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LITERATURE
Kim Hai Lim 林金海, Kosnet Press, illustrated on page 78.

A cluster of ripe juicy looking apples of varying yellows, greens and reds is featured in this work by Lim Kim Hai, which was done during his early days while he was still residing in Paris. The apple, a seemingly common tropical fruit readily available in any part of the world and the fruit he chose to do still life studies holds a different significance to the artist. To him, the apples represent life, and in this work, the need or desire for life to be in a community. Challenging himself technically, the artist has achieved a realistic depiction of the fruit through tone, highlights, depth and shadow. Also taking it a step further is the unlikely visual, vertical perspective - when the painting is hung on the wall, the apples seem to defy gravity when expected to topple down.

The vertical bars are in fact a reference to piano keys, laid in the backdrop to provide a sense of musical rhythm and harmony, representing the ups and downs life brings. Although Lim Kim Hai has painted other tropical fruits, it is for his inspired apple compositions that he is dubbed the ‘Apple King’.

Lim Kim Hai studied at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts, Paris. He won the Golden Award from Salon des Artistes Francais, Paris in 1982, Silver Award from Salon Internationale, Du Val D’Or, France in 1984; Prix Henri Lehmann from Institut de France, Academy des Beau in 1986. His works have been showcased widely in France, Moscow, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. He returned to Malaysia for good in 2002.