In Tew Nai Tong’s rendition of a market scene in Bali, the artist captures the movement of people, and the exchange of vegetables and everyday goods through a rich palette of rustic, earthy colours. A strong impression of spatial depth emerges from the careful placement of figures at varying distances, while the receding umbrellas of the market stalls create a rhythmic perspective that draws the viewer further into the scene. Through the subtle arrangement of gestures moving through the shaded canopies, the artist reflects the communal nature of market life. Nai Tong returned to Malaysia and had his first solo at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur in 1964, the year he won 2nd Prize in the Chartered Bank mural design competition. He furthered his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts (1967-1968). The 1980s saw him winning several awards including the Shell Best Award (watercolour, 1981), Esso Best Award (1982) and Dunlop Best Award (watercolour, 1983). He taught at various art academies namely the Malaysian Institute of Art (1969-1980), Central Academy of Art (1982-1985) and the Saito Academy of Art (1986-1988) before he decided to go full time in 1992. In 2007, he had a major survey exhibition at the National Art Gallery Malaysia, called Odyssey. In 2009, he won the Asia Art Award in Seoul, South Korea. Tew Nai Tong's painting Golden Times 12 realised an auction record of RM 77,000 at the Henry Butcher Art Auction November 2013.