Category Archives: Exhibition

Date: December 11, 2016 – January 30, 2017 (extended)
Venue: DUO Galleria, Unit 01-21, 7 Fraser Street, Singapore 189350

Distinguished Malaysian artist Latiff Mohidin has created a monumental steel sculpture in Singapore at DUO, a contemporary twin building designed by German architect Ole Scheeren. In conjunction with the official launch of DUO on January 15, 2018, the special showcase of Latiff’s modern sculptures entitled, Latiff Mohidin: Painted Steel Sculptures was held at the DUO Galleria art space unit. Six steel sculptures in various forms and finishes were on display.

       

Date: November 23 – December 10, 2017
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

Comprising over 50 works that feature drawings of intricate geometric patterns, quirky illustrations of squids as well as delicate portraits on paper and oil paintings of still life on linen, this exhibition demonstrates the Noor Mahnun’s wry observations of life.

MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF HER OWN DRUM

Tabula rasa: An absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate.

WIDELY KNOWN AS Anum on the Malaysian art scene, Noor Mahnun Mohamed, 53, may be petite but she ably juggles the roles of painter, curator, writer and educationist.

Born in 1964 in Kelantan, she graduated with a master’s in fine art from Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Braunschweig, Germany, in 1996.

After returning to Malaysia at the end of 1997, Noor Mahnun kicked off her versatile career in the arts with a job as graphic designer. In 1998, she staged her first solo exhibition in Malaysia and participated in group shows. In the following year, she took up a teaching post in several local institutions and continues to lecture on art theory until today.

From 2000 to 2001, Noor Mahnun was an artist-in-residence at Rimbun Dahan in Kuang, Selangor. She concluded the programme with an exhibition of paintings produced on site and inspired by the location. From 2006 to 2012, she worked as an arts manager at Rimbun Dahan.

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then offered the artist a government scholarship to take up a printmaking course at Il Bisonte, Florence, from 2002 to 2003. Upon completing the course, Noor Mahnun returned to Kuala Lumpur and ventured into curatorial work at the Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery from 2003 to 2005. During her stint there, she organised 10 exhibitions by Malaysian and Southeast Asian contemporary artists and wrote for the shows.

She has written over 30 essays and reviews of art shows in Malaysia and, in 2015, contributed an academic paper entitled Printmaking Archive for Reference, Research, and Regional Links to a Nippon Foundation Fellowships for Asian Public Intellectuals publication called Encountering Asian New Horizon: Contesting and Negotiating in Fluid Transitions, The Work of 2012-2013 API Fellows.

Her talent does not end there. Noor Mahnun is proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, English and German, and her competence in the German language saw her participate in German-Malay translation workshops with Holger Warnk and Hedy Holzwarth — who are lecturers at the Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main Institute for East Asian Philology, Southeast Asia Science — organised by Goethe-Institut Malaysia in 2007.

Noor Mahnun also designed the book cover for a publication entitled Ingin Sebebas Burung/Flugversuch, Antologi Dwibahasa Cerpen Malaysia dan Jerman Zweisprachige/ Anthologie Malaysischer und Deutscher Kurzgeschichten, for which she was one of the translators. This project was coordinated by Goethe-Institut Malaysia with Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia as the publisher.

The artist’s latest solo exhibition at The Edge Galerie is entitled Disco Lombok Still Life by Noor Mahnun. Over 50 artworks comprising oil paintings and drawings will be on view from Nov 23 to Dec 10.

The show’s intriguing title is but a glimpse of Noor Mahnun’s alternative approach to staging an art exhibition.

STILL LIFE

On the surface, Noor Mahnun’s paintings appear to be European in style — still lifes featuring a single domestic object illustrated in the academic method or figurative and portrait paintings that resemble the works of German painter Otto Dix (1891-1969), who fused elements of realism, allegory and the whimsical. However, Noor Mahnun’s depiction of the human figure on canvas is devoid of emotion, focusing on physicality rather than expressiveness. Be that as it may, her time spent in Europe seems to have influenced her painting style the most.

