WOO SENG NON EVERY MOVE...EVERY ANGLE...EVER PRECIOUS. 15 MARCH - 15 APRIL 2013
WOO SENG NON
E D U C A T I O N
1968
Hong Kong Academy of Fine Art
S O L O
E X H I B I T I O N S
2013
Every Move...Every Angle...Ever Precious... 4th Solo Oil Painting Exhibition. Purple Houz Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur.
2012
My Touch...My Passion...My World... 3rd Solo Oil Painting Exhibition. City Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
2011
Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Malaysian Art 2011, Kuala Lumpur.
2010
“Shimmering Charm” The Art Of Woo Seng Non 2nd Solo Oil Painting Exhibition. Galeri Seni Mutiara, Penang.
1969
“First Solo Oil Painting Exhibition”, Kampar, Perak.
P U B L I C
C O L L E C T I O N S
Muzium And Gallery Tuanku Fauziah, USM Penang, Penang State Art Gallery, MATrade, The Art Gallery Penang.
S E L E C T E D
E X H I B I T I O N S
2012
‘10 Passionate Years... Passionate Enough To Melt The Coldest Heart’ Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2011
‘Pleasure, Not Gold, Is our Quest’ Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2010
“Timeless Beauty” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2009
“Sense Of Blooming” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2008
“Gorgeous Moment” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Muzium And Gallery Tuanku Fauziah, USM Penang
2007
“The Malaysia Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) 5th Anniversary Art Exhibition. The Hong Kong Academy of Fine Arts (1952) Exhibition Gallery
2007
“Unity Is Strength” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2006
“Power Of Enhancement” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
2005
“Freedom” Penang Oil Painting Society (POPS) Art Exhibition. Penang State Art Gallery
P R E F A C E
B Y DA TO’ DR . TA N CHEE KHU A N
I am deeply honoured to be invited to write a few words on the occasion of Mr Woo Seng Non’s 4th solo exhibition at Purple Houz Fine Arts gallery. We wish to thank Mr Navinder Gill for providing the venue for this exhibition. Born in Kampar, Perak in 1942, Mr Woo studied art at the Hong Kong Academy of Art from 1964 to 1968. After graduation, he decided to stay in Penang to study English in preparation to work in USA. He met Kim, a private tutor, and soon, he was learning English and the language of love. He courted her and she responded nicely. In 1970, he went to the US to work at an art gallery. They got married in 1972 and Kim joined him in the US. They returned to Malaysia in 1980, and bought a house to stay in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. In 1989, Mr Woo decided to start an art school which he named Hung Yang Academy of Art, also located at Bukit Mertajam. From then on, he put all his passion for art into teaching his numerous students. With total dedication and skill, he patiently taught and shared his knowledge and skill with them. In 2002, he established the Penang Oil Painting Society, with himself as President. The society held an annual exhibition with works by the master and his students, mostly. I first met Mr Woo and his charming wife when I decided to be an artist and join his art society. They were very kind, and came to view my paintings at my home and pronounced me good enough to be a member. Later, I was appointed advisor to the society. I visited his studio several times, and found many of his paintings to be excellent. However, he did not hold any solo exhibition since his first solo in Kampar in 1969. I encouraged him to hold his second solo in Galeri Seni Mutiara, Penang, in 2010 and helped him to publish his art book entitled Shimmering Charms. The exhibition was a tremendous success. In 2012, I arranged for him to hold his third solo at City Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, again with good results.
