MALAYSIA - Khoo Sui Hoe, an artist whose practice helped shape the development of modern art in Malaysia while forging enduring links between George Town, Penang and the United States, has died at the age of 86. He died peacefully in North Little Rock, Arkansas on May 31, where he had lived since 1982.

News of his death was announced by the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur and the Penang State Art Gallery. 

Born in Baling, Kedah in July 1939, Khoo left home at an early age to study at Han Chiang High School in George Town, Penang, before moving to Singapore in the late 1950s in search of work, including periods as a labourer, before ultimately turning to art as a career.

He continued his training at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, where he studied for three years under mentors including Cheong Soo Pieng, Georgette Chen and Cheng Chong Swee. He later furthered his studies in post-war art and printmaking at the Pratt Graphic Centre in New York on a John D. Rockefeller III Fund Grant in 1974.

As a young artist, he established himself as a full-time practitioner, gaining recognition in both Malaysia and Singapore. His works are held in the collections of several major institutions, and his early accolades include a First Prize in Oil at the Malaysian Art & Craft Competition in Kuala Lumpur in 1965, as well as an Honourable Mention at the Salon Malaysia Art Competition in 1969.

In 1965, Khoo was drawn back to Singapore to undertake Children Of The Sun, a large-scale 230cm by 230cm canvas commissioned for the Singapore Conference Hall. Now part of the National Gallery Singapore collection, the work stands as an important Southeast Asian commission that underscores his interest in the dialogue between painting and architectural space.

By 1971, he had turned to collective practice, co-founding Alpha Gallery in Singapore – an artist-run initiative that became an important platform for critical exchange and for presenting both regional and international practices. An Alpha Utara Gallery was also set up in George Town. 

In 1976, Khoo established the Utara art community group in...