Tay Eng Chye: going beyond the familiar

“Everybody has desires. It is simply part of being human,” said Tay Eng Chye, rather matter-of-factly.

For an artist whose paintings have long celebrated the tenderness of family life, friendship and human connection, this might seem an unexpected admission. But the 79-year-old is not particularly interested in drawing distinctions between the subjects artists are expected to explore and those they are not.

His latest exhibition, “Unseen / Ob:seen” at AweGallery here, offers a glimpse into this less familiar side of his artistic practice, bringing together more than 30 paintings and etchings from his private archives, some of which have remained unseen for decades.

Among them is a collection of works exploring physical intimacy and desire, subjects that Tay has largely kept away from public view.

“We don’t necessarily show that side of ourselves, but it’s part of life,” he said. “Sometimes, these thoughts and experiences find their way into my paintings.”

The decision to exhibit them was not driven by a sudden desire to provoke or challenge convention. Some were made purely for his own enjoyment, with no intention of ever displaying them.

“I think it is time to share some of these works that I have kept to myself for so long,” he mentioned.

Nor is he particularly concerned about how audiences might receive them. “As an artist, you should put your work out there. Everyone has different opinions, and I don’t expect everyone to like everything I create. That’s perfectly normal.”

It is an attitude that perhaps reflects the independence with which Tay has approached his career. Born in Bukit Besar, Kedah, in 1947, he grew up in a small, isolated settlement where life was a far cry from the artistic circles he would eventually inhabit in New York.

His childhood was modest, and he recalls a household where family members rarely spoke to one another. “My mom had passed away, and my dad was always busy with work. I was by myself most of the time,” he recalled.

He was not particularly successful at school either, struggling especially with English. Art, however, offered an alternative.

In 1968, aged 20, he moved to New York to study at the Art Students League, graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 1972 with a qualification in graphic design. He subsequently worked in the design industry while developing his own artistic practice on the side.

“I was lucky, but opportunities alone are not enough. You have to work hard. If you don’t put in the effort, nothing is going to happen,” he said.

He gradually built a following through limited-edition prints, eventually reaching international collectors. In 1993, he established his New York studio, Tapir Editions, while continuing to develop a distinctive style centred on everyday moments of family, music and human connection, expressed through distinctive figures with rounded faces and simplified features.

“I’m not interested in painting realistically. My subjects are meant to be universal; they could be anybody, anywhere in the world,” he explained.

Some of his paintings also carry unexpected personal connections. One painting in the exhibition was inspired by a 1996 visit to France’s Lascaux caves, where he saw prehistoric animal paintings while accompanying his late wife, an American archaeology professor, on a research trip.

Such encounters, he said, do not always translate immediately into artwork. “Sometimes an experience simply stays with me until I find a way to express it. It can take several years.”

That willingness to experiment continues to define his practice. Looking at some of the older paintings, he commented: “I wonder if I might have chosen different colours or approached a composition differently. But this is part of an artist’s natural progression. We are always growing.”

Perhaps that is what makes “Unseen / Ob:seen” particularly revealing. Beyond the erotic works, the exhibition offers a glimpse of an artist who has never confined himself to the subjects audiences associate with his name.

“I simply want to try something different. I don’t necessarily know where it will lead,” Tay concluded.

‘Unseen / Ob:seen’ (until Nov 23)

AweGallery
21 Jalan 20/13, Taman Paramount,
Petaling Jaya 46300

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