Ooi Kok Chuen

is an art-writer and journalist, and the author of MAHSURI: A Legend Reborn (Ooi Peeps Publishing), an adult contemporary fantasy “movel” (a novel conceived as a mock movie) spun from a local legend.

152 posts

Bridging Distance and Ideology through Art

7 min read

It was a dog day afternoon with the mercury level crunching at 360℃, despite the “cooling” lake surrounds of Liaoning’s Celebrity Island. In t...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Barking Up the Right Tree

5 min read

In the finest example of Nature in painting, Datuk Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir has “bud-grafted” the bark of the eucalyptus onto her canvas, with it...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

A Nourishing Canvas

7 min read

Food sustains body and soul. In art, especially in the depiction of fruits, it is as resplendent as still-life with all the stylistic métiers, and is use...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

During end November-early December 2017, Myanmar’s International Watercolor Society (IWS) set about a trial run for its 2019 fully international programme of a global watercolour phenomenon which saw the biggest gathering of artists practising watercolour in the name of peace and art.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Between Worlds, Contemplating Impressionism

6 min read

Good things come in twos, as a “2-in-1”, in what is the National Gallery Singapore (NGS)’s current art-peritif, under the banner of Century of...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Getah Colour Heralds a Revolution in Painting

7 min read

Goh Beng Kwan – Tropical Summer.Smith Sein Lynn – Peacock Dreams.Azman Hilmi – Earth Dancing Series 3....

by Ooi Kok Chuen

OBITUARY: KHALIL IBRAHIM (1934-2018) Rustic and Enduring

7 min read

Khalil Ibrahim and his East Coast Fishermen Series in acrylic.IN THE SULTRY New Delhi heat, the ceaseless traffic of humanity below was a cacophony of pro...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Artists Never Retire

8 min read

Cheah Yew Saik.Chung Chen Sun.Eng Tay.Artists, like some politicians, don’t really retire. So who are the notable ones in Ma...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

A Hard Climb to Success

6 min read

My Home Town - Padang River, Tapah, Perak, Malaysia 霹雳州打巴，我的家乡 (61x76cm, 1976).Chinese Temple Malacca 马六甲神庙 (61x92cm, 1979)....

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Murder on Display...Lest We Forget

6 min read

The 110 painted portraits in acrylic and charcoal on canvas in mock aged-photography sepia-tones at Wei-Ling Gallery are poignant reminders of the 1965 Indonesi...

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Asian Art Dominates at Malaysia Expo

7 min read

Held on October 12-14 (VIP Nite on October 11), AEM+12 ignited more engagement for ostensibly edgier visual-intellectual propulsion beyond the semantics of lucre. Art fairs in Malaysia are still not a money-making enterprise though.

by Ooi Kok Chuen

Sireh Pinang Leaves Us A Rich Art Legacy

7 min read

Once popular among royalty and later among commoners in Asia as a social custom and a stimulant, the pernicious habit of betel-nut chewing is remembered in Malaysia for its paraphernalia, which are celebrated as nostalgic keepsakes.

by Ooi Kok Chuen