Alex Leong, Trengganu Street, 2021

Alex Leong
Trengganu Street, 2021
Original watercolour on paper

Artwork: 77cm (W) x 30cm (H)
Framed Artwork: 94cm (W) x 47.5cm (H)

About the artist
Penang-based Alex Leong has dedicated himself to his art for over 20 years, building a portfolio that catalogued rapturous, vivid scenes of local life. Leong’s talent had been recognised early, in 1992 when he was awarded the prize for the Penang State Pesta Art for young talent in a major category. In 2003, he won the Han Chiang Association Watercolour Competition before he triumphed in the 1st Putrajaya National Watercolour Competition in 2006. Leong has participated in a litany of group exhibitions, with his first solo show in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. He was also inducted into the Penang Watercolour Society and Malaysian Watercolour Society that same year.

However, the turning point in his career came in 2015 when he enjoyed wider acclaim at The Edge Auction and a successful solo exhibition “Heritage Buildings in Exquisite Watercolours” that followed. His depictions of familiar scenes around the Lion City will enthuse viewers, whose local knowledge of memorable places and neighbourhoods will instantly be triggered, leaving a smile – something which Leong’s paintings are apt to do. Elegantly detailed and characterised by precise brushwork, his works are charming and vibrant. Like the award-winning artists Tan Choon Ghee and Ong Kim Seng who are his greatest influences, Leong prefers to paint en plein air to achieve accuracy of light and colour.

About the artwork
Trengganu Street is located in the heart of Chinatown and intersects with two other popular roads in the ethnic enclave—Smith and Sago streets— thus earning it the moniker, ‘the cross street of Kreta Ayer’, with Kreta Ayer being a reference to the area.

Framing
Float-mounted on white mat board and light brown backing, teak frame design, TruVue Museum glass anti-reflective with 99% UV protection.