Kok Yew Puah was born and raised in Klang, Selangor where most of the inspiration for his paintings took place. Besides being recognised for his skills in printmaking, he was also praised for his observations on youth culture and urban society of the Nineties through his contemporary manifestations on figurative paintings. Although there was a hiatus in his professional career as an artist to focus on building his family business, he returned with full force in the Nineties producing an exceptional body of work that culminated into his third solo show titled Kok Yew Puah: Paintings 1985 – 1993 at the Creative Art Centre of National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 1993. He was honoured with two posthumous solo exhibitions titled Kok Yew Puah: Portrait of a Malaysian Artist (2021) at Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur and Kok Yew Puah: A Tribute (2004) at Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur.