“Eng Tay-The Exhibition” at Galeri Petronas, Suria KLCC

Selections of etchings, oil paintings, sculptures life-sized and marquettes, including hand-painted ceramic works are the most comprehensive artworks showcased at “Eng Tay – The Exhibition” Galeri Petronas this April. The Malaysian-born and New York-based artist, Eng Tay will give Malaysian public an opportunity to catch a glimpse of development of the figure types as well as vision of Eng Tay’s inimitable style of story-telling that, journeys into the landscapes of the heart, touching on tender moments of love, togetherness and camaraderie.

 

Officiated by YBhg. Tan Sri Kamarul Ariffin bin Mohamed Yassin, former Chairman of the National Art Gallery Board of Trustees and respected patron of Malaysian arts, a 250-page exhibition publication published by GALERI PETRONAS was also unveiled.

 

 

Speaking at the media launch, Puan Hajah Hartini Abdullah, Director of Galeri Petronas said,”…as part of its organisation objectives, Galeri Petronas is committed to bringing the works of established artists such as Eng Tay to the Malaysian public as opportunity for the public to experience and learn about these internationally acclaimed artworks. The exhibition also intends to spur scholastic discourse among Malaysian art practitioners and academics in the development of new knowledge within the context of Malaysian contemporary art…”.

 

 

Eng Tay holds strongly to his little homely themes about ordinary people, but he paints them in big, grand theatrical style and in terms of the figure dominance. The notion of balance, as in the Yin-Yang order of things, is also a key to his works. Music, which was infused into his repertoire since 1981, forms a compelling background.

 

   

The September 11,2001 incident has transformed Eng Tay’s life and artforms, into more of the outdoors, going bolder and brighter, painting on huge canvases with a wider panoramic scope and intriguing multiple perspectives all with the mission of bringing people – the Family of Man – closer together. He retells his inner human drama with a more intimate touch.  

 

In sculptures, Eng Tay has done public works 10 times the height of his usual 30cm-tall marquettes. In this exhibition, two huge bronzes are displayed: one of which is a larger-than-life violinist (Jubilation II) located inside the gallery, while the other, entitled Boy, is positioned right at the entrance, cheekily welcoming visitors.

 

Eng Tay brings into this defining exhibition invaluable insights into the formative visual and intellectual elements and the spirit of innocence. In this uncertain time of hate and climate change, Eng Tay’s art is a joyous respite, and a closure, for a return to humanism and the innocence.

 

In conjunction with this exhibition, GALERI PETRONAS is organising an Artist Talk-Demonstration session on print-making techniques led by Eng Tay himself on 4 April 2009 at 4.00 p.m. A curatorial walkthrough with the Guest Curator of the exhibition, Ooi Kok Chuen, will also be conducted on 18 April 2009 at 4:00 p.m. Both programmes are free to the public.

 

 

“Eng Tay – The Exhibition” continues in GALERI PETRONAS, Level 3, Suria KLCC until 17 May 2009.