About us

Foreword by Datuk Gary Thanasan
Chief Executive Officer of KL Lifestyle Art Space                                                             in conjunction with the opening of KL Lifestyle Art Space

2011 marks a milestone in my relationship with art. Its humble beginnings were when I was a student in England. Unable to afford proper artworks, I settled for reprints of originals, and by the early 1990s, graduated to commissioning oil replicas from Vietnam of Impressionist masterpieces.

These traces of my early days have now been relegated to a storeroom or are in the possession of others, but what I’ve carried through to the present is the same burning passion. I still collect art, but I’m proud to say that, today, my interest is a little closer to home as it is one hundred per cent Malaysian. And, I can honestly say that I cannot imagine having it any other way.

While many others have embarked on a similar journey with Malaysian Visual Arts, it is an exciting one that could certainly do with more company. The art scene is growing on a daily basis, artists are producing more challenging and captivating works by the minute, and events like art auctions and festivals have made a crucial difference to the industry as a whole. One lamentable problem, however, is that there still remains a massive gap between the industry and the public.

This is why KL Lifestyle Art Space was born.

The gallery’s chief goal is to offer another avenue for the local public to view modern and contemporary Malaysian artworks beyond the institutions and existing art spaces, and, we were fortunate to have secured a prime spot in the Tropicana City Mall. Situated on the ground floor, our space’s visibility is high and its accessibility will no doubt encourage many walk-ins, thereby promoting the subject to the greater public.

While the Malaysian Visual Arts scene is growing rapidly, I believe more is needed to propel it to the same heights as many of our Asian neighbours like China, India, Indonesia and Thailand. With our newly launched art space, we hope to bring the country’s Visual Arts scene one step closer — indeed, someday one step ahead even —to our counterparts.

As a commercial gallery, we hope to encourage a secondary market for Malaysian art, particularly for modern or pioneer works. These chiefly constitute artworks produced up till the 1960s and many will be surprised to know that these artworks, as well as artworks by the pioneering artists, are still attainable at a relatively affordable price.

We will also provide the service of receiving consignments from artists or individual collectors, therefore making otherwise rare artworks available to interested parties. This will no doubt Increase the chances of acquiring those hard-to-secure pieces from specific periods, series, or individuals, and, we also hope to encourage fresh, young collectors in the process.

All art collections begin somewhere. What matter most are the steps that follow, and as all serious collectors know, it is important to deal with a reputable source. KL Lifestyle Art Space offers an assurance of legitimacy for all the artworks that pass through our doors.

All acquisitions made with the gallery will come complete with a certificate of authenticity — with original artists’ signatures — and if it is a posthumous work, then a guarantee will be made with an appropriate governing body at a token cost.

In time, our gallery will make its presence on the Internet too with a website that soon to be launched on www.kl-lifestyle.com.my/artspace. On this site, artworks that are physically in the gallery and consigned artworks will be displayed and audiences will be able to view them from the comfort of anywhere they are based.

We already have a series of exhibitions in the pipeline for the rest of the year and we hope to see you time and time again at our space, which consists of two parts: a main hall with a high ceiling that allows a miscellany of artworks to be displayed, while a smaller room will be used to exhibit smaller or more delicate works, such as those on paper.

Interestingly, the doors for this intimate and private space come from the home of artist Khalil Ibrahim, whose beautiful scenes of Malaysia’s countryside — together with his compatriot, Shafurdin Habib — form the gallery’s first exhibition, Peasant Landscape. Idyllic, tranquil, and distinctly Malaysian, these landscapes complement our gallery’s aim of promoting Malaysian Visual Arts and they form a fantastic counterpart to the more contemporary pieces that hang in the gallery’s main hall.

May the launch of KL Lifestyle Art Space signal the start of yet another wonderful art journey — for you and I, and of course, Malaysians at large.

KL Lifestyle Art Space Now Open At Lot G.36, Ground Floor, Tropicana City Mall, No.3 Jalan SS20/27, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

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“Spirit of the East Coast”,
A Solo Exhibition by Artist Ismail Mat Hussin

Oct 28 to Nov 30, 2011 at KL Lifestyle Art Space Tropicana City Mall

Ismail Mat Hussin is today said to be Malaysia’s most senior living master of batik painting. Born in Pantai Sabak, Kota Bharu, Kelantan in 1938, he developed an interest in painting at 12. He took up weekly art painting classes at Padang Garong Malay School under the tutelage of Cikgu Nik Mahmood between 1954 and 1955.

