ting, while working part-time as an art teacher.
CareerFollowingWorld War II, Chuah opened abatikfactory in Penang. While the venture quickly proved to be a failure, Chuah began experimenting with batik as an art form.According toT.K. Sabapathy, Chuah produced his firstbatikmedium work entitledMalayan Lifein 1941. Some of the themes which appeared in Chuah\'s work on include the human figure, landscapes and abstract compositions. Of these, the human figure has been the most significant.He held his first exhibition in 1955.He established the art and antique gallery Yahong Art Gallery in 1975.His artwork was featured onUNESCOgreeting cards in 1989.
Final yearsHe was conferred the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) by the Penang State Government in 1998, which carried the title of Dato\'. Chuah was awarded the Penang Heritage Trust\'s Living Heritage Award in 2005.He remained active in his final years and died on 25 November 2008 aged 96.Chuah is survived by three sons, all of whom are also artists: Siew Teng (born 1944), Seow Keng (born 1945), and Siew Kek (born 1946).
LegacyChuah Thean Teng is widely regarded as the \"father ofbatikart\" who developedbatikas a means of painting;\"his adaptation of the traditionalbatikmedium into an accepted form of painting ... elevated the status of batik as a craft to an art medium.\"Chuah\'s self-portrait, which usesbatikto depict a \"very strong gaze showing his (Chuah\'s) sense of determination\", was the first artwork to be registered in the National Collection of visual art at theNational Gallery Singapore. In December 2022, a book \"Exploring Southeast Asia with Chuah Thean Teng: Father of Batik Painting\" illustrating Chuah\'s life and his contributions to Southeast Asian art was published.
Solo exhibitions- 1955, Arts Council, Penang
- 1959, Commonwealth Institute, London
- 1964, Pomeroy Galleries, San Francisco, California, USA
- 1965, Retrospective exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
- 1967, Stichting Twents-Gelders Textielmuseum, Enschede, Holland
- 1972, The Gallery, Palm Springs, California, USA
- 1977, Churchill Art Gallery, Perth, Australia
- 1994, Retrospective exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, Penang
- 2008, Retrospective exhibition, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur (now the Balai Seni Visual Negara)
Chuah Thean Teng is commonly acknowledged as the founder of modern batik art, transforming the notion of batik as craft to its acceptance within the Malayan artworld from the 1950s onwards as a form of modern art.
Batik is the wax-resist dye technique used to fasten different colours on cloth. The inspiration to create batik paintings struck Chuah Thean Teng in 1953 after the closure of his batik cloth factory in Penang. Unwilling to discard his large stock of leftover imported dyes of different colours, rolls of white cloth, wax and brushes, Teng took a turn from floral patterns of commercial batik and dabbled in figurative designs. With the help of a wax-containing tool made of brass or copper called \'tjantjing\', he went through a laborious process of applying and removing wax to ensure different dyes only appeared on certain parts of the cloth. After two years of experimentation, he succeeded in creating a small batik pointillist self-portrait.
Following that, Teng, as he is popularly known, found the patronage of a a few influential art historians and art dealers and was given the opportunity to showcase his batik creations. He quickly adopted the motifs that were most central to Malayan art at that time, painting scenes of Malayan daily life.
According to Frank Sullivan, his productivity in batik painting is enormous...never satisfied, he is always experimenting, seeking to give new depth and range to his batik art. Indeed, in the two works presented here, we find Teng trying to go beyond to extend the scope of his composition.Mother and Child(Lot 620) is a classic universal motif and one that Chuah adopted and perfected. The tube skirt of the mother, called a sarong in Malay, is a canvas for the depiction of stunning patterns inspired by nature. Coconut trees and leaves are symbolically inserted into the picture to reflect a mother’s hope for her child to grow up well. The crackling in the background is the result of Chuah Thean Teng’s tie-dye technique with waxed cloth. Allowing the wax to crack and for the dye to seep through obtains the crackling effect which sets off against the figures well.
