Yeoh Kean Thai was born in 1966 in Penang, Malaysia. He graduated from Kuala Lumpur College of Art in 1992. He has garnered international recognition through prestigious awards, including the Phillip Morris Art Award (Malaysia), the Freeman Fellowship (2008) and the Commonwealth Award – International Artist Residency (2009). 

The underlying themes of Thai’s works, since the early 1990s, involved the processes through which the natural environment is disrupted, corrupted and manipulated by human development and urbanization. Thai’s use of technique, colour, and perspective is meant to invite individual empathy and reaction. These themes of environment, decay, and visual regeneration continue–but have evolved into a visual palette that has been described as more engaging and unique 

Thai has developed a unique aesthetic language using metal and metal aesthetics. He is credited with being one of the first artists from Malaysia to be featured during New York’s “Asia Art Week”, in March 2008 and then again in 2009, through Shalini Ganendra Fine Art. He has exhibited in other international venues including Hong Kong and Italy.  His works are in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery, Malaysia, and numerous corporate and individual collections.