There is nothing more intimate and bonding than a cosy tete a tete among family or friends in the evening, when all the work is done, ‘when the hurlyburly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won.’ Eng Tay’s grand dramatization of the little moments in life, about life, in this masterpiece shown in his retrospective, Eng Tay: The Exhibition, at Galeri Petronas in 2009, in his inimitable style, is endearing, and offers the message that it is little things like this that is all that matters. A piano by the side, hinting at a musical interlude, and the reassuring hands of the standing figure on the shoulders of the two seated, a trinity of love and camaraderie, for the tender touch. When most ventured to the art citadels of Europe for education and a new life, Eng Tay, the internationally reknown glam name for Tay Eng Chye, a Kedah kampung boy, chose the Big Apple – New York. First carving his niche in printmaking, Eng Tay has expanded his repertoire to sculptures, ceramics and large-sized paintings, including a set dedicated to iconic masterpieces but with his coy figures and touching style. He was educated at the Art Students League (1968-72), with a Graphic Design degree from the School of Visual Arts, besides being a participating artist at the Pratt Graphics Centre from 1972-78. Honoured with a Retrospective by Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, in 2009, he was later commissioned to do monumental sculptures at Kiaraville, SENI Condominiums in Mont Kiara and Zehn in Bukit Pantai in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. His latest exhibition in Malaysia was called Eng Tay: Works from 2005-2015, at Art Accent gallery in October 2015. Eng Tay’s works are in the collections of major Malaysian institutions apart from the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima, Japan; the Frankie Valli Estate and the Merv Griffin Estate in the United States; the New York University (Department of Anthropology), and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.