Jolly Koh is a prime mover of modern art in Malaysia, whose powerful works showcase an exquisite blend of brushstrokes and forms that convey rhythmic movement and energy. Long brushstrokes were used to accentuate the branches, applied with force across the surface. The exuberant tones are enlivened through the artist's continuous exploration of light, colour and space. Jolly Koh's defining moment is his 2017 milestone exhibition in Kuala Lumpur celebrating 60 years of painting, marked by a presentable coffee-table publication. It was organised by Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers. It marks his twin achievements straddling academia and painting practice. Apart from his pedagogical writing, Jolly Koh had taught Art in Malaysia (ITM, Gaya College in Sabah and back at MSC College later) and Australia (12 years, ending as a senior lecturer at TAFE College in Adelaide). He was educated in the United Kingdom (Hornsey and London University) and the United States (Indiana University, Ed.D and Msc, where he even taught Masters students for a year). His early prominence was as one of the Magnificent 7 abstract artists in the GRUP exhibition held at the AIA Building, Kuala Lumpur, in 1967.