Woman with Cat(Lot 621) is a monochromatic study of grace and the feminine nature. Teng’s lady is a study of modesty and elegance, paired with the cat which represents feline grace. In terms of its colour treatment, it is rarely to find a Teng that is monochromatic, thus makingWoman with Cata notable work in Teng’s oeuvre.CHUAH THEAN TENG - PIONEER OF BATIK PAINTING
Chuah Thean Teng (or simply Teng as he signs his works) is Malaysia’s foremost artist in batik painting. Teng adapted the traditional and very ancient craft of dyeing on cloth - known as batik - and pioneered the use of the batik medium as a new form of fine art. His mastery of this novel art form has enabled Teng to express the spirit and feeling of this beautiful country in South East Asia and the daily life of her people.Teng is recognized as the pioneer and premier exponent of batik painting and is venerated for his contribution of this new means of pictorial expression. The draftsmanship of Teng is that of a master with his bold sweeping lines which flow with a sense of rhythm. His painting glows with a radiance showing a mastery of colors’ in his batiks and communicating joy in life.Teng’s creativity is evident in the batik works that he has produces. With his receptive eyes and the sureness of an artist’s hand, he has captured the elegance of Malaysian life, predominantly using rural villages and their people as his subjects: villagers attending their daily chores; children playing; and folk at leisure.
Teng’s themes are warm and simple, and his art in the batik medium gives fresh flavor and quality to the unique local scene.Born in Fukien, China, in the year 1914, Teng is the son of an importing and exporting tradesman. His interest in art began when he was just a young child and he was encouraged by his parents to express himself artistically. Teng has happy recollections of his childhood and these memories are often reflected in his works.Teng’s formal art education was gained at the Amoy Art Institute. At the age of 18, he moved to Malaysia with his parents to help his father in his trading company.He has led a varied life but throughout the kaleidoscopic years he has always been an artist. Times were hard for an unknown artist and became even harder during the World War II when all artistic talents were temporarily sup- pressed. When the World War II was over, Teng operated a batik factory but it did not flourish.With all the leftover materials, Teng began innovating in the batik medium. However, it was only through years of experimentation and hard- ship in developing this new form of fine art that he learnt how to incorporated his abilities both as an artist and as a batik craftsman.His first successful batik painting was a self-portrait executed in pointillist technique, using red, green yellow and black dyes on white cloth. This vital experiment was the turning point and from then on Teng launched himself into the earnest endeavor of elevating batik painting into a new form of fine art.
At small collection of artworks in the new medium was soon assembled. He showed his batik paintings to the art enthusiasts, Dr. Lim Kee Liang and his wife, Patricia Lim, of the Penang Library. In September 1955, Mrs. Lim together with Mr. Wilfred P]umbe (University of Singapore) and Mr. James Mandy (Regional Director of British Council) presented Teng’ first one-man exhibition, organized by the Penang Arts Council at the Penang Library.The exhibition was an immediate success and was well received by an enthusiastic public. It was truly a memorable and rewarding achievement for Teng who had struggled hard for many years against all odds to elevate batik painting as a form of fine art.Teng is an artist who enjoys exaggeration in his art: heads titled to a right angle; small heads set on big and muscular bodies with distorted limbs and elongated bodies writhing in movement. His colors blend perfectly into the compositions, bathing the figures in exotic hues. Yet, he executes these exaggerated figures with a style distinctively his own, enticing the viewer to escape into his world of imagination.The reverberation of Teng’s success in batik painting spread far and wide. In 1956, he was awarded another one-man show of nearly 100 works at the Singapore Art Society which was the leading art group in Malaya at that time. Needless to say, it was another successful exhibition.
Teng’s first international exhibition was held in 1959 at the Commonwealth Institute of Art in London, England. This exhibition was sponsored by the Federal Government at the request of the Arts Council. It was the first time that the Government has sponsored an overseas exhibition by any Malayan artist.His debut in the West was impressive, the viewing public was enthusiastic about his art and most of his works were sold on the opening day. The British Council granted Teng a \"Fellowship\" and he spent a few months in the United Kingdom attending to exhibitions of his work held in England and Ireland.In the same year, the Federal Government commissioned a mural on \"Malaysian Life\" for its new High Commission in Canberra, Australia. In 1960, Malayan Tobacco Company commissioned a mural entitled \"Malayan Products\"; and he also won an open competition organized by the University of Malaya with the theme \"Malayan Agriculture\".Teng was awarded the Diploma of Merit in 1962 when representative works by him were shown at the First International Art Exhibition in Saigon, Vietnam.The following year in April 1963, the Arts Council sponsored a one-man on, Siew Keng’s paintings to be included in their greeting card selection. The works that were chosen were entitled \"Tell You A Secret\" by Teng, and \"Fish\" and \"Rural Life\" by Siew Keng.
