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Signed upper left “CHEN”.
Sizes:
Artwork: 64.5 × 53.5 cm | 25.4 × 21.1 in
Georgette Chen’s Still Life with Rambutans is her vision of tropical plenty through the lens of modernism. On the linen surface, the durians, rambutans and mangosteens are rendered with quiet authority — their forms glowing yet grounded. The tone and brushwork modulate these everyday fruits into a study of rhythm and harmony and we see Chen’s love of light as a living thing.
Oil on canvas, the painting is a balance of European training and her deep connection to Southeast Asia. The composition is serene — each object placed with precision yet alive with tactility. Through this control of form and colour, Chen turns the still life into a meditation on impermanence and beauty.
More than a representation, Still Life with Rambutans is a cultural bridge, combining Parisian technique with Singaporean sensibility. In its simplicity lies an emotional resonance — a celebration of the region’s colours and textures seen through the eyes of a cosmopolitan artist who shaped the visual language of modern Asia.
Overall good vintage condition with some signs of wear. Craquelure visible in the high-resolution photos. Unframed.
This lot is catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification and is covered by our Five-Year Authenticity Guarantee under Section 4 of the Conditions of Sale. The guarantee concerns authorship; it does not extend to provenance, dating, condition or value, which are described to the best of our knowledge.
Buyers should review the catalogue carefully and raise any questions before bidding; additional information is not ordinarily provided after the auction.
Five years on authorship for works catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification (Section 4 of our Conditions of Sale); headings such as “Attributed to” or “Circle of” are sold as described.
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The estimate of €30,000–€40,000 is our opinion of the range this work should reach; We have not published comparable results for this lot; ask us before the sale and we will send the results we based the estimate on.
Bidding on this site, the buyer’s premium is 25%, Spanish IVA included, and there is no VAT on the hammer price and no card fee: at the low estimate of €30,000 the total is €37,500; at the high estimate of €40,000 the total is €50,000.
Through LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Drouot or Bidspirit the premium is 30%, so the same hammer of €40,000 costs €52,000 there. Shipping and insurance are quoted separately; the estimator on this page gives the figure for your country. Buyers outside the EU pay no Spanish tax on the lot; the destination’s import rules apply (United States: original paintings and drawings enter duty-free; United Kingdom: 5% import VAT on art). Card payments are accepted up to €10,000; larger amounts by bank transfer.
Yes. This lot is catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification, so it carries our Five-Year Authenticity Guarantee under Section 4 of the Conditions of Sale: if the authorship proves materially incorrect, you may return the work within five years for a refund of the purchase price. The guarantee concerns authorship; provenance, dating, condition and value are described to the best of our knowledge and are not guaranteed.
A condition report with ultraviolet photographs is prepared on request, normally within two working days; the condition summary on this page is examined in-house and is not a conservator’s report. Further photographs of any detail, the reverse or the frame are sent on request. The work can be examined in our Barcelona showroom by appointment before the sale, and you are welcome to send your own conservator or specialist.
Georgette Chen was a modernist painter whose still-lifes and portraits were the heart of the Nanyang art movement. She studied in Paris and New York and absorbed the lessons of European post-impressionism and married them with the colours, light and atmosphere of Southeast Asia. Her works, often of tropical fruits, flowers and women in domestic settings, show a quiet balance between Eastern sensibility and Western structure.
Her brushwork is meditative – precise and tender – she believes beauty is in the everyday. Through her subtle palette and devotion to form, she turned the ordinary into cultural identity and personal memory. As artist and teacher, Georgette Chen helped shape the visual language of modern Singapore and left us a body of work that is beautiful, disciplined and clear.
Georgette Chen, a pioneer of Singaporean modernism and the Nanyang style, fused Eastern subjects with Western technique to create vibrant still lifes and lyrical portraits. Her legacy lives on through her art — now celebrated globally and sought after by collectors.
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