The Penang State Museum and Art Gallery is currently hosting a group exhibition entitled 8 Pioneers of Malaysian Art which as the name implies, will showcase some of the early artists of Malaysia. The exhibition will be running for most of March and rightfully so, 7 of the 8 artists are from the northern island state.
There are in total 80 pieces of paintings which are being featured in this show which includes the works of Penangites, Dato Tay Hooi Keat, Kuo Ju Ping, Lee Cheng Yong, Khaw Sia, Abdullah Ariff, Yong Mun Sen and the very popular Dato Chuah Thean Teng. Dato Mohd Hoessein Enas is the eighth artist who was not from Penang but has a certain affiliation with the state somehow. He stayed here for a year before moving to Kuala Lumpur to set base there.
The exhibition is an interesting show that will further cement Penangs reputation as the first art centre in Malaysia. This can be seen in the supplement on Malayas first art superintendant, Peter Harris who spent a few days in 1951 visiting Yong Mun Sen and Dato Chuah Thean Teng en route to starting work in Kuala Lumpur on his official posting.
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