Past Exhibitions > Peter Liew Retrospective
28 July 2018

Peter Liew Retrospective

After overcoming countless hardship and stumbling in his artistic pursuit, Peter Liew presents 40 years of his art journey, emotions, nostalgia and admiration in his paintings of still lifes, landscapes and portraits.

FEATURED ARTWORKS

Confucian Temple East Dacheng Gate

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Oil on canvas

45 x 145 cm

2016

Chinese Temple, Penang

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Oil on canvas

91 x 122 cm

2010

Wuzhen

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Oil on canvas

91 x 152 cm

2018

Penang Heritage Red Light Lane

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Oil on canvas

141 x 74 cm

2017

Old House at Belgista Village, Macedonia

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Oil on canvas

122 x 91 cm

2004

Blue Mansion, Penang

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Oil on canvas

122 x 91 cm

2003

Kuala Lumpur 1996

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Oil on canvas

61 x 91 cm

1996

Sultan Street, Kuala Lumpur

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Oil on canvas

61 x 91 cm

1995

Chinese Temple, Malacca

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Oil on canvas

61 x 92 cm

1979

Agean Sea II

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Oil on canvas

45 x 122 cm

2016

Mountain Scene

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Oil on canvas

45 x 122 cm

2016

GuiLin Mountain Scene

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Oil on canvas

152 x 274 cm

2016

Paris Outskirts

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Oil on canvas

153 x 274 cm

2006

New Zealand Greenery

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Oil on canvas

135 x 350 cm

2010

Self Portrait II

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2018

Mother Teresa

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2015

Mahatma Gandhi

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2015

Stephen Hawking

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2016

Steve Jobs

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2017

Pablo Picasso

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Oil on canvas

152 x 122 cm

2018

Deserted Village

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Oil on canvas

66 x 81 cm

1977

Still Life

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Oil on canvas

46 x 54 cm

1976

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Painting His Journey of Dreams with Colours of Passion

Renowned Malaysian artist, Peter Liew was born in 1955, in Tapah, Perak. His encounter with an artist in his hometown at a young age inspired him to pursue art. His artistic journey was filled with countless days and nights of hardships during his youth. However, his spirit of perseverance and optimism helped him to endure and overcome them, eventually making him a world-renowned oil painting artist today.

Peter Liew has been touring the world to hold numerous exhibitions over the last two decades and this exhibition is his first major solo exhibition in 21 years in his beloved homeland. In addition, this is the first retrospective exhibition of his 40-year art odyssey. The exhibition showcased around 55 of his artworks, organised chronologically based on three themes: nature, cultural heritage and portraits, presenting the journey of his life, including what he saw, loved and admired.

Peter Liew started out painting still lifes, and then gradually changed to painting landscapes. The majority of his landscapes originate from his on-site sketches. The artist’s experience of nature and awakening to the inter-connectedness with nature evokes his feelings and drives him to use vibrant colours in his expression. The oneness of nature and painter gives birth to lush, colourful masterpieces.

Heritage buildings are one of Peter Liew’s favourite subjects. Nevertheless, these buildings are often sacrificed in the name of progress and development. Peter Liew’s paintings chronicle a moment in time of the forgotten history. They also prompts us to ponder on the significance of such diminishing historical heritage in the face of societal change.

In 2015, Peter Liew revisited portrait painting. His portraits are not created with realism but highlight the subjects’ temperament and inner spirit.

Let us take a walk into Peter Liew’s art world and nourish our mind and soul by experiencing the beauty of nature, cultural heritage and great people.

Peter Liew
ARTIST INTRO

Peter Liew

Peter Liew (1955-) was born in Pekan Getah in Tapah, Perak. In 1979, he graduated from Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA) with a diploma in fine arts. Since 1981, Liew had been teaching as a lecturer for 13 years at his alma mater MIA. In addition, he once served as an art examiner as well as an art competition judge in 1992 and 1997 respectively, and from 1996 to 2000, he even became as the guest curator for the Bank Negara’s annual show. 

After teaching for 13 years, Peter Liew stopped lecturing in 1994 and choose to travel around to expand his horizons, embarking on his journey as a full-time artist. So far, he has visited more than 29 countries, and his painting style has changed at every stage of his life and state of mind.  

Peter Liew’s paintings, from the still life to the mature landscape paintings, are well-known, with elements such as heavy colours, bold lines, and passionate tones as the characteristics of his paintings. Liew’s colour scheme began with darker colours, later shifting to vibrant colours such as lively greens and vivid blues. Now he has included minimalist black and white. His painting style went from impressionism and later on adding more oriental lines and space. In 2015, Peter Liew created a series of portraits of outstanding figures in the world. His paintings are also widely collected by the public and all walks of life.