His creativity was further enhanced through music. He took up the violin in 1962 and obtained a Grade V certificate in the instrument from The Royal School of Music London. Being able to play a musical instrument allowed him to sustain his creative interest in painting. As well, he was able to support himself by becoming a part-time musician with Radio Televisyen Malaysia Kota Bharu.

Three years later, in 1968, he took the plunge and took up painting full-time. At that time, experimentation with batik painting among artists in Malaysia was building strongly. Ismail’s mentor was Khalil Ibrahim. Ismail became very good at batik painting, having patience in spades and an innate talent for combining warm tones and earthy hues from a restricted palette of colours to depict everyday rural scenes with lively good humour.

Khalil was trained in rendering human figures and Ismail followed suit, but he did not embrace Khalil’s lightly stylised depiction of them. Looking at Ismail’s batik paintings, one sees real-looking people rather than the doll-like figures that Chuah favoured. To draw them into the spotlight Khalil tends to juxtapose the figures against vibrant solid colours whereas Ismail dulls the background surroundings.

Ismail’s trademark is heavy limbs with the muscles rendered mosaic-like on every part of the body that is visible. In outlining the muscles, Khalil’s influence can be seen but Khalil does not “break” the muscles into pieces. Languid postures and fluidity in the movements of the figures is apparent in the works of both Khalil and Ismail. Recently, KL Lifestyle Art Space sent Ismail a photograph of his batik painting “Playing Gasing” (1982). Ismail told us that it was Khalil Ibrahim’s painting. KL Lifestyle Art Space had to send Ismail a photograph of his signature on “Playing Gasing” before he would acknowledge that the painting was his!

Ismail’s batik paintings may be found in the art collections of the National Art Gallery Kuala Lumpur, Petronas, Bank Negara Malaysia, ESSO Malaysia and Maybank among others, including a clutch full of notable individuals. They include N.A. Rahman, Tan Sri Abdullah Ayob, Muhammad Haji Saleh and Tan Sri Eric Chia.

For a short spell in the 1990s, Ismail also worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for the Kota Bharu-based Syarikat Percetakan Dian. He has created a MAS-TDC calendar for Malaysia Airlines and the Tourist Development Corporation, designed playing cards for Malaysia Airlines and been featured in an ESSO advertisement.

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“Our Being”, a solo exhibition by Indonesian artist Jeihan, runs from Oct 21 to Nov 30

Mirna, 1996 Oil on Canvas I 70cm x 90cm

Born on September 26, 1938 near Solo (Central Java), Jeihan Sukmantoro has been an Indonesian painter of repute for several decades. Javanese-Hindu traditions had the most significant influence on Jeihan as a child and are said to be the source of his esthetic stimulus later in life.

“I used to dream about becoming a dalang”,  he once said, referring to the puppet master in  a Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet play, which has a big role in Javanese culture. Wayang Kulit is said to embody the philosophy of Javanese culture and is the gateway to understanding Javanese literature, music and classical theatre. Jeihan not only paints, but writes poetry and has been active in literature and involved in Indonesian theatre.

An accident at the age of 6 left Jeihan with brain damage and epilepsy. For the next eight years he did not go to school. He spent the time doing only one thing: drawing. Figures and landscapes were his preoccupation until he returned to school. Remarkably, his intelligence had improved, because he successfully completed junior high school and was accepted into a senior high school that focused on art.  He received a class promotion after he held a solo exhibition of 30 watercolours.

When he later enrolled in the School of Fine Art and Design of the  Bandung Institute of Technology, he was already of the mindset that he would be a professional artist. This sowed the seeds of his rebelliousness. The school was set up to produce teachers of art, not professional painters and the rules and regulations were not supportive of students wishing to embark on a professional career. For instance, students were prohibited from holding exhibitions outside campus. Jeihan often broke the rule, justifying it on the grounds that they were opportunities to gain him wider experience and knowledge.
But it was more than just that. Jeihan wanted freedom. He wanted to be free and independent in developing his character.  He wanted to visit the future.This seems to have been the drive for his trailblazing work.

