Ilham Gallery’s reopening exhibition Kok Yew Puah: Portrait Of A Malaysian Artist welcomes visitors with an interesting premise: this is the work of a man who chose to become an artist twice.
In the 1970s, the Australian-trained Puah, as he was familiarly known, started out as a hard-edge abstract printmaker.
Kok Yew Puah exhibit, Ilham Gallery
Kok Yew Puah's 'Color Guide For Self-Portrait In Three Different Postures (1994). Photo: Ilham Gallery
Kok Yew Puah's 'Portrait Of Insurance Salesman In Pulau Ketam' (oil on canvas, 1993). Photo: Ilham Gallery
Puah's 'Berhenti! (Klangscape Series)/The T-Junction' (acrylic on canvas, 1988). Photo: Ilham Gallery
Puah’s wife Sallyanne Quah and the painter’s 'Portrait Of Anne Puah' (acrylic on canvas, 1994). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Puah’s Two Important Men (acrylic on canvas, 1993) (left) and Self Portrait In Deep Thought (acrylic on canvas, 1993) at the exhibition. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A selection of Puah’s studies to give viewers a broader look at his practice. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A portrait of Klang, Selangor-born artist Kok Yew Puah, who started out as an abstract printmaker in the 1970s before emerging as a socially conscious painter who observed everyday Malaysian life. He died of ill-health in 1999 aged 51. Photo: Yeh Poh Chung
Kok Yew Puah's 'In Front Of An Indian Temple' (acrylic on canvas, 1997) (left) and his study for 'Camera View Of Two Tourists In A Malaysian Town' (watercolour on paper, 1995). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Kok Yew Puah's 'Sisters' (acrylic on canvas, 1994). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Kok Yew Puah's 'Temple Figures' (acrylic on canvas, 1997). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Kok Yew Puah's 'Untitled (Man In A Trishaw)' (poster colour on paper, 1998). Photo: Ilham Gallery
Kok Yew Puah 'Urban Playground' (acrylic on canvas, 1994). Photo: Ilham Gallery
Kok Yew Puah's 'Masks And The Modern Man' (acrylic on canvas, 1995). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
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