By James Wong
KUCHING: Youths are encouraged to take on the challenge of oil paintings to ensure the survival of the art form.
Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting said oil painting was a dying medium that was slowly being replaced by acrylic painting due to its ease of handling.
“Oil-based painting is known as an art style with high artistic values due to the skills and determination needed to execute the artist’s vision, not to mention that the paint is tricky to handle and can be harmful if not handled properly.
“To this end, I hope the youths can be inspired to take up the challenge of oil-based painting,” he said.
He said this when officiating at the launch of ‘Dialogue With Our Nature’ art show by Boon Choo Chew at La Promenade Mall here yesterday.
Meanwhile, the art show featured over 50 oil paintings by Bong, who stated that this was his third solo art show following a hiatus of over two decades, with the previous two shows taking place in 1976 and 1986 respectively.
According to Bong, the themes of his paintings were inspired by environmental issues such as pollution and climate change.
All paintings are available for purchase, with prices ranging from RM3,000 to RM30,000.
Meanwhile Bong announced that 70 per cent of the sales would be donated to different associations including Lundu Buddhist Society, Lundu Buddhist Temple, Sarawak Lundu FoShun Dragon Lion Dance Sport Club, Ci Zhao Buddhist Association, Sri Aman Buddhist Association and Kuching Bodhi Counselling Centre.
The gallery also featured a painting dedicated to Tan Sri Datuk Amar Wee Boon Ping, which helped Bong to fund his art studies in his early years.
Also present at the officiating ceremony were Hoan Gallery’s director Hoan Kee Huang and members of the Sarawak Artists Society.
