Endless journey of artistic wonder

Lui posing with his largest painting which merges Kuala Lumpur‘s skyscrapers with the coastal area of Sibu, and includes a sea of people occupying the streets. — Photos: MUHD SHAHRIL and JAROD LIM/The Star

PINKGUY Gallery celebrated its 10th anniversary with the unveiling of 25 paintings by local artist Lui Cheng Thak.

Titled “EndLess”, it was Lui’s first solo exhibition of the year.

Gallery founder and curator Winson Loh said their collaboration with Lui was winding down.

“This marks the end of one of the chapters in Lui’s painting career, and for avid collectors, there may also be fewer of his exhibitions here from now on.

“Moving forward from this occasion, I hope there is a better future in store for both of us,” he added.

Loh noted that the title of the latest series of paintings were made up of two words – “end” and “less”.

The exhibition, which celebrates the long-term collaboration between Loh and Lui which began seven years ago when the artist held his first exhibition at the gallery, marks Lui’s latest attempt in creating smaller art pieces with funky elements.

One of Lui‘s art pieces that features a Zubat flying by a birdcage.

“Lui has always painted large art pieces and through the years, I have learnt a lot from curating his art pieces.

“In order to appeal to other collectors, especially the young and new collectors, he is now producing smaller artworks,” Loh said.

EndLess builds on Lui’s signature themes of time, heritage and culture, and features window scenes and birdcages alongside explorations of everyday life and current events in Malaysia.

His speciality of playing with light and shadow is evident in the series, along with his penchant for incredible details.

“This time, he has combined Pocket Monster characters from the trending mobile game Pokemon Go in two of his art pieces,” said Loh.

This painting depicts a scene of a hawker manning his stall.

In one of the oil-on-canvas painting, Lui added an electric rodent, the Pikachu, jumping in mid-air.

Referencing his own art piece painted in 2012 which featured a bird’s cage, the artist also painted a Zubat (from Pokemon) flying out of the cage.

The painting is done on a revolving board which looks similar to the Pokestop in the mobile application game.

“Since Pokemon Go picked up the hype last year, I used that in my paintings to add more fun to it,” Lui said.

“It was a unique experience, and it was totally up to me on where I wanted to paint the Pokemon.

“Adding these characters makes the painting feel alive,” he said.

During the unveiling, collectors and enthusiasts admired the art, and several booked Lui’s works.

Collectors who bought the artworks were given the privilege of naming them.

Lui talking about his unique experience of painting Pikachu in one of his artworks.

The largest art piece featured images of Kuala Lumpur and Sibu in Sarawak.

One part showcased the skyscrapers of the city, while the other the coastal area of Sibu with a sea of people occupying the streets.

The crowd was painted in bright yellow and formed the Chinese character ping.

“The character signifies harmony. It is something that all of us want, which is to live harmoniously in both the east and west of Malaysia which make up the whole country,” Lui explained.

The EndLess art exhibition will be on until Jan 26, at A-G-02, Ground Floor, MARC Service Residence, Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Entry is by appointment only. For details, call 03-2166 2166.