P R E F A C E
B Y DA TO’ DR . TA N CHEE KHU A N
We became good friends, and met regularly. In his garden, I noticed that he had a pond in front of his house where he kept many koi. He observed them while feeding and thus, was able to produce many excellent paintings of koi fighting for food, in feeding frenzy. He prefers to paint from life, and gets inspiration to paint flowering plants such as ixora and hydrangeas from his garden, which is tended lovingly by Kim. He also enjoys painting portraits, initially of his family, but later, he received numerous commissions to paint his students’ portraits. I also invited him to pai nt my wife’s and daughter’s portrait, which he did with much accuracy and sensitivity. He also likes to paint still-life of rambutans, and other fruits, as well as prawns. However, his forte is painting or capturing cultural events, which are fast disappearing due to urbanisation, such as ‘gotong-royong’ shifting of a house, when the whole kampung chips in to help their friend move to a different home. In 2009, he donated a painting to the Penang State Art Gallery, of people cooking Lemang, a traditional Malay way of cooking glutinous rice in bamboo, a practice which is less commonly seen nowadays. His paintings are usually realistic, but with a touch of impressionism. His trademark is to paint wavy strokes to give a shimmering effect to the subjects, resulting in a charming, distinctive style, uniquely his own. His paintings are well thought-out, with good composition, proper contrast, often displaying chiaroscuro to good effect. No wonder his painting of rambutans, Fresh from Orchard, 2010 was accepted for auction by Henry Butcher Auctioneers, Kuala Lumpur in June 2011, and fetched a price of RM 12,100. Not bad for an artist who is relatively unknown to Malaysians. Mr Woo now devotes his time equally between teaching his students at his academy, and painting for more exhibitions. Kim told me that he gets very lethargic when he stops painting, but give him a brush, and he will happily paint the night away. I wish him every success in his continuing art journey.
P U R P L E
H Y D R A N G E A
89cm x 89cm, 2008
I X O R A
I
76cm x 89cm, 2008
L I L I E S 76cm x 89cm, 2008
1 0 0
B I R D S
L I V I N G
I N
76cm x 89cm, 2012
H A R M O N Y
U N I T Y
I S
S T R E N G T H
89cm x 89cm, 2009
I I
R E A P I N G
T H E
R E W A R D S
41cm x 51cm, 2012
W O R K
H A S
T O
B E
56cm x 71cm, 2010
D O N E
T I M E
T O
W O R K
56cm x 71cm, 2010
I I
H E R I T A G E 31cm x 41cm, 2009
P L E N T I F U L
H A R V E S T
31cm x 46cm, 2009
I I
H E Y ,
S O N
W H A T
A R E
23cm x 31cm, 2010
Y O U
D O I N G
S W E E T
D R E A M
31cm x 41cm, 2013
B R I G H T
&
B R E E Z Y
46cm x 61cm, 2012
T H E
W I N N E R
T A K E S
56cm x 71cm, 2012
A L L
T O G E T H E R N E S S
M E R R I L Y
24cm x 24cm, 2012
I V
T O G E T H E R N E S S
M E R R I L Y
51cm x 51cm, 2012
I V
T O G E T H E R N E S S
M E R R I L Y
38cm x 38cm, 2011
I
L U C K Y
Y O U
76cm x 89cm, 2012
H O M E
C O M I N G
76cm x 89cm, 2008
I I
M A K I N G
F I S H I N G
76cm x 89cm, 2010
C A G E
T H E
B E A U T Y
O F
46cm x 61cm, 2013
L I G H T
D R E A M
C O M E S
48cm x 58cm, 2009
T R U E
O N C E
U P O N
A
R A I N Y
23cm x 31cm, 2012
A F T E R N O O N
W H Y ,
Y E S ,
I T ’ S
J U S T
23cm x 31cm, 2012
T H E
R A I N
L A B O U R ’ S
L O V E
31cm x 41cm, 2013
B A C K
T O
N A T U R E
41cm x 51cm, 2002
R E F L E C T
I N
Y O U R
41cm x 51cm, 2012
B L E S S I N G
H O M E
S W E E T
H O M E
23cm x 31cm, 1996
I I
F O O D
F O R
T H O U G H T S
24cm x 24cm, 2012
A B U N D A N C E 56cm x 71cm, 2012
J U I C Y
F R U I T S
38cm x 38cm, 2012
I I
J U I C Y
F R U I T S
31cm x 41cm, 2013
I V
J U I C Y
F R U I T S
24cm x 24cm, 2012
I I I
B O U N T I F U L 71cm, 2012
C L U S T E R
O F
S T A R S
54cm, 2013
I I
T O G E T H E R N E S S
M E R R I L Y
54cm, 2013
I I I
Purple Houz Fine Arts is an independent gallery housing a selection of fine arts ranging from classic to contemporary and modern pieces in a variety of media. Boasting works and collections from the 1930’s to rare exclusive pieces from legends, the gallery is committed to building an artistic community and promoting cross cultural art. Established in 2005, the gallery hosts regular solo and group exhibitions to showcase talents of the region and bringing art, ideas and artists to a wider audience.
T 603 7931 2790 F 603 7931 2790