Magdalene Chiu Yen Chee

Summary

Magdalene Chiu Yen Chee, born 2003, in Kuching, currently Kuching based. For Magdalene, painting is a way of exploring and understanding the meaning of existence through observation. Magdalene’s works revolve around expressing inner thoughts and perceptions drawn from what the artist observes. At the same time, through research and writing, she seeks to construct an aesthetic sensibility and cultivate a deeper reflection on art itself. Magdalene begins from a kind of wandering observation—starting from overlooked corners of the everyday—and use art to respond to the philosophical questions the world poses to her. The artist search for an authentic answer within reality, and for a moment of stillness within the abundance of the world. The artist’s practice spanning both studio work and plein air, centers on portraits and still lifes, using charcoal, graphite, and oil paint as primary media. The artist is drawn to rendering details through realism, yet within realism she preserves abstraction—through emptiness and loose structure, allowing the subject to breathe and unfold. On art education field, Magdalene focuses on progress-based learning, at the same time build up the ability of critical thinking through art appreciation and aesthetic learning. Not only focusing on curriculums, but also museum and gallery education.