작품 상세

This is a change from Chia Yu Chian's depictions of urban life and vistas of Paris (1959-1962) that had collectors smitten. The aerial panoramic view of the Tower Bridge must have been done in 1960 when Yu Chian was given a solo in London. The view is done from a distance taking in the topography on the left bank. This, not the typical Yu-chian's trademark realism with a touch of Nanyang romanticism either or his chilli-hot Fauvist colour mix. The strokes are splotchy with the cluster of buildings including Big Ben rendered in thin linearity and dilute washes, and the wide expanse of the River Thames left in white or with smudges and with a few barges here and there, all funnelling towards the landmark Tower Bridge. The bascule suspension bridge is prominently aloft, for access to passing ships. Chia Yu Chian's art career reads like a fairy tale. After an informal tutelage by two great Singapore artists Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng, he got a French Government scholarship, the first in the Straits Settlement, to study at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris, in 1959 graduating in 1962. On his return, he held a solo at the British Council in Penang where all 110 paintings were sold out. In Paris, he was accepted for exhibitions an unprecedented 15 times, a few even with honorary mentions (Salon des Independents and the Societe des Artistes Francaise). He was also commissioned for the grand mural, Life In Malaysia, at the Malaysian Embassy in Paris. Apart from solos in Paris, at the Galerie de Villiers and the Salon de Paris, he also exhibited in London (Britain), Hanover (West Germany), India and Thailand. He was honoured with a Memorial exhibition by The Art Gallery Penang (1997), the Malaysian National Art Gallery (2002), and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 2009 (Chia Yu Chian In Nanyang) although he was not a NAFA alumni. He was mentioned in Dolores D. Wharton's seminal Contemporary Artists of Malaysia book.