Self-expression appears to the central idea of Noor Mahnun’s work. It is an archive of memories, an attempt to eternalise certain episodes of her life. Her choice of subjects in Disco Lombok Still Life include the ordinary coffee moka pot; butter and steak knives; dustpan and brush; scissors; white gloves; and sunglasses. Yet, the narratives of these objects are deeply personal.

For instance, in an artwork entitled Butter Knife, the knife was a gift from one of Noor Mahnun’s architecture students in Universiti Malaya, where she was lecturing part-time in 2015. Delighted yet anxious about the gift — which symbolised the severing of friendships — Noor Mahnun offered her student a token fee as an act of preserving their friendship.

As for the painting of a pair of white gloves, the artist referred to it as the Tiara and said it signified cleanliness and professionalism. Apparently, on her travels in Japan between 2012 and 2013 as a senior fellow of the Nippon Foundation Grant for Asian Public Intellectuals, Noor Mahnun noticed that a lot of people in different professions wore white gloves — from police officers and taxi and bus drivers to bellboys.

“Apparently, when The Beatles came to Japan in 1966, the police in charge of security came up with the idea of wearing gloves to add a level of ‘propriety’ between their hands and the fans as it was the duty of each officer to hold back the enthusiastic crowd,” she says.

Interestingly, an article entitled White Gloves by Alice Gordenker was published in The Japan Times on March 19, 2013, about a fascinated reader who wrote to Gordenker to express his curiosity about the white glove phenomenon in Japan1.

Noor Mahnun’s depiction of domesticity is presented in a small, rectangular format — a reflection of a woman with a paintbrush — dainty and ordered. Evident in her work is her obsessive fascination with geometric patterns, perhaps, a therapeutic means to escape the chaos of her daily schedule of organising art events, teaching and/or writing about art.

“When I first arrived in Berlin in the early Eighties and visited the Neue Nationalgalerie, I was in awe of the architecture of Mies van der Rohe: the iron pillars, beams, columns. The building is much better seen and experienced in real life. My interest in patterns and tiles started then,” she explains.

In Dustpan & Brush, Noor Mahnun employs repetitive geometric patterns as a backdrop to the good old brush and dustpan, which is presented as a triptych. The task of creating the composition from basic lines came from her interest in architecture.

“I chose basic homeware as subject matter because I enjoy domesticity and doing chores like cleaning, sewing and ironing. I like being at home, perhaps that is why (incidentally) my work studio is located above my apartment, which is convenient,” says Noor Mahnun.

BECOMING ZEN

In an artwork entitled Rooster and Head, Noor Mahnun uses the image of the head of Buddha in Gandharan style paired with a rooster in a box.

“The Gandharan Buddha is culturally significant because it is an artistic manifestation of early Buddha statues — the Gandhara region was a meeting point of the classical Greek style and Buddhist art, a cultural crossroads of influence that I find interesting,” she says.

“But when I started the painting, pairing these two objects was purely a random (visual) act. The head was seen in Singapore in an art of ethnographic museum display exhibition. The rooster was sighted in a newspaper article. Somehow, placing the two together on a picture plane seemed apt. The readings were formed later. Could go in many ways and tangents …”

“My master’s degree paper was about Leon Battista Alberti, his idea of ‘Disegno’, written under the subject of aesthetic philosophy. He is definitely a typical Renaissance man. A humanist, author, artist, architect, linguist, mathematician, poet, priest, philosopher and cryptographer,” adds Noor Mahnun, who is a fan of the Renaissance period.

In another painting entitled Postcard from Tumpat (40cm by 120 cm), she illustrates the iconic sleeping Buddha in Wat Photivihan, a temple located in Kampung Jambu, Tumpat, situated north of Kota Baru, Kelantan. Spanning 40m, the statue is said to be the longest in Southeast Asia.

“I was trying to capture the naivety of the sculpture. Of being at peace or resting. Which brought to mind Goya’s Sleep of Reason, a favourite artwork. I was also thinking of a painting I saw in Tokyo by Takanobu Kobayashi. But of course the ‘recline’ theme recurs in the arts, the Etruscan (tomb) murals and the figures on top of their sarcophagi, for example. I find it all intriguing.”

DISCO LOMBOK

“All of my past solo exhibitions have been associated with a musical performance. I like singing and dancing. Music plays an important part in my life,” says Noor Mahnun.

Thus, disco in this show represents her student days. “The mid-Eighties through the early Nineties were spent in Germany at the height of the rave culture there,” explains the artist, who witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall as a student in 1989. In the spirit of egalitarianism, techno music unified people from East and West Berlin.

The significance of Lombok in this exhibition relates to the collaborative effort between Noor Mahnun and Dina Zaman, the writer of the book I Am Muslim. The Very Clever King of Lombok is a short story derived from a folk tale about a king on the Indonesian island of Lombok. A number of drawings displayed in this exhibition are part of the complete compilation, a work in progress as Noor Mahnun is still documenting visual research/ images to correspond with the text.

“I am hoping to use the sales proceeds of the Lombok series to visit the island as I continue to research illustrations for the short story. The Very Clever King of Lombok got me in deeper, into wanting to know more, about the Wallace Line between the islands of Lombok and Bali. I have always been a fan of Alfred Russell Wallace, so it was a good and happy coincidence when Dina approached me with the project. In Volume One of Wallace’s The Malay Archipelago, the land of the orang-utan and the bird of paradise, Chapter XII was solely about ‘Lombock: How the Rajah Took the Census’. The book itself was dedicated to Charles Darwin,” chirps Noor Mahnun.

POSTCARD, BLOOMS AND SQUIDS

Measuring 57cm by 76cm, Postcard from Delhi is a graphite drawing with a watercolour wash on paper. The postcard-size work was received by Noor Mahnun from her friend Lim Oon Soon, a graphic designer. She illustrates realistically the card as well as the message written on it in watercolour.

In its actual format, this work demonstrates Noor Mahnun’s impeccable skills and her aptitude for detail. Divided into two parts, the front of the postcard — “a reproduction of an old miniature painting” — is depicted on the left side of the paper, composed at the centre of a laborious grid pattern in graphite as background. On the left side, the artist illustrates immaculately the reverse side of the postcard, which features a handwritten message — complete with stamp and the sender’s drawing.

Also featured in this show are six watercolour paintings of females adorned with flowers, such as lady’s slipper orchids, tiger lily, frangipani and camellia. Noor Mahnun portrays herself in six personas decorated with various blooms and wearing different hairstyles. The artist jokes that being a model for her own work is easy because “my model is always punctual”.

Another quintessential theme of Noor Mahnun’s creative oeuvre is the depiction of squids and insects such as beetles, wasps and moths. Insects have been a favourite subject alongside geometric patterns since her days in Berlin.

In Disco Lombok Still Life, Noor Mahnun also showcases eight drawings of squids on paper. “The squid, against a repetitive pattern rendered in pencil, works on paper. My obsession started when I took part in My Story, My Strength: Doodle for Change, an exhibition in aid of the WCC (Women’s Centre for Change) in George Town, Penang, in 2015. At first, I wanted to convey the perseverance and patience of those women whose lives are affected by abuse,” explains Noor Mahnun.

“But in the process of doing the work, the rendering became an obsession, and I got addicted to drawing not only cuttlefish but also the patience-testing, long attention span this series demanded. I have always done patterns but not in minute detail. What was supposed to be an arduous and challenging task became a delightful occupation. I could go on rendering for hours. The ‘squid’ backfired, I suppose. It was chosen because it is languid in the way it moves. It’s smooth, slippery. But it can also swim speedily. Passive. Aggressive. The shape, phallic, has connotations. Being a printmaker, I have always admired Hokusai’s work and one of them featured an octopus and a woman. It is sensual, and I think sensibility is the right word to describe it.”

Here, Noor Mahnun is referring to The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, a woodblock print created in 1814 by renowned Edo period Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker, Hokusai (1760-1849). The image depicts a woman wrapped in the limbs of two octopuses performing erotic intercourse with her. Inscribed above the image in Japanese calligraphy is a text, which expresses the woman and the creatures’ mutual carnal pleasure.

FROM CHARITY TO COMMUNITY

As a devoted cultural ambassador, Noor Mahnun has dedicated her time and energy to education and to spreading social awareness by collaborating with organisations such as the Malaysian AIDS Foundation, Women’s Centre for Change, Penang, and Sisters in Islam.

She has curated several art exhibitions to raise funds for charity, such as Art for Nature for WWF Malaysia, ArtAid16 Love for Sale last year and ArtAid17 Bebas (Freedom) this year in support of the Malaysian AIDS Council.

In November, Noor Mahnun will curate and participate in a group exhibition of 21 artists entitled Hell, Heaven at Cult Gallery in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with Sisters in Islam, an organisation that promotes women’s rights “within the frameworks of Islam and universal human rights”.

Her latest endeavour is as a curatorial consultant for Think City Johor Baru, working for the Iskandar Malaysia Community Public Art programme — a joint initiative between the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Think City and Bandung Creative City Forum — which requires her expertise in residency programming gained from her experience at Rimbun Dahan.

With all these activities on her plate, one wonders how Noor Mahnun manages to find time to produce artworks or to relax. In the run-up to Disco Lombok Still Life, I had the privilege of visiting her studio and having numerous discussions over lunch, and I found that Noor Mahnun never leaves her studio without her schedule book, sticky notes, notebooks and writing tools, scribbling down every important detail (dates, appointments, to-do lists, ideas and sketches): a habit that keeps her prompt for our meetings.

Noor Mahnun is indeed a brilliant and independent woman whose career is not confined to art but also includes educational and cultural endeavours, a challenging task not many artists can accomplish.

ARTWORKS

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Date: September 28 – October 13, 2017
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

A diverse and thought-provoking series of works by Malaysian contemporary artist Ahmad Shukri Mohamed.

PREGNANT WITH MALAYSIAN MEANING

The Edge Galerie is showcasing a diverse and thought-provoking series of works by Malaysian contemporary artist Ahmad Shukri Mohamed from Sept 28 to Oct 13.

The 48-year-old artist has been creating art for over 20 years and his eighth solo exhibition will feature 23 new and recent works. Entitled Made in Malaysia: Works by Ahmad Shukri Mohamed from 2010 to 2017, the exhibition will be the first by the artist at our gallery.

The show comprises four series — Postcards from Malaya, Made in Malaysia, Golden Gate and Text. These artworks span seven years and depict Shukri’s efforts to “reformulate” the image of his home country and visually and metaphorically “reread our identity”.

The concept of his art is not merely about highlighting the superficial elements of Malaysian culture or things that are identified as being Malaysian. It is about the economic, social and political developments in Malaysia since independence and how the country has been projected on the global stage.

Shukri’s soul-searching works are imbued with subtle and symbolic elements that trigger a sense of recognition or even chagrin, especially among those who take a keen interest in national affairs.

Formerly a member of the disbanded Matahati group that was established in 1989 and comprised Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Hamir Soib Mohamed and Masnoor Ramli Mahmud, Shukri has forged ahead with his own identity and a distinct style since the collective’s first group exhibition in 1993.

For instance, his Golden Gate series of meticulous paintings show how the country’s rainforest, teeming with flora and fauna, is constantly at risk of being destroyed. The threat is viewed as a dark force.

The 208.4cm by 289cm Garden of Heaven was completed in 2010. Metaphorically illustrating the Malaysian rainforest, the work signifies the perfection and uniqueness of nature. But how do we utilise, manage and preserve such resources without harming the environment?

In Shukri’s latest works in his Text series, the idyllic landscape is layered with alphabets — a collage of cutouts fixed to the canvas and presented as a blackboard: an allusion to the local education system.

