Romanticisation of the Tropics: Batik Paintings by Chuah Thean Teng, Choo Keng Kwang and Seah Kim Joo
artcommune gallery is pleased to present ROMANTICISATION OF THE TROPICS: BATIK PAINTINGS BY CHUAH THEAN TENG, CHOO KENG KWANG AND SEAH KIM JOO, an exhibition curated by Yang Jye Ru that examines the development of batik painting as a modern art form in Singapore and Malaysia. Drawn from special private collections, the show features the works of Chuah Thean Teng (b. 1914, Fujian, China – d. 2008, Penang, Malaysia), Choo Keng Kwang (b.1931, Singapore – d.2019, Singapore) and Seah Kim Joo (b. 1939, Singapore), who were amongst the most prominent artists working on batik painting between the 1950s and 1970s.
Through their works, the show considers how batik became embedded in the formation of a regional visual culture, shaped by the intersecting forces of post-colonial nation-building, cultural policy and the tourism economy during the 1960s and 1970s.
artcommune gallery is pleased to present ROMANTICISATION OF THE TROPICS: BATIK PAINTINGS BY CHUAH THEAN TENG, CHOO KENG KWANG AND SEAH KIM JOO, an exhibition curated by Yang Jye Ru that examines the development of batik painting as a modern art form in Singapore and Malaysia. Drawn from special private collections, the show features the works of Chuah Thean Teng (b. 1914, Fujian, China – d. 2008, Penang, Malaysia), Choo Keng Kwang (b.1931, Singapore – d.2019, Singapore) and Seah Kim Joo (b. 1939, Singapore), who were amongst the most prominent artists working on batik painting between the 1950s and 1970s.
Through their works, the show considers how batik became embedded in the formation of a regional visual culture, shaped by the intersecting forces of post-colonial nation-building, cultural policy and the tourism economy during the 1960s and 1970s.