By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Jan 8: Newly-opened Hoan Gallery at Hock Seng Lee’s (HSL) La Promenade Mall is where you can find footmarks or rather, brush strokes of past and present Sarawakian artists.
As the name of the opening exhibit: Rebirth – Sarawak is Art, Past & Present implies, it features over 40 artworks by 10 different artists.
Gallery owner Hoan Kee Huang said there are Leonard Siaw and Nia Latif from the younger generation while there are also works by masters like batik artist Stephanie Eng.
“We have amazing water colours by Lam Siong Onn. We even have new pieces by Lee Hock Kia, who even at 85 years old, is still painting.
“Our gallery carries three new works by Lee that were done over the MCO (Movement Control Order),” he said.
Rebirth, he added, is also paying tribute to artists who have passed namely the late Michael Chong (1948-2021), Chee Hong King (1920-1992), Chong Liew Syn (1949-1999) and Foo Syn Choon (1933-2012).
When curating Rebirth, Hoan not only made sure to include the wide range of ages, but also techniques and mediums including oil on canvas, oil and acrylic on canvas, batik paintings, water colours and Chinese inks.
More modern pieces by Nia are mixed mediums, featuring ink, graphite, charcoal, paper pulp and egg shells.
“Every piece is unique. None are duplicates. All are original works. In this first show, the oldest work is Chee Hong King’s ‘Serenity’ from 1960 while the latest is Leonard Siaw’s ‘Reignite’ completed in 2021,” he said following official launch of the gallery yesterday (Jan 7).
Hoan, a painter of repute himself, contributed to the gallery with an oil on canvas piece he named ‘Journey’.
Hoan Gallery opens daily and is located on La Promenade Mall Level 3.
Artworks are for sale with prices range from RM3,000 to over RM30,000. About half a dozen featured works have either been pre-sold or are loaned from private collectors. — DayakDaily
