EXHIBITION: 'INHERITED SOULS'
Venue: Galeri Puteh, KL Eco City, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends May 23
Galeri Puteh is showing a husband-and-wife exhibition featuring Tengku Sabri Ibrahim and Mastura Abdul Rahman, two established figures in the Malaysian contemporary art landscape whose practices have developed since the 1980s.
Tengku Sabri is known for a career steeped in sculptural form and material experimentation, often drawing on cultural memory and symbolic references that bridge traditional and contemporary vocabularies. His works - regularly collected by national institutions - frequently explore how objects and materials can carry layered narratives of history, identity and place.
At Galeri Puteh, he presents a series of wooden sculptures and drawings inspired by childhood bedtime stories narrated by his grandmother, alongside his enduring fascination with The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a favourite from his student years.
Mastura, meanwhile, has built a distinctive practice rooted in painting, where abstraction and figuration intersect through a refined sensitivity to surface, colour and composition. Her works often reflect personal and cultural narratives, articulated through a nuanced visual language that balances intimacy with broader social memory.
An ancient Kelantanese queen inspires Mastura’s seven mixed-media works at Galeri Puteh, presented as Cerita Anak Wan Kembang. Drawing from the legend of Wan Kembang, the semi-mythical Kelantan ruler, the series reinterprets history through memory and myth, weaving fragments of feminine authority, royal symbolism, and cultural inheritance.
The exhibition also includes debut drawings and doodles by their granddaughter Tengku Yasmin Naraya, or affectionately known as Yaya, introducing an intergenerational dialogue that extends the family’s artistic lineage into a new voice and perspective.
More info here.
THEATRE: 'ISLANDS'
Venue: Pentas 1, KLPac
Date: May 1-3
The audience at KLPac is in for a captivating evening with today's opening of Islands, a contemporary dance work from Taiwan. Presented by choreographer Wang Yeu-kwn and his Shimmering Production, the acclaimed piece arrives in Kuala Lumpur following its recognition as one of three finalists for Sadler Wells' The Rose International Dance Prize 2027 – Bloom Prize in Britain, selected from 42 nominations worldwide.
On stage, this intimate duet unfolds as a personal and poetic inquiry. In search of the story behind his own name, Wang journeys toward the islands of South-East Asia, where he meets Indonesian dancer Danang Pamungkas.
Through movement, they enter into a dialogue shaped by lived experience, tracing how bodies are held between land and air, and how identity – like shifting shorelines –ebbs and flows with the tide.
From solitary pursuit to shared understanding, Islands reveals a quiet strength: a way of being carried by both gentleness and resilience. In the end, it suggests that only by venturing beyond the island might one begin to truly know oneself.
Attendees are advised to dress comfortably in light clothing, as the air-conditioning may be partially reduced at certain moments during the performance. Post-show talks will also be held on Saturday and Sunday.
This production, making its South-East Asian debut in Malaysia, is presented by Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Malaysia and KLPac, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'DARK LUPA'
Venue: Tali Art Gallery, 40A Jalan Hang Kasturi, Kuala Lumpur
Date: May 2 to June 8
A new gallery opening in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is always welcome news. Dark Lupa marks the reopening of Tali Art Gallery at its new heritage shoplot premises, following its relocation from Petaling Jaya.
French gallery owner and curator Thomas Martin, noted for his distinctive sculptural concepts, returns with a strong curatorial statement featuring two prominent figures in Malaysian art, Ramlan Abdullah and Jalaini Abu Hassan.
The exhibition foregrounds the intimate gestures of sculpture and painting, with Dark Lupa offering a meditation on the decisions that underpin artistic making. Through a selection of new works engaging with the notion of forgetting, it explores the tension between revelation and omission – how artworks carry ideas and heritage into visibility while allowing other narratives to recede into shadow.
The exhibition also includes works and installations by artists such as SnakeTwo, Sanan Anuar, Nic Proud, Kitikong Tilokwattanotai, Zulkifli Lee, Sam Siren, Pangrok Sulap, Dhavinder Singh, JB Barsamian, You-Jeen Mette, among others.
The opening takes place on Saturday at 5pm and will feature a concept store and coffee space in collaboration with Bijou Cafe.< /p>
Visitors are required to enter via the back alley entrance and proceed to the first floor. Admission is free.< /p>
More info here.
ART FAIR: KUALA LUMPUR ILLUSTRATION FAIR 2026
Venue: GMBB creative mall, Kuala Lumpur
Date: May 1-3
The illustration scene in Malaysia is set to take centre stage this weekend, as Kuala Lumpur Illustration Fair 2026 returns for its fourth edition.
Following more than 19,000 visitors in the previous edition, this year’s fair is expected to draw strong crowds throughout its run.
It is anchored in the theme “Regional Voice of Illustration”, featuring a wide range of local and international illustrators. Participating artists include Humana, Alexoid Luce, Cloakwork, Shu (shuuhuahua), Book of Lai, Soefara, Grimmy Granny, Projek Sembang Sembang, Loka Made, Atelier Minori (Japan), Pocky or glico (Thailand), Phil Huelz (Germany), Yukihiro Tada (Japan), Ardhira Putra (Indonesia), Luinic (Indonesia) and Varsam Kurnia (Indonesia), among others.
A highlight is presented in the “Dark Room” on Level 6, where the exhibition Light Up Malaysia examines cultural identity through the language of light. Featuring works by Zeen Chin, Kenji Chai, Katun and Danny One, the exhibit employs backlit installations to surface layered narratives and reflect the evolving pulse of contemporary Malaysian visual culture.
Visitors may also mark the occasion through customised stamp-making activities with Pos Malaysia under its Setem Ku programme, offering personalised designs for occasions such as birthdays, retirements, and other milestones.
The (ticketed) fair runs daily from 11am to 8pm.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: ILHAM ART SHOW 2025
Venue: Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends May 3
It is the final opportunity to view one of Kuala Lumpur’s most talked-about contemporary art exhibitions. Featuring contemporary artists and collectives, the Ilham Art Show 2025. brings together new works in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, installation, textile, film and video.
The exhibition, which has continued to draw large crowds since opening last November, features a mix of established names and emerging artists, including Gan Chin Lee, Wong Perng Fey, Roopesh Sitharan, Tiga Tawai, Eiffel Chong, Marcos Kueh, Joshua Kane Gomes, Kim Ng, Arikwibowo Amril, Syarifah Nadhirah, Kimberley Boudville, Yvonne Tan, Umar Sharif, Hieng and Afiza Abubakar.
Early last year, 20 artists and collectives were selected by a regional panel (Gridthiya Gaweewong, Sharmini Pereira, Wong Hoy Cheong, and Rahel Joseph). Each recipient received a production grant to realise their proposed work – projects they might not have otherwise pursued.
Though not bound by a theme, shared ideas emerged: the mining of history to reflect on the present, the fragility of nature, the fluidity of identity and shifting social and familial ties. The triennial Ilham Art Show series was established in 2022.
More info here.