The artist offers his interpretation of the political climate, reduced through a text and colour-only approach. Pregnant with meaning, it is not hard to read between the lines and fathom the thoughts behind each work.

Influenced by his mentor Fauzan Omar, a former art lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia and a respected artist, Shukri has incorporated the technique of fabric collage and layering in his work. He was Fauzan’s apprentice for years in the early Nineties.

Among the latest works is a series of images of 12 colonial postcards from various states of Malaya. The images have been transferred onto wood and presented in a variety of gilded frames. Offered as a set and entitled I Was Here, the artwork features nostalgic landscapes of the Malayan era, including a kampung house, coconut plantation, colonial buildings by the riverbank, wildlife and a historical scene from Merdeka Day, among others. Shukri has added a quirky touch by incorporating a collage of birds into it.

This series depicts Shukri’s printmaking technique in his mixed media approach to art-making. His creativity extends beyond painting. Also featured as part of his work are specially designed frames for works such as Kami yang Mengikut Perintah — Yes Boss from the Text series, I Was Here from the Postcards from Malaya series and the Made in Malaysia series.

A collection of nine watercolours derived from newspaper clippings of events are illustrated in a liberal manner in the Made in Malaysia series. Symbolic iconography, such as diamond shapes, silhouettes of handbags, luxury cars, armoured tanks, handcuffs, suicide vests and more, comprises some of the top stories published in local newspapers.

Each watercolour is presented in a unique way — every frame is lined with a fabric such as the traditional songket — with a label embroidered with the title of the exhibition, Made in Malaysia.

Shukri’s paintings are also noted for the way they are framed. The framing is done by Jinjit Station by Patisatustudio, located in Puncak Alam, Selangor. Jinjit Station is a social enterprise established by Shukri and his wife, Umibaizurah Mahir @ Ismail, a ceramic artist.

Last year, The Edge Galerie staged a solo exhibition by Umibaizurah entitled Fragile by Umibaizurah: Recent Works 2015-2016.

With the support of Matrix Concepts, The Edge Galerie presents Ahmad Shukri Mohamed’s Made in Malaysia: Works by Ahmad Shukri Mohamed from 2010 to 2017.

ARTWORKS

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Date: April 20 – May 5, 2017
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

Malaysian artist Tang Juey Lee has been painting orchids for the past 40 years and is better known on the Singapore art scene where the press has dubbed him “Singapore’s Orchid Artist”. This show also marks the 30th year since Tang’s first exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in 1986. At the time, the artist painted mainly with watercolour on rice paper. He has since progressed to acrylic paint as his preferred medium on Chinese rice paper with gold flecks.

A PASSION FOR ORCHIDS

Dubbed “Singapore’s Orchid Artist”, 63-year-old Malaysian artist Tang Juey Lee is better known in the city state as he graduated from its Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in the 1970s.

Tang held most of his exhibitions in Singapore, where his meticulous style of painting orchids earned him many accolades. Moreover, the orchid is Singapore’s national flower. But the artist took a 23-year hiatus in the 1990s to establish his own art school and only resumed exhibiting in 2014. Collectors welcomed him with open arms, buying up all his work.

His exquisite paintings of orchid blooms, typically matched with parrots, geese, roosters and ducks, can be said to belong to the flower-and-bird genre of Chinese paintings but combined with Western Realism. Such works have a following among collectors who particularly favour the gongbi style of Chinese art, which focuses on Realist techniques.

Tang initially painted with watercolour on rice paper but progressed to acrylic paint diluted with water to achieve more vibrant and colourful compositions. In his only second one-man show in Kuala Lumpur since 1986, Tang will showcase 20 paintings at The Edge Galerie. Their prices range from RM5,000 to RM21,000 each.

“I paint what I see,” says the veteran artist, adding that he prefers to observe flowers in full bloom, particularly in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where he practises life sketching to hone his skills in rendering lifelike compositions.