His works in the early days of his study were judged to have deviated from the educational rules, and he was ridiculed, criticised and even accused of blasphemy.  His works had figurative themes, incongruous with his school’s adoption of Cubism and abstract styles, though his works do seem to lie in the abstract field.

He quit art school in his last semester.  “I quit from the School of Fine Art and Design because I was bored!” he declared. That was in the 60s.

His most controversial work was an installation piece at an exhibition in the Balai Budaya Building in Jakarta in 1968. What did he do? He cut his Torso art piece into three. An art critic labelled Jeihan’s artworks as rape.  Jeihan’s ideas were too dynamic and way ahead of his time.

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Syed Thajudeen Shaik Abu Talib’s solo exhibition, Paintings on Love, is now on at KLAS @ Jalan Maarof. The exhibition ends on September 30.

 

Syed Thajudeen Shaik Abu Talib is one of the brightest and best of the country’s figurative and lyrical painters. Paintings on Love, his 2011 solo exhibition at KL Lifestyle Art Space @ Jalan Maarof, which opened on August 22 and will end on September 30, comprises works from over the years including a small collection of ink on paper drawings as well as several works created this year titled Ka’bah, Ibu, Holy Book, Meeting of the Eyes II and six works in the Waiting for the Lover in Kebaya Labuh Songket series.

Back in 2006, dancer Ramli Ibrahim, then guest curator for the National Art Gallery, wrote of the artist: “Syed Thajudeen’s works not only contribute towards the diversity of points of embarkation in catalysing and achieving the coming of age of Malaysian modern art but also define contemporary modernism….”

Syed’s Paintings on Love nearly all bear that distinctive look that immediately marks them as his work: elongated figures and stylised lips, eyes and motifs, the latter surprisingly few in number but oft repeated. We see the same tree, the same woman, the same lover, the same fish, the same cloud, the same bird (or geese) in the same painting and in different paintings, yet each one is subtly different.

But what is also immediately apparent when you view his artworks is their unmistakable Indian influence. Syed trained from 1968 to 1974 as an artist at the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Madras, India to the disdain of many local artistes and collectors who set store by an European art education above all else.

“…this entrenched perception in the minds of Asian artists is changing for a better awareness of the stable and fine aesthetics emanating from the visual and plastic arts (that are) Asian in dimension,” said Ramli when he was guest curator for the National Art Gallery.

Noting that Malaysia did not possess an indigenous painting tradition, though there did exist neolithic cave drawings (in Sarawak and Perak), Ramli added: “Prints and paintings documented indigenous flora and fauna in the days before photography. The fact is that Syed Thajudeen is a Malaysian artist (whose) artistic product is a remarkable testimony to indigenous ideas, symbols and motifs being couched in the refined aesthetic and metaphysical sensibilities of Mother India, universal and at the same time Malaysian.”

When Malaya gained independence, local painters interested in establishing a national identity looked to the West first for inspiration in style and approach. They broadened their horizons and networked with one another, adding in time an analytical and intellectual depth to their work that was to sow the seeds for a local contemporary arts tradition.

By the time the 1970s rolled around, however, nationalistic sentiments and Muslim fundamentalism had begun to converge on Malaysian society. The obeisance to the call to be “more Islamic” elbowed aside constructive thought for the moderates worked quietly, for a reason: 1969. Syed felt unwanted. The direction in which local contemporary art was being shepherded in the late 1970s was calligraphic and abstract in form. If you painted figures, you were scorned.

Feeling unable to teach art the way he wished to at a leading college here and mindful that his father had warned him before he enrolled in art school that life as an artist provided no financial security, Syed joined the private sector.

In his spare time, he painted (though he was initially drawn to sculptures) about love in all its facets. Indian art inspired him, Syed once said, but his works were his own compositions and they came from the heart.

A major concept in Indian art is separation and union, much of it expressed through dance and depictions of nature. For instance, In Springwood I (a 2008 oil on canvas mounted on three big panels) a woman dances on her own while other women dance in a group, but with arms entwined. In Embrace (a 2001 oil on canvas) two figures have their arms around each other, their heads facing in the same direction rather than at each other. The first painting has a theme of separation, the second has a theme of union.

