This month, we feature artwork from the collection of Khai and Annie Lee
By Chew Yuin-Y
Cheng Haw Chien, Lonely Boat in Misty Morning, 2006, Ink on board, 45 x 37 cm. Image courtesy of Khai and Annie Lee.
From a distance, it appears to be an amorphous blob of black ink. Approach the piece, and the details emerge: a silhouette of shrubs grows out of the darkest part of the ink wash; as the ink descends and fades into the paper, the eye is drawn to a detailed ink drawing of an unoccupied boat. The paper itself, then, is the water on which the boat floats. Smaller, lighter patches of ink hint at rocks in the water.
Aptly titled Lonely Boat in Misty Morning, the painting uses the flow of ink, the negative space, and the contrast between a broad loose wash of colour and delicately painted details to evoke the feeling of a solitary, quiet morning by the river, when the world is just waking up.
Artist Prof. Dr. Cheng Haw Chien creates a sense of calm here, injecting a subtle sense of discovery into the piece. Through the act of gazing at the image, the viewers draw the details out for themselves—look at it long enough and a landscape emerges. It is a piece that invites the viewer to contemplate and feel.
Penang-born Prof. Dr. Cheng is well-known for his Chinese ink paintings, and often includes his own poetry in his pieces. When the Central Academy of Art was established in Kuala Lumpur in 1984, he was its first principal and made an effort to promote ink painting in the country. He has had various solo exhibitions throughout the years, including a recent retrospective exhibition at Wisma Kebudayaan SGM. The retrospective exhibition (which includes this piece!) ended on 7 August 2022, but you can still view the virtual exhibition online until the end of the year.
Chew Yuin-Y hails from Penang and is currently based in Kuala Lumpur. She teaches advertising design at Taylor’s University and works on personal art projects in her spare time.