Chen Chong Swee (Singaporean, 1910-1985)

Balinese Fruit Seller

Footnotes

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist
Private Collection, Singapore

陳宗瑞　峇厘果販　設色紙本　立軸　一九五二年作

款識：壬辰（1952）遊峇厘島。宗瑞於星洲。
鈐印：宗瑞

來源：
直接得自藝術家
新加坡私人收藏

The journey to Bali undertaken in 1952 by Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Liu Kang and Chen Chong Swee represents a seminal moment in the history of Singaporean modern art. From this year, Chen Chong Swee started to incorporate more local subjects into his works, pioneering the creation of a distinct Nanyang artistic language.

Painted in the year of this trip, Chen's connection to nature and Balinese local life is visible in Balinese Fruit Seller. With vivid colours the artist depicts a daily life image probably drawn after a sketch: a cross-legged man seated comfortably under the sunshade offering tropical fruits. Chen's brush, however, transcends this everyday scene into a poetic composition inducing meditation; the use of verticality invites the viewer to contemplate the painting from the bottom to the top, whilst the lotus position of the seller and the tree extending above him are reminiscent of the Bodhi tree. The documentary aspect of this painting as well as its colourful charm embody the aesthetics that Chen had been pursuing in his art.