Tang’s body of work comprises a variety of orchids — Dendrobium; Cymbidium or boat orchid; Oncidium, commonly known as the Golden Shower or Dancing Lady; Renantanda; Phalaenopsis Blume or moth orchid; and more.

“I have painted over 300 different orchid species in the past 40 years,” remarks Tang.

In addition to these blossoms, the artist incorporates koi, squirrels, kittens and chicks, among other things, as well as insects such as bees and butterflies into his work.

“I recently included animals in my paintings to complement the orchids,” explains Tang, who began pairing his works of flora with fauna in 2013 and using acrylic in 2015.

TECHNIQUES

Tang embraced the traditional bird-and-flower theme and enhanced his subject matter by using acrylic paint on rice paper instead of the conventional ink or watercolour.

“The materials I use are high-quality acrylic paints by Daler-Rowney and rice paper dusted with gold flecks imported from China,” he explains.

“I chose acrylic over watercolour because of its lasting quality. Its fast-drying effect, which is similar to that of watercolour, allows me to work on several paintings at one time. The vibrancy of acrylic paint works best for my subject matter.”

Viewers of Tang’s expressive paintings will feel a great sense of joy. He creates pleasant compositions by carefully placing his choice of flowers with selected animals.

In Lazy Afternoon, created specifically for the show and measuring 86cm by 96cm, Tang illustrates the red Renantanda orchid dispersed across the picture plane in harmony with kittens playing with chicks in the foreground. One of the kittens near a strawberry plant is depicted trying to catch a fish in a net. A snail is seen slithering on the ground.

Such details distinguish Tang as an imaginative and meticulous painter who not only focuses on portraying orchids in their truest form but also adds simple touches to evoke happiness and positive vibes.

The yellow-green leaves that frame the deep red blooms, which dominate the painting, offer a balanced configuration.

“One of the important elements of my work, besides colour, is composition. My aim is to create harmonious paintings that make people happy,” says the artist.

Prosperity Koi illustrates a school of nine of the fish, which have symbolic significance in Chinese culture. The offering of nine koi to new parents is considered the most meaningful gift of all because it will bless the child with two secrets of success — determination and flexibility — which are traits believed to be found in koi.

But the importance of nine koi extends beyond the story of success and harmony to include luck, wealth and protection. The number nine represents completeness and eternity in Chinese culture.

Fluttering Grace depicts an intriguing combination of the Vanda “Miss Joaquim” orchid, banana trees and a company of macaw parrots perched on tree branches. Measuring 68cm by 106cm, the artwork illustrates the landscape of Southeast Asia.

Also apparent in Tang’s body of work are visually stimulating lines and shapes. Illustrated in the 90cm by 68cm Joyful Bliss is the alluring Phalaenopsis Blume orchid with a company of budgerigar parrots either fluttering in the air or perched on a tree branch. The common pet parakeets are illustrated in pastel blue and green.

Traditionally, owning or gifting such a painting reflects a cultured mind or a person schooled in Chinese aesthetic and customs. It goes beyond displaying something that is symbolic of prosperity or merely wishing good luck.

EDUCATION

Born in Johor Baru, Tang studied at Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from 1974 to 1976 and graduated with a diploma in Western art.

Under the tutelage of renowned Singaporean pioneer artist, Georgette Chen (1906-1993), Tang learnt to incorporate into his paintings Eastern sentiments with Western techniques.

Paris-trained Chen, who painted in the post-Impressionism style, taught Tang the fundamentals of Western compositions, such as perspective.

Tang himself taught at a college that he founded — Raphael Academy of Art — in Johor Baru between 1991 and 1998.

“I was the principal of the now defunct college and taught watercolour to diploma students for seven years. At the same time, I was creating artworks to sell to collectors in Singapore and Australia,” he says.

Although his passion for producing orchid paintings is immeasurable, Tang claims to not have any emotional attachment to his work.

“All of my paintings are sold upon completion. I do not keep any of my old work,” he says when asked if he has an inventory of artworks created over the years.

