Introduced to art by his teacher Lee Long Looi in Alor Setar, Malaysia, Tay moved to New York City in 1968 to study fine arts at The Art Students League of New York, and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts (1969 to 1972). After working as a graphic designer until 1978, Tay travelled to South America and Indonesia until 1980, influencing his signature subjects: scenes of people playing music, family moments, market scenes, and daily rituals. In 1993, Tay established Tapir Editions, his professional artist studio in New York, where he continues to create.

His art has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions across the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and the United Kingdom, including displays at the Nan Gallery, Taiwan (1985); Museum of Modern Art, Taipei (1987); Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong (2001); The Air Gallery, London (2001); Multiple Impressions, New York (2004); Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur (2009); and Adam Gallery, Singapore (2014). Tay's works are held in prominent collections, including the National Art Gallery (Kuala Lumpur), Singtel (Singapore), Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (Kuala Lumpur), New York University Department of Anthropology (NY), the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (Taiwan), and the Fukuyama Museum of Art (Hiroshima, Japan), among others.