In 'Hari Pasar di Kelantan', the artist Harun A. Bakar applied the pointillism technique, where small distinct dots are used to form a complete image. The blue sky and sunny atmosphere present a bustling scene on a bright morning day. The figures are busy going about the market, wearing colourful and vibrant clothes with batik sarong which included headscarves, as practiced by many Muslim women.

This piece depicts a scene in Kelantan, a state with the highest percentage of Muslims in Malaysia. Today this unique sight can still be seen at Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah, where the sellers are mostly women, known for their business acumen.

PASAR TEPOH TERENGGANU
1959

Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah
Photography
32.5 x 47.5 cm

Born:
1907 - 1979, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

From a ruler to an avid photographer, Almarhum Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah was the 14th Sultan of Terengganu (1946-1979). In 1923, he received his first camera at the age of 16. He was destined to be a king that pursued his artistic passions.

A skilled pioneer in the country during the global modernist era, Almarhum was selected in 1958 to be a part of the Associate of the Royal Photographic Society in the United Kingdom. He was also featured as a historical influential photographer in 'Photographer: Webster's Timeline History,1800-1989'.

Almarhum's intrepid explorer instincts produced a collection of photographs that continue to give generations after him an insight into what everyday life looked like in the country. He favoured the 'ordinary and typical', over the 'royal and formal'.

In this photograph titled 'Trade Tricycle', ordinary people can be seen busy buying and trading fruits. Despite being monochrome, this photograph captured a vibrant street life and little details such as the clothes people were wearing, the building structure, and the stall itself.

PEREMPUAN PASAR
1990

Ismail Mat Hussin
Batik
105 x 114 cm

Born:
1938 - 2015 Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

Chiang Shih Wen, born in Malacca, was a Fine Arts graduate from Kuala Lumpur College of Art. This full full-time artist, had received the Outstanding Award from the Young Artist Competition organised by Nanyang Siang Pau in 1981.

His painting titled 'Street Scene KL' is known to be one among many of his artworks depicting Kuala Lumpur street scenes. Shih Wen uses watercolour to portray a bright sunny day, with sunshine radiating onto the people and the stalls, creating a lively and hectic scene in the streets of our capital city.

PISANG SESIKAT
1990

Rahmat Ramli
Soft Pastel
52 x 73 cm

Born:
1964, Thailand

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

"To travel and see and paint is, for me, a way of learning," said Chang Fee Ming, succinctly describing his life philosophy.

Fee Ming is a self-taught artist who embarked on his career as an artist in the early 1980s. Although he was born and raised in Dungun, Terengganu, the artist travelled regularly which is evident from his paintings of scenes from various countries. He often worked with watercolour to paint rural scenes.

For more than 20 years, Fee Ming has been seeking people and sceneries in Southeast Asia to feature as subjects in his paintings. One of them is this artwork titled 'River Market'. The women's clothing suggests a scene captured in the East Coast, as they are wearing batik sarongs, and are covering their heads with cloth. He succeeded in portraying a seemingly animated scene of a river market back in the 1980s, with a colourful composition and an impressively detailed depiction of light and texture.

DURIAN SELLERS
1990

Chuah Thean Teng
Batik
88 x 88 cm

Born:
1912 - 2008, Fujian, China

Collection of Bank Negara Malaysia

Tan Chiang Kiong's formal art education began on the eve of Merdeka on 30 August 1957, as he left Malaya to study Fine Arts in Taipei at the National Taiwan Normal University. Since then, the Penang-born artist has been best known for his wonderful use of watercolour, influenced by Chinese art.

'Penang in December' features a fairly impressionistic style of painting created with watercolour. This piece depicts a street near Wisma Kastam, the prominent building with a clock tower in the background, which was once the Malayan Railway Building, built in 1907.

Muted warm colours are used in the background featuring several buildings, contrasting well with the hints of bright colours on the stalls, flags, banners, and people, which are portrayed as the heart of the bustling scene. Chiang Kiong even infused into the atmosphere of his painting, the incoming weather, along with the sights and sounds of his hometown. There, an ever-changing environment is implied, along with a sense of optimism.

BERDIRI ATAS KAKI SENDIRI ATAS DUA RODA
1976/77

Ismail Hashim
Collage of silver gelatin prints
106 x 130 cm

Born:
1940 - 2013, Sungai Ara, Penang

Collection of Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia

MARKET (CRAVEN A)
1955

Kuo Ju Ping
Oil Paint
49 x 49 cm

Born:
1908 - 1962, Penang

Collection of Lembaga Muzium Negeri Pulau Pinang

OPEN-AIR MARKET
1981

Chia Yu Chian
Oil Paint
64 x 81.5 cm

Born:
1936 - 1991, Johor

Collection of Artist's Family

MEMBELI BELAH DI KAMPUNG
1959

Mohd Salehuddin
Oil Paint
89.5 x 76.57 cm

Born:
1914 - 1982, Teluk Panglima Garang, Selangor

Collection of Balai Seni Negara