His tutor Chen had kept most of her paintings until her death in 1993, when the Lee Foundation took custody of her collection. Most of her paintings were then donated to the Singapore Art Museum in 1994.

GLOBAL PRESENCE

According to Tang, who has held international exhibitions since 1977, his artworks are well received in Singapore, Australia and Taiwan.

“My first and only exhibition in Kuala Lumpur was in 1986. Now, 30 years later, I have returned to show my new work,” he says.

Held at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, the 1986 exhibition was said by the artist to have been supported by Joyce Kuok, then wife of business tycoon Robert Kuok.

Entitled The Dream Landscape Series, the show comprised around 30 watercolour orchid paintings and was officiated at by the then Urban Development Authority chairman Tan Sri Murad Mohd Noor.

Tang was also commissioned by hotels and restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to paint for them.

His artworks are in various private collections abroad as well as in the hands of public institutions and corporations, including the Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Changi Airport, Citibank, Gulf International Bank, Shangri-La Group and Royal Holiday Inn in Singapore.

ARTWORKS

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Date: March 5, 2017
Exhibition preview: February 23 – March 3, 2017
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

The fifth edition of The Edge Auction highlights invigorating works by all the top names in Malaysian art in the 118 lots going under the hammer. Among the modernist works of our revered artists are significant paintings by Latiff Mohidin, Datuk Ibrahim Hussein, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, Yusof Ghani, Jolly Koh, Awang Damit, Datuk Sharifah Fatimah Zubir and Khoo Sui Hoe.

Listen to BFM 89.9 podcast “Auction on Southeast Asian Art” by Sarah Abu Bakar, produced by Lim Soon Heng here: http://www.bfm.my/sarah-abu-bakar-auction-southeast-asian-art.html

Written article posted at: https://www.theedgegalerie.com/auction/edge-auction-2017

Date: September 22 – October 7, 2016
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

Siang & Malam: The Landscape in Mind is contemporary artist, Jai’s, 27th solo exhibition, showcasing 12 landscape paintings charged with meanings associated with Malaysia today.

A contemporary Malaysian artist who is always pushing boundaries in search of new processes, Jalaini Abu Hassan, or Jai as he is better known, presents a new body of work in his first solo exhibition at The Edge Galerie.

Siang & Malam: The Landscape in Mind is Jai’s 27th solo exhibition, showcasing 12 landscape paintings charged with meanings associated with Malaysia today.

Characterised by vibrant hues and monochromatic compositions, Siang & Malam contains “fragmented narratives” — derived from travel notes, postcards and snapshots — in an attempt to recollect, rearrange or retell stories and meanings.

“Siang & Malam is my first attempt to focus on breaking away from the monotony or uniformity of ‘series’ by switching from one mode to another — like the camera mode for day and night,” Jai says.

The main subject is related to the landscape, largely used as a device or tool to make personal statements.

The “Siang” section sees an almost postcard-like snapshot with an intense colour palette suggesting the “beautiful” and idyllic view, with a twist in the new narrative composed by the artist.

“Malam” features a more mysterious approach to the unknown and an almost surreal landscape.

The works feature “subtle clues” that hint at the historical and/or political narrative associated with Malaysia that the 53-year-old artist says, “I cannot fully run away from.”

“And I am more than pleased to allow the viewer to wonder — with their own agenda — in reading my work.”

As a “process painter”, Jai is interested in the exploration of the act of creation that goes into forming a work, the exploration of material and media and the marks that form a drawing.

His works are inspired by current affairs, expressed using local and familiar imagery focused through his personal lens of nostalgia and history.

Jai obtained his bachelor’s degree from MARA Institute of Technology in 1985 and pursued his education with scholarships at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he obtained his master’s degree, and the Pratt Institute in New York where he received a master of fine art degree.

With the support of IJM Land, The Edge Galerie presents Jalaini Abu Hassan’s Siang & Malam: The Landscape in Mind in line with its endeavour to promote and cultivate Malaysian art.

