Art KL-itique

Goh Ah Ang's retrospective involves five series displayed across three floors, a non-chronological outlay for 42 years of art. Raised in Klang and tutored by Chuang Kim Siew in his secondary school days, Ah Ang's teenage output includes oil paintings and etchings that contain expressionist backgrounds, and compositions that recall Khoo Sui Hoe. Upon graduation he worked in advertising, and took the opportunity to submit a Chinese ink work ('荷花') to the renowned Chung Chen Sun for review, whom praised his technical prowess. Without a formal art education, Ah Ang proceeded to open his own art school and has 12 solo exhibitions to date. This inspiring story about one self-made man that did it all for passion, is part of the exhibition's kitschy appeal, apart from some fantastic works on show. 混乱中的宁静 Peace in the Midst of Turmoil (1997) Groupings of displayed works cater to the popular, or perhaps what the artist regards as most significant. Western notions o...

From one graduates exhibition to this diploma show, Yau Sir Meng’s accomplished presentation continues to stand out. Two installations comment on the Malaysian education system, including school uniforms planted in pots, and a sugary construct melted by humidity. Short-term research into waste disposal habits and its environmental impact is difficult to take seriously, while a wall covered in paper sheets is hardly noticeable even when highlighted. Works by two artists allow for unintentional interpretations - Emir Nazren’s distorted portraits made with a photocopier, and broken pencils stuck onto white panels by Kay Lee Pei Chyi. The former’s reproductions of anguish parody existential angst prevalent in the current age; Graphic design and less sophisticated materials encroach onto the latter canvas, also a dig at the lofty notion of fine art. Students must be mindful that contexts and self-reference matter in contemporary art, while honing visual techniques. [from l to r] Em...

Despite reading essays about art and abstraction, it is a struggle to describe my fascination with this category of painting, or why I get lost in Mark Rothko’s colour fields but walk past Jackson Pollock’s allover drips. Referring to Wong Perng Fey’s “ Equilibrium ” body of work, Martina Ziesse writes that “(t)he fascination of abstract art lies in the idea that the work might offer a glimpse into a different reality, a reality subjective to the artist and to each individual beholder. A painting on the wall may offer a gateway into an unknown but strangely familiar world.” Relocated to Beijing four years ago, the artist moves on from melancholic plants and awful Chinese zodiac animals, to a less figurative yet very powerful group of paintings. Utilising slow-drying oils as the bottom layer and glossy hard enamel paints on top, Perng Fey sculpts his materials to create forms and visual depth. Paintings prefiguring the Equilibrium body of work This process is better explain...

Hung precariously above accumulated rainwater on a concrete rooftop, one life-sized paper boat buoyed by a fishing net is subjected to the Malaysian thunderstorm. The vessel collapses and slowly disintegrates after being overwhelmed, while tall cranes occupy the city skyline. Allegorical and beautiful, Low Yi Chin's installation sets the tone in this show organised by four artists, which unifying themes include "...interrelated topics engendered by local contexts existing in contemporary Malaysian society." Physical borders pose a challenge for exhibiting within an independent art space, but forms a larger preoccupation for Chong Kim Chiew . Tarpaulins layered with map tracings depict changing frontiers, and will not be out of place if shown at NVAG . One accompanying video locates these research markers in uninhabited public environments, its self-reference to power negated by the lack of human presence. Snapshots from Chong Kim Chiew - Boundary Fluidity (2014 - o...

The Malaysian visitor is confronted with media art from acclaimed regional artists, which curatorial theme "relates to how can artists from newly formed nation-states create works that reflect a sense of being part of a place that is culturally deep and yet nationally new." Walking past a non-functioning bell into the black box, one is captivated by Singaporean works presented across five screens. A rope stretched across an undulating sea in Charles Lim's 'Sea State: Drift (Stay Still Now to Move)', underpins the futility of demarcating a physical border in nature. This image anchors one adjacent video of a man floating diagonally over a split-screen projection of the sea, its fluid action equally applicable to a metaphor for life. Showing more than one perspective is the common approach utilised among the exhibiting artists, perhaps a necessary method in this multipolar world. Snapshots from Charles Lim - Sea State: Drift (Stay Still Now to Move) (2013) ...

Subtitled “Aku Hanya Seorang Tukang Cerita”, this collection exhibits the artworks from one adventitious prodigy, if we believe the story. The narrative hook begins with a Buddhist temple from Alor Setar, together with a tale about a missing bird, which welcome the visitor into Gallery 2B. Next to it is a small painting with sinuous lines, done in green because the artist had only that colour at that time. ‘Langsir Hijau’ won prizes when he was 16 years old, and affirmed Anuar’s outstanding technical skill for one so young. At 20, his seminal work ‘Kelahiran Inderaputera’ was disparaged for only focusing on the surface (by Sulaiman Esa), and described as mystical (by Choong Kam Kow). In the same year, Redza Piyadasa bought and painted his work black, then renamed it as an ‘Art Proposition’. Not everyone was dismissive, as Syed Ahmad Jamal did declare Anuar as “the new sensation of the Malaysian Art scene, perhaps its brightest star yet”. Tanpa Tajuk (1985) Following on h...

...Back to Looking Out , juxtapositions of rubbish dumps and beautiful vistas occupy the Environment table. Sliced into half horizontally, this heaven/hell configuration projects a moralising message that regresses into what Jacque Rancière calls the “ethical regime of art”. Not being able to fully express his disdain at such behaviour shows Ismail Hashim as one truly passionate about social concerns. The next section Human Rights expands on his activist persona, where cleverly designed graphics include a play on Barisan Nasional’s flat-bottomed dacings. Perhaps the link between photography and graphic design is much closer than previously thought, since both disciplines require work on flat printed surfaces. Tennyson’s poem closes off this corridor, but at this juncture, the issues – and ethics – of “curating posthumously” are already apparent. General categories suit an archive, but how suitable is it for a gallery exhibition? Graphic designs in Looking Out: Human Rights ...