The following year in April 1963, the Arts Council sponsored a one-man exhibition of Teng’s works at the British Council Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The exhibition was an over- whelming success with many distinguished guests including Her Majesty, The Permaisuri Agung (The Queen of Malaysia), the British High Com- missioner and representatives from National Art Gallery and University of Malaya buying for their collections, along with other art collectors. Among the crowd that visited the exhibition were the famous author Han Suyin, university academicians, foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries.In February 1965, the National Art Gallery of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur presented one-man show Teng’s paintings prior to his exhibitions in Europe. In their catalogue for this exhibition, the National Art Gallery announced: -\"This is only the second time that the National Art Gallery has given an artist in Malaysia the honour of a one man exhibition, and this display provides an opportunity to pay tribute to Teng as the creator of batik painting as a fine art.\"Teng was again invited by the Commonwealth Institute in 1965 to hold another exhibition. The Commonwealth Institute also acquired two of Teng’s batik paintings entitled \"Making Batik\" and \"Picking Sireh Leaves\" for their art collection.In 1977, the Commonwealth Institute honored Teng when he was invited as Malaysia ‘ s only representative to the \"Commonwealth Artists of Fame\" held in London, England. This exhibition was organized by the Art Gallery of the Commonwealth Institute to mark the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation.When he was exhibiting in Europe in 1965, the United Nations’ International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) selected his batik painting \"Two of a Kind\", depicting children in their mother’s arms, as their greeting card.
He is the first Malaysian to be so honored.The UNICEF repeated the honors again 1988 when they chose both Teng’s and his son, Seow Keng’s paintings to be included in their greeting card selection. The works that were chosen were entitled \"Tell You A Secret\" by Teng, and \"Fish\" and \"Rural Life\" by Siew Keng.In \"Tell You a Secret\", Teng depicts a woman. Whispering a secret into the ear of another while a young girl tries to eavesdrop in the background, partly hidden behind a curtain. The \"secret\" will always remain a mystery as intended by the artist.Besides batik painting, Teng also works in different media, including oil, mixed media, gouache, woodcuts and sculptures.His paintings express his delight in natural, unsophisticated beauty, his compassion for humanity being presented in a style that is both distinctively his own and yet at the same time reflecting the vibrant spirit of the country - Malaysia. Dominant in his works are his paintings of mothers and children. Especially notable is the exquisite sensitivity he possesses in portraying the love and tenderness between a mother and her children.The international recognition of his work is deservedly Teng’s who has done so much in elevating the batik painting as a form of fine art. His reputation as the \"Father and Master of Batik Painting\" is an accolade well bestowed.Today, the dozen of batik painting has his own gallery in Penang where works by him and his sons, Siew Teng,Seow Keng and Siew Kek are on display.Exploring Southeast Asia with Chuah Thean Teng: Father of Batik PaintingEva Wong Nava,Jeffrey Say,Quek Hong Shin
EXPLORING SOUTHEAST ASIA WITH…is a series of narrative non-fiction picture books for young readers between the ages of seven and twelve. Each book will focus on one national artist, taking readers through the country’s history, the artist’ place within its history, and how art is a reflection of our times. Each book contains critical thinking questions comprising visual thinking strategies (VTS), an enquiry-based method to encourage children to think about the content and formal structure of the artworks.
The series encourages young children to read about artists who had made an impact on the art scene in Southeast Asia.
The main character in this story isCHUA THEAN TENG, a Malaysian batik painter. This story takes the reader through the artist’s colourful life from Fujian, China, where his mother made shoes for women with bound feet, to Penang, Malaysia, where Chua opened a batik factory following WWII. His artworks were featured in UNESCO’s greeting cards in 1989. Chuah is widely regarded as the father of batik painting. Through Chuah’s paintings, readers will learn about the the importance of batik in the Malay world as well as the techniques of batik and batik painting. Readers will also get a glimpse of a Malaysian kampung and a Malaysian way of life.