But what is interesting is that some of his artworks of the past five years show Syed experimenting with his techniques, employing various conventional painting techniques to some objects in his stylised paintings. This can be seen in two of his works on exhibit called Longing for Love (he has several pieces by that name, some not on exhibit). The earlier work depicts a lovelorn maiden reaching out to hold near life-like mangosteens, whose outlines are blurry. In the newer work, a real looking bird, painted to near perfection, sits listening to a woman.

Then there is Essence of Rhythm, a striking 2008 oil on canvas where the stylised technique is minimal. Overall, it’s a conventional-style painting that’s unique in concept, vibrant and clever in the choice of elements, Indian in look.

Though both his parents were Malayan-born, Syed was born in India after his parents fled Penang during the Japanese Occupation. They returned to Penang leaving him behind until such time he could go to school in Malaya. His ancestral village was near a deeply spiritual temple city and it exposed him at an early age to the power of spirituality. Syed’s travels the length and breadth of India when at art college in Madras opened him to other influences: Buddhist rock paintings and delicate minarets, the Taj Mahal’s magnificence and the wonderous Elephanta caves.

Looking at Paintings on Love and other artworks, it is evident that it is to India most of all that Syed feels aesthetically connected and more than 40 years as an artist have given him the subtlety and reach indicative of a master painter.

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Modern and Contemporary Art Showcase. Exclusively at KL Lifestyle Art Space.

Features works by Malaysian Masters and Emerging Artists Feb 23, 2011 – March 15, 2011

l think Malaysian artists these days are lucky because they have more support from the public. – Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal

Born on Sept 19, 1929 in Muar, Johor, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal received his early education at Sekolah Tambatan Rendah Johor Baru from 1936 to 1938 before moving to Sekolah Tambatan Tinggi in 1939. In 1940, he continued his education at Ngee Heng English School and from 1941, at Bukit Zaharah English School. From 1945 to 1949, he studied at Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar.

Syed Ahmad Jamal is one of the personalities who played a significant role in the development of the National Art Gallery and he held the post of Director-General from 1983 to 1991. In 2005, he received his Honorary Doctorate in Art Education from University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim, Malaysia. He is an incredibly talented artist and his works are appreciated by art lovers and the public. He has held several solo exhibitions, among them Antara Langit & Bumi, Ruang and On & Off King’s Road.

Solo Exhibitions

• Retrospective Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (1975)

• Kunang-Kunang, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur (2000)

• Antara Langit dan Bumi, Galeri Petrorias, Kuala Lumpur (2000)

• Syed Abmad Jamal, Drawings & Sketches of the 1950s, Elm Quay Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur (2002)

• Ruang, Islamic Art Museum, Kuala Lumpur (2004)

• On & Off King’s Road, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur (2006)

• Pelukis dan Peristiwa, RA Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur (2008)

• SyedAhmad Jamal: Pelukis, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (2009)

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A Watercolour Exhibition by Khalil Ibrahim and Shafurdin Habib

Feb 23, 2011 – March 15, 2011

Shafurdin Habib

Inspiration comes in many forms, and for Shafurdin Habib, it is the countryside of Malaysia and its picturesque landscapes. For a true artist to put colour to canvas or paper, there must be a special connection between subject and artist. This is very much the case for Shafurdin whose fuel for painting comes in the form of the whole experience of being in the countryside, from the fishermen toiling at sea to the women pounding spices on their verandahs.

Born in Kampung Basong, Perak, Shafurdin, now 50, smiles as he recalls his childhood days in the village. “As a schoolboy, I loved sailing — all my school exercise books were full of my pencil drawings.” A humble hobby soon turned into a deep passion. In his twenties,  Shafurdin moved to Kuala Lumpur. There he befriended established water colourists, among them the famed Khalil Ibrahim. In fact, Khalil’s influence is discernible in many of Shafurdin’s works: compare Khalil’s “Tumpat, Kelantan Fishing VilIage (1978)” and Shafurdin’s “Belabuh”.

The artist actively pursued painting all through the 1980s, mainly to compose a good number of pieces to join professional art clubs. During this time, he exhibited at P0k Baisi Seni Lukis Sabah (1987).

Some 30 pieces of Shafurdin’s artworks are available at KL Lifestyle Art Space.