Eiffel, oil on canvas, 2008/2009,170cm x 190cm

Another day, another Wei-Ling Gallery show – a nice thing to be able to say. With Chin Kong Yee: Reality in Wonderland held in the main space, the gallery continues its current winning streak of solo shows. Consistency is the key and, whether deliberate or not, this gallery is keeping its standard high for now.

Cathedral in Red, oil on canvas, 2008/09, 170cm x 190cm

Visitors are yet again given an escape from the heat and buzz of Kuala Lumpur that proves worth their time because of the exhibition quality. Although it seems all too easy to forget what matters here, here in Malaysia where we’ll often take whatever we can get art-wise, that is not as easy as it sounds. Just because art is in a gallery, or say, makes you feel sick, does not mean the show is good, just because someone can draw does not mean they are an artist, and gees, just because works sell… and of course ARTERI and others are around to highlight these things locally so I need not preach.  The point is it is great when a gallery puts in research and effort to fondly present an artist to the public. Chin Kong Yee’s new series represents the latest stage in the development of the artist’s career, and the exhibition is accompanied by a set of good essays.

Portugal, oil on canvas, 2008, 130cm x 190cm

Prague, oil on canvas, 2008/09, 170cm x 190cm

The works are pretty but they are also dark, hinting at the artist’s interest in creative photography. The viewer feels wonderfully enthralled but safe – thankfully, because there is a great deal to explore in each canvas. Eiffel (2008/2009) pulls the heart strings, especially of anybody who has stood beneath Le Tour and felt the gratitude for life standing in that spot conjures up. The blues and greys of Portugal (2008) place the viewer not in one moment in time but traveling from A to B, in the crisp air of an evening turning to night. Yes that’s right, that painting made me say ‘crisp air’. Oh well, perhaps that is just what the artist intended.

Nice, oil on canvas, 2008, 170cm x 380cm

The other works, so called here because they do stand out, are studies in movement and further explorations in time. They cause a bit of a jumble, but it is all one quality artist and the honest declaration of his latest inspiration – the slightly puzzling “…visits to Europe and Bali” – is admirable.

Bali, oil on canvas, 2009, 60cm x 300cm

Nice 2, oil on canvas, 2008/2009, 60cm x 300cm

There can be no shame in artistic inspiration, it is what it is, here humans up against architecture, tradition, location, travel and time.  Skill can bring joy, beauty and depth to these subjects, as Chin Kong Yee has, and bravery sees this artist present this show in a scene where it seems ‘cutting-edge’ sadly wins at the popularity polls every time. It is a narrow mind that dismisses these kinds of works as if we cannot happily coexist and play off one another, especially when the show is of a caliber that helps to keep the local scene valid.

(SW)

Venice at Night, oil on canvas, 2008/09, 170cm x 190cm

The exhibition Reality in Wonderland, is at Wei-Ling Gallery from until 30 July 2009.