ARTWORKS

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Date: July 21 – August 5, 2016
Venue: The Edge Galerie, G5-G6, Mont’ Kiara Meridin, 19 Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur (permanently closed)

STRENGTH THROUGH ADVERSITY

Fragile by Umibaizurah: Recent Works 2015 – 2016 features the Malaysian artist’s third solo exhibition of 12 ceramic sculptures, five wall sculptures, four paintings and a set of 10 collage works.

The exhibition theme explores the human condition within the layers and depths of modern society. It reflects on issues like co-existing within a community, emigration and the constant conflict between man and nature.

The idea was conceived between 2013 and 2014 during Umibaizurah’s travels to Europe. Her seemingly whimsical artworks are derived from imagination and inspired by vintage toys at flea
markets there.

In this show, the 41-year-old artist has deployed the modular concept and building-block technique in creating each artwork. Umibaizurah has expanded her creative horizon beyond producing imagined, hybrid characters. Even the plinths of her major works were custom-built and painted grey to resemble Roman pedestals to best convey the scope of her art.

ARTWORKS

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Date: June 13 – July 12, 2015
Venue: Curate, LG1-1, SENI Mont’ Kiara, 2a Changkat Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (permanently closed)

An exhibition by established Malaysian artist Hoe Say Yong – the first ever solo show presented at the venue – showcased 50 vibrant waterscapes by the artist.

A master in capturing the fluid dynamics of water and its ability to reflect light, Hoe Say Yong studies the ripple of still water with zeal – producing soothing paintings of the most abundant compound on Earth’s surface – presented in a multitude of dimension expressed in organic form and rich palette.

Hoe Say Yong seeks inspiration from the challenges of capturing water’s characteristics – mysterious, undulated, transparent, tranquil – the antidote of life is represented in the utmost captivating manner. Over the span of almost three decades picturing the mirror image of water, the artist has produced a number of series namely Reflections, Imagery and the latest titled Inner World which presents a body of work created directly from mind to canvas. Having spent the past two decades (and counting) painting the iconic theme, the artist has developed an exceptional degree of familiarity thus possessing cognisant memory of the subject matter.

There is a Taoist proverb that observes nature: “No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see”. That in Hoe Say Yong’s works are we able to envision these words of wisdom being depicted. The shadows of manufactured materials on ground level such as street buildings are reflected onto the deeper world of nature as demonstrated in House by the River (1999) and Window II (2003).

A symbol of purifier in most religious faiths, water has also been the essential source of life since the beginning of time. The convergence of spiritual
essence and artistic endeavours not only create harmony but also exude melodic visual experience as illustrated in Flutter In The Wind 迎風招展 (2014).

As time progresses, Hoe Say Yong has acquired perceptual strength to convey his inner preoccupations through bold brush marks and thoughtful palette resulting in the formation of a signature theme earned through perseverance and passion. This exhibition aims to showcase his development framed in the context of time. As the saying ‘still water runs deep’ goes – a calm exterior often conceals great depths of character, just as the deepest streams can have the smoothest surfaces – reflect the wisdom of the man behind the brush himself.

ARTWORKS

Originally published at: http://curate.com.my/exhibitions/inner_world_hoe_say_yong/

Date: May 21 – June 10, 2015
Venue: Curate, LG1-1, SENI Mont’ Kiara, 2a Changkat Duta Kiara, Mont’ Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (permanently closed)

A private selling exhibition that featured 32 paintings by 18 modern and contemporary artists aimed to present discerning collectors with fine selections of Malaysian art in a flourishing collecting culture. The exquisite paintings from private collections on offer showcase an eclectic range of style and medium representing the Malaysian art landscape. The show assembles reputable names like Tan Choon Ghee, Eric Peris, Raphael Scott Ahbeng, Khalil Ibrahim, Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir, Rafiee Ghani, Anurendra Jegadeva, Yau Bee Ling, and more aiming to present discerning collectors with fine selections of Malaysian art in a flourishing collecting culture.

ARTWORKS

Originally published at: http://curate.com.my/exhibitions/the_eclectic_private_selling/