Hoan Gallery's 2024 season kicks off with an exhibition featuring about 60 art pieces by the late Sarawak Fine Arts School founder, Chong Liew Syn, starting Jan 19.
From the family archive, around 300 art pieces were recovered, each carefully restored and archived.
It is the late Chong’s first posthumous art show, and lovingly put together by the gallery’s Hoan Kee Huang and her students.
Here are the media highlights:
DayakDaily, Jan 10
The show, titled “Hidden Gems: The Life Works of Chong Liew Syn”, starts Jan 19 at the gallery at La Promenade here, is poised to be a standout event in Sarawak’s cultural calendar this year.
New Sarawak Tribune, Jan 10
Chong, who passed away in 1999 at age 50, set up the first government accredited art school in Sarawak. Hoan Gallery’s director Hoan Kee Huang described the upcoming show as significant and ‘likely and emotional reunion for Chong’s loved one and students.’
The Borneo Post, Jan 11
Her institution at Padungan, Kuching, produced numerous luminaries of Sarawak’s present art scene, not to mention a host of VIPs in various fields, from politics to scientific research.
Sin Chew Daily, Jan 11
范画廊总监范继璜形容此次展览意义重大，该画廊在福胜利资助下，为这次张柳仙展览筹备近10年，张柳仙的儿子Ken Loh开放家族收藏室， 让民众有幸观赏前所未见的重要作品。
Hoan, director of Hoan Gallery, describes the exhibition as significant, as the gallery has been preparing for this exhibition for nearly 10 years with the financial support of Hock Seng Lee, and Chong Liew Syn's son, Ken Loh, has opened up the family's collection to allow the public to view the important works that have never been seen before.
The Borneo Talk, Jan 10
Most artworks from the show will be for sale. Last year, Hoan Gallery opened its 2023 season with Alena Murang’s Colour of the Highlands. A record breaking 36 out of 51 pieces from the show were sold during the eight-week run.