Chuah Thean Teng’s batik painting legacy is a tribute to mothers
Having just celebrated Mother\'s Day, BASKL decided to take a look at the gorgeous paintings of Chuah Thean Teng.
By DANIAL FUAD (2002)
Mothers have been a muse for various artists throughout the centuries all over the globe. Closer to home, artists such as Yong Mun Sen, Ramli Malek, Ismail Zain, Nadiah Bamadhaj and Fadilah Karim have all used mothers as a subject in their art, but none perhaps as much as Datuk Chuah Thean Teng.
Born to a tradesman in Fukien, China in 1914, Chuah’s interest in the arts was apparent even as a child. After getting a formal art education at Amoy Art Institute in Xiamen, he emigrated to Malaya at the age of 18 with his parents to help with his father’s business.
During World War II, which halted creative development as people were more focussed on surviving, it was hard for Chuah to get a breakthrough. He spent his time learning batik techniques, which he then used when he started his own business after the war was over. Due to stiff competition, however, Chuah’s batik business didn’t do well enough and soon ceased operations. The artist went on to become an art teacher teaching in Johor and Kedah.
It was at this time that Chuah started to experiment with batik painting as he had an abundance of materials from his previous business. His son Siew Teng once mentioned: “He was so attracted to the beautiful patterns and colours of the batik sarong that he decided to make use of this medium in his paintings.”
Before this, Chuah mainly used oils in his painting but after having spent days of experimenting and perfecting his skill and technique, he became an pioneer of batik painting here in Malaysia and in 1953, he opened a studio/shop called “Yahong”.
The subject matters that Chuah focused on in his paintings revolved around village life. In an essay entitledTeng: Inspirasi Malaysia, curators Lim Ai Woei and Tan Sei Hon said that French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin, especially his Tahiti series, was one of Chuah’s major influences and a main motivator for him to portray rural life, aside from the fact that Chuah himself lived the life of a peasant while growing up.
Painting rural life was rather common in Malaysia around that time says Dean and Associate Professor of Art History at the School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dr Sarena Abdullah. “It was the norm for artists during that era picturing what they saw; during the 1950s and 60s rural village was what was immediate to them.”
Chuah also placed special focus on mothers, and a majority of his works consist of mothers and their children going about their daily lives in the village. Interestingly enough, his works were chosen to be reproduced into postcards by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) three times and all of them were paintings about mothers.
“… His mother and child series highlights his deep respect for the role women play as nurturers and even life givers,” stated Lim and Tan. They also mentioned that Chuah had a deep respect for his own mother and this may also have inspired him to paint mothers over the years.
Chuah’s early training in Chinese painting served him well technically and also influenced his compositions, and the colours he used. As Chinese philosophy emphasizes balance, many of his works also are balanced in nature, or are circular compositions, promoting balance and equilibrium.
Another interesting thing to note is that most of the women are sitting in either a crouched or squatting position. Dr Sarena explains: “Of course it was like that as during those times. There were no chairs and the easiest position when doing chores was to to sit this way.”
Chuah passed away in 2008 at the age of 96. Being a pioneer of batik painting, the respected artist left an important legacy in the development of a national identity in visual arts in Malaysia. His work opened up a path for other artists, many of whom have followed in his footsteps including his own sons,Chuah Siew TengandChuah Seow Keng,Choy Siew Kekand more recently,Mandy Maung.
Artist of the Month: Chuah Thean Teng
Did you know? Chuah Thean Teng\'s self-portrait is the first registered work in the Gallery\'s collection.
He started to experiment with batik paintings from 1936 onwards and subsequently taught art at several schools in Malaya.
He also produced woodblock prints and had to even chop the trees himself to prepare the wood blocks!
P.S. According to him, the most suitable wood block came from the local guava (jambu) tree!
Catch his works at (Re)collect: The Making of Our Art Collection atNational Gallery Singaporecome 11 May!
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