Shalini Ganendra Fine Art @ Gallery Residence (SGFA) presents the work of five award-winning mid-career Malaysian artists. The exhibition has taken over 12 months to realize. Carefully co-curated by Ganendra and up-and-coming talent Ai-Woei Lim, from the National Art Gallery, MidTerm introduces some of the best work across a variety of media emerging from the Malaysian contemporary scene, including mixed media work, photography, sculpture, installation, print-making and painting.
The ‘mid-career’ label is an indicator of growing excellence. All these artists are well-accoladed, with successful solo shows behind them. They have gained recognition within their own field, in addition to local and international education and experience. MidTerm catches these established artists relating their important journies and narratives, presenting exciting new works.
From print-making to sculpture, photography and installation work, the exhibition will display the broad range of artistic creativity so skillfully undertaken to tackle the subject of specifically Malaysian identity and contemporary society. This is a question which fascinates all five of the selected artists. Kim Ng’s experimental prints are infused by nostalgic memories of a small town childhood, and his experimental collographs examine the relationships between the individual, society, and the environment. This theme is taken up by Suhaimi Fadzir’s fishtrap sculptures. Inspired by the plight of the Orang Asli, the steel recreations of delicate and vital indigenous structures ask us to question the depletion of native resources, and the fragility and sustainability of such traditional lifestyles in the face of a rapidly developing and modernising nation.
Bibi Chew’s insightful installations are both emotionally and intellectually evocative, tracing geopolitically freighted issues of race, nation and individual identity with delicacy and intensity. (She is importantly a Smithsonian SARF Nominee for 2013.)
This examination of interior and exterior life also lies at the heart of Eiffel's Chong's wonderfully executed pictorial photographic series, whilst Jasmine Kok’s marble carvings evoke organic forms as the beginning for exploration of a particular sensuality of being.
As well as their shared concerns and intellectual ability, these artists are connected by commitment for technical excellence, mastery of craft, and aesthetic distinction. The works are beautiful and intelligent - with local roots and global perspectives.
© Shalini Ganendra Fine Art
