Georgette Chen

The Artist's collection
Private Collection, Singapore

National Museum, Pioneer Artists of Singapore: Georgette Chen Retrospective 1985, Singapore, 1985, colour plate number 99 and again in black and white.

This work is in good condition overall. The canvas is clear and taut. Indications of light wear and handling are found along the edges and margins of the painting, including minute specks of paint loss along the left edge and on the lower left corner (center of the leaf). Tiny dots of brown media accretion is evident upon close observation, located on the upper right (3 cm from the top and 8 cm from the right edge). Under ultraviolet light, there is no evidence of restoration. Subtle tonal changes, brushwork and texture of the painting are more beautifully expressed in the actual painting. Colour of the catalogue illustation background is lighter opposed to a warm red. Framed.
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Georgette Chen's singular artistry and the delicacy of her work are supremely understated. Educated in Shanghai, New York and Paris, she was exceptionally cosmopolitan and successful for a Chinese of her generation, having exhibited at various salons in Paris in the 1930s. Her early works show the strong influence of Cezanne and Van Gogh, but after several years in Hong Kong, Penang, and Singapore Chen seems to have distilled her vision and came into her own style by the time she moved to Singapore to teach at the Nanyang Academy in 1953. Lotus and Lion Mask Dance are two fine examples of the still life compositions she was particularly fond of. Lion Dance Mask juxtaposes intricate motif with brilliant and rich colours, while Lotus's sinuous lines are reminiscent of Art Noveau aesthetic. Both works exhibit the penchant for detail that typifies her work from the mid to late sixties. Quietly and humbly elegant, they express the beauty of the distinctive culture she embraced through sophisticated, Western-trained eyes.