Art KL-itique

Visiting the Kepong Baru wet market on a weekend morning is a phenomenal event – navigate through crowd of cars and people, taste mango slices offered by the fruit seller, step on melted ice emitting a fishy smell, feel the texture of anchovies and potatoes, shout orders to the char kuay teow hawker, etc. One pastel green metal door along the street is quaint but not out of place, opening up to a flight of stairs strewn with crushed Styrofoam containers. Kang Mei Yi’s percipient intervention is well-placed to remind visitors, especially one whom just arrived from the marketplace, of one’s improvident attitude towards the disposable object. A supplementary exhibit by Gan Kwang Ze hangs from the joist, his bulbous knots made of black plastic bags, suspending the unnecessary aesthetic judgement cast upon a functional item.  Installation views “Phenomena” is the second group show organised this year by collective Ongoing Projects, offering a platform for young artists to exh...

Black & white marks local art during this year end, led by Minstrel Kuik's prize-winning drawing of ladies performing the Viennese Waltz on ' 16 Sept 1963 '. The literally negative approach is seen also in Sabihis Pandi's diptych, among other attractive works like Chiang Lup Hong's 'Imaginary Landscape 1', and Azam Aris' caricatured crowd. Representational subjects form a contrast with the works hung on the organiser's walls - one awe-inspiring Ismail Zain digital collage, and a number of panoramic panels by Chin Kong Yee. Current and former prize winners show at "Catalysis" , the Dasein graduates group's best work a powerful white triptych by Yeoh Choo Kuan. Many exhibits present figurative posturing, a sign of complacency that the college faculty should heed, in this current climate where pandering to collectors signifies the death of artistic creativity. Sabihis Pandi - Ops Tersilap, Silap Mata (2014) [picture taken from...

Traders goggle over inflated dollar values of underestimated Awang Damit Ahmad works, as market manipulation activities continue for Kuo Ju Ping and Tajuddin Ismail paintings. Early August saw KL Lifestyle Art Space staging its Georgetown Festival edition in Bangsar South, where at least 18 pieces have appeared in its previous auctions, and 13 out of 84 offered lots were withdrawn. Subsequent editions see suspiciously high prices hammered down, as its reputation continues to take a beating. A Zulkifli Yusoff sold six months ago now transacts at a 38% discount, while an Ahmad Shukri Mohamed offered between RM 29 – 35,000 at The Edge Auction sold for RM 19,040 on the 8th of November. Major pieces by Abdullah Ariff and Yeoh Jin Leng fail to sell, although the RM 29,120 paid for a 2003 Cheong Laitong painting denotes a bargain. Khoo Sui Hoe - Call of the Wild (1966) Estimation of artwork prices remain as imprecise as ever, where a “Hijau” series painting by Yusof Ghani was...

Henry Butcher celebrates its fifth year as Malaysia’s art auction pioneer by o ffering 125 works, including 14 pieces contributed by Indonesian partner One East Larasati. 13 of its first 33 lots feature a woman’s portrait, among pastoral scenes that occupy the majority of the holdings. Great composition is seen in Chuah Thean Teng’s ‘Feeding the Cat’ and Tew Nai Tong’s ‘Market’, while Fung Yow Chork’s panoramic ‘Pasar Tani’ projects amazingly vibrant colours. Expressionist tendencies are less apparent, apart from some abstract works leading to the star lot, the swirling ‘Berenang’ by Syed Ahmad Jamal. A 2008 Awang Damit Ahmad work sold for USD 77,364 at Sotheby’s one month ago, and his powerful ‘Essence of Culture Series’ should keep the crowd waiting for the last lot, although the ridiculously low estimates implicate an irresponsible auctioneer. Tew Nai Tong - Market (1989) A pen sketch of some goats by Cheong Soo Pieng is touted as “a fine drawing” and assigned a five-...