EXHIBITION: 'SANDWICH (AN INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUE IN MALAYSIAN ABSTRACT ART)'
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur
Date: June 13 to July 18
Malaysian abstraction is in focus this month at Wei-Ling Gallery, which presents Sandwich (An Intergenerational Dialogue In Malaysian Abstract Art) – a compact survey of how non-representational practices have shifted across time and generations.
Abstraction has never settled into a single style or definition. Instead, it has been continually reshaped by artists responding to different contexts and concerns, moving between gesture and structure, material inquiry and process, as well as political, spiritual and conceptual registers.
Curated by Prissie Ong, the exhibition traces how abstraction in Malaysia has evolved alongside changing economic conditions, sociopolitical realities, artistic training and cultural anxieties.
Bringing together works by 12 artists – the late Cheong Laitong, Hamidi Hadi, Iwadh Mahadi, James Ly, Khabir Roslan, Kim Ng, Latiff Mohidin, Mark Tan, Nasrul Rokes, Yau Bee Ling, Yeoh Choo Kuan and Zulkifli Lee – it offers a cross-generational view of a field defined by variation rather than continuity.
The exhibition is open to walk-ins, but the gallery strongly recommends booking in advance for a smoother visit.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: IWAN EFFENDI'S 'CO-PRESENCE'
Venue: The Back Room, Zhongsan building, KL
Date: June 12 to July 12
The Back Room’s latest collaboration brings Jakarta-based contemporary artist and puppeteer Iwan Effendi back to Malaysia with Co-Presence, an exhibition that carries a distinctly theatrical sensibility.
Marking his second solo presentation in Kuala Lumpur – after Two Shoes For Dancing at the Valentine Willie Fine Art Project Room in 2009 – the show arrives more than a decade later, during which Iwan has become a prominent figure in Indonesian contemporary art, exhibiting widely and participating in international residencies.
Despite their pared-down facial features, the figures in his new paintings and drawings convey an acute sense of unease and uncertainty.
Dark, criss-crossing shadows and softened contours heighten a feeling of instability, while fragments of imagery suggest scenes suspended between nightmare and fairytale.
Together, Iwan's works hover in an ambiguous emotional space – where presence and absence, clarity and obscurity, coexist in tension.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: JUSTIN LIM’S ‘PAINTINGS FOR THE OBSERVER AND THE OBSERVED'
Venue: Richard Koh Fine Art, A Place Where (APW), Bangsar, KL
Date: June 12 to July 18
Malaysian gallery Richard Koh Fine Art, which has expanded its regional presence in recent years, returns to Kuala Lumpur with a new concept: a window gallery dedicated to intimate, focused exhibitions. Its inaugural presentation is Justin Lim's Paintings For The Observer And The Observed.
Built around two paintings, the exhibition – Lim's first Kuala Lumpur show in seven years – examines the often-overlooked details of domestic life.
Through carefully composed interiors filled with artworks, books, plants, objects and curiosities, Lim transforms familiar spaces into layered and contemplative visual narratives.
Central to the exhibition is the act of looking itself. The relationships between observer and observed, artist and collector, as well as the tension between intimacy and distance, quietly unfold across the works.
By paying close attention to what fills a room — and to those who inhabit and behold it — Lim's colourful paintings pose a simple yet resonant question: what does it mean to truly see, and to be seen in return?
Visitors can learn more about the works during an artist-led walkthrough with Lim on June 13 at 4pm. Admission is free.
More info here.
THEATRE/MUSIC: TOKYO x SEOUL: ICONS & IDOLS
Venue: Pentas 1, KLPac
Date: ends June 14
Here's one packed with jukebox pop thrills for the weekend. For fans of Japanese and Korean music, Tokyo x Seoul: Icons & Idols is a tribute concert not to be missed.
Jointly presented by KLPac and The Actors Studio, the show is directed by Ian Chow. What's on the cards? J-pop and K-pop favourites are reimagined for an almost 40-strong choir, enhanced by dance, fashion and visual design.
The award-winning Young KL Singers, together with the Kenny Shim Dance Collective, will take to the stage under Chow's direction, with musician Mak Chi Hoe serving as co-director.
Spanning heaps of iconic hits from Japan and South Korea, the programme moves from Kyu Sakamoto's Sukiyaki and Hikaru Utada's First Love to RADWIMPS' Sparkle From Your Name, alongside tributes to Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi.
The K-pop segment opens with Rose and Bruno Mars (you know the tune!) and includes songs by EXO, IU and BTS.
Come ready for a singalong and plenty of good vibes.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'SEASONALITY OF THE ANTHROPOCENE'
Venue: A.POP and Jalan Negara Kita, Taman Melawati, KL
Date: ends June 30
Anthropocene refers to the period of time during which humanity has become a planetary force of change, and these artists portray this concept in their respective artworks.
In this group exhibition, artists Bethany Luhong Balan, Chong Sue Yen, Lee Oscar and Celine Tan (Co2_karbondioksida), Tedd Louis, Felix Galistan and Katrina Jacinto (Singapore), George Hiraoka Cloke (Britain), and Stephanie Pearl (Britain) contextualise extreme climate change over several years.
Whether it's noticing changing patterns of migrating birds due to rising temperatures, or humans’ excessive accumulation of non-biodegradable materials, the artworks highlight specific changes caused by man’s interference with nature.
By pairing artists with environmental scientists beforehand, it has provided them with the necessary data to further confirm and allow for research to be translated into an artistic language, be it photography, art, installation, sound or film.
Supported by the "Connections Through Culture" grant from British Council in Malaysia, the exhibition is curated by local artist-curator Jakob van Klang in collaboration with environmental social scientist Dr Felicia Liu from the University of York, England.
EXHIBITION: ILHAM ALSHAHAB’S ‘A PATH CARVED BY MY RETURNING’
Venue: The Dia Space, Medan Pasar, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends July 23
If you're drawn to the quiet beauty of a familiar route, you'll find a kindred spirit in young multidisciplinary artist Ilham Alshahab's ongoing exhibition.
Her latest series of paintings is inspired by her cycling route around the neighbourhood, where repeated journeys gradually sharpened her attention to details that once lingered at the edges of her vision.
The exhibition urges viewers to slow down and reconsider the act of looking, revealing how repeated encounters with the familiar and seemingly mundane can transform perception, bringing overlooked sights into focus through time and attention.
A new addition to the Central Market area, The Dia Space Pop Up rotates between art, fashion and events, providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work.
The gallery is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: SYAHBANDI SAMAT’S 'SILENT PERSISTENCE'
Venue: Harta Space, Ampang, Selangor
Date: ends June 28
Syahbandi Samat's latest solo exhibition, Silent Persistence, sees the self-taught artist - best known for his intricate ballpoint-pen works - venture deeper into a surreal and unsettling realm.
Featuring 35 drawings, six sculptures and 20 miniature works, the exhibition journeys through pale, morbid renderings of familiar imagery. Recurring motifs of red threads, distorted anatomical forms, knives and other menacing objects construct a series of metaphorical predicaments, resembling a continuous visual narrative in which viewers are left to contemplate the outcome.
Curated by Filipino artist Dennis Bato, the exhibition is arranged to create a sense of continuity across the gallery. Works appear to echo and connect with one another, reinforcing the familiarity of the spaces depicted and their parallels to lived experience.
In contrast to Syahbandi's previous exhibition's larger-format works, Silent Persistence presents a greater number of smaller pieces, including sculptures and drawings no larger than PSA-graded trading cards.
Syahbandi's new show is presented by Harta Space, in collaboration with Artemis Art.
More info here.
