An evening in memory of Emil Goh (1966-2009) who passed away on 7 September.

Wednesday 30 September at 7pm
at 19 Jalan Berangan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.

A selected screening of Emil’s videos and documentation of his
work will be on view during the day on 30 September from 11am.
All are welcome.

download pdf of map to 19 Jalan Berangan here
download the Remembering Emil pdf here

Rogue-ish hosted a special weekend presentation by Flowerdrum Bags founder Rina Matsui-Houghton on Dec 11th at No. 19 Jalan Berangan. This exhibition of one-off pieces was inspired by 6-word memoirs of 30-something Malaysian women written by Suhana Dewi Selamat. Rina interpreted the essays in visual and textural form on everyday things that women see and touch, wear and use in the home.

Inspired by the nostalgic whimsy of Rina’s vintage materials and the charming furniture borrowed from our neighbour, The Curiousity Shop, we decided to host a retro afternoon tea party resplendent with cupcakes, shortbread fingers, chiffon cakes, cocktail sausages and pineapples on sticks, iced lemon tea and good ol’ Pimms No. 1. The weekend would not have been complete without a small sale of Flowerdrum Bags with vintage prints and designs that made the ladies go weak.

We were so chuffed with the set up the show that we thought we’d share a few pictures of the afternoon with you. (It’s may not be Betty Drabble’s perfectly put together home but it is good enough for some of us to live the fantasy for a minute or two.)

Check out our Rogue-ish website here for further details about Rina’s one-off pieces.

miniroomRealRoom

Emil Goh (b.1966, Malaysia) passed away on Monday 7 September in Seoul. It’s taken us a bit of time to come to terms with the shock of it, something that seems so impossible. Emil as a person was so ever-present, so tapped into life and people and stuff. Even if he only appeared in my life intermittently, on trips home to see his family, I could always be sure that he was working away at something fun, making things happen. It’s hard to imagine him as being truly absent. I think everyone who knew Emil loved him in some way, and Emil knew an awful lot of people.

We first met in London in the late 90s when he was doing his Masters at Goldsmith’s – I’m quite sure it was in a Tube station going off to meet Wong Hoy Cheong who was doing a residency there. I’d go see Emil in his digs off Russell Square and literally every single person we passed in a square kilometre radius would greet us with a “Hi, Emil!” Things weren’t so different when I visited him in Sydney. He loved putting together ideas and people, and he was a beacon to me in many ways through his friendship, and his work. He never stayed still for very long though. I wish I could have visited him in Seoul, where he seemed to have found a place he found interesting enough to settle in for a while.

I fell in love with the video “Between” he made which spanned a day in London through a series of friends’ apartments using a camera on a lazy susan. Up until then I’d never really “got” video as a medium. I thought his 30-second video of a cellphone vibrating on a table was pure genius. He made a sort of poetry out of the little resonances in the tiniest things we overlook everyday – couples dressed like one another, stall vendors making fruit ices, the lights in tall buildings at night. Every time I see two cars of the same make and colour following each other on the road I think of his work and it helps me to smile through the KL traffic. I think he was particularly special, and perhaps almost renegade as an artist in that his work has been about the personal – our personal, not his in particular, without the need for overriding narratives. He didn’t need a big name in lights, influence or money to be generous. In his public projects, he showed us how little things could make the world a slightly better place – ‘handyhold’ hooks along a street to hang heavy shopping bags, cushions embroidered with cellphone numbers to facilitate double parking. He designed “umbrella taxis” to take us across the road in the rain. I think, in the wake of losing Emil, many of us could do with one of those umbrellas right now.

(BY)

Our thoughts and deepest condolences go to Emil’s family and friends around the world.

On 30th September we will be hosting an evening at 19 Jalan Berangan to remember Emil, with his family and friends. Details will follow shortly.

Cadangan-Cadangan Untuk Negaraku

New Works by Liew Kung Yu

Galeri PETRONAS at Level 3 Suria KLCC Mall
Exhibition runs from April 17 to  June 14, 2009

I really haven’t the words to express my excitement for this show. Liew Kung Yu is one of Malaysia’s most sought-after and elusive contemporary artists. Talk about once in a blue moon and the blue moon has finally risen in the form of ‘Cadangan-cadangan Untuk Negaraku’ (or its English translation, ‘A Few Suggestions to My Country’), an incredible solo presentation by this multi-tasking genius who occasionally moonlights as a ‘flower seller’ at the night markets. We think it has been at least 10 years since Kung Yu’s last solo.

The exhibition comprises 4 epic, elaborately and insanely layered photo-collages that measure 20 x 7 feet each. It is high kitsch, awe-inspiring and overwhelming. My eyes were impatiently devouring the visual feast as there are far too many details to focus on! This show warrants more than 2 visits and may I suggest spending at least 15 minutes with each work, allowing your eye to wonder slowly through the dense terrain, layers and details.

I  am still processing the works in my mind but it is definitely going down as one of the brightest 2009 highlights in RogueArt’s list of favourites. All I can manage now is a very inarticulate WOW. (AO)

RogueArt will be taking a break from the 16th – 21st September 2009 and we would like to wish all our muslim clients, friends and their families :

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI !!!

**For an immediate response during this break, please send us a text message to our mobile office number +6016 266 7413.

Contemporary Asian art collectors Alessandro Gasparini, Cristiana Gasparini and Sabrina D’Amely have this month opened a new exhibition space in Turin, Italy. Interestingly the inaugural show, Verso Manila, organised in conjunction with the Drawing Room Manila, hails from the Philippines, surveying established and younger contemporary artists including Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan, Kiko Escora, Jose Legaspi and Maya Munoz amongst others. We wish our friends all the best for their Italian debut.

(BY)

We hope that the Golden Ox has brought good health, prosperity and happiness to your door!

We are really sorry for not updating this blog since December 2008. We’ve all been away for nearly 8 weeks… I at least managed to catch a few noteworthy shows while in London and Paris. Some of the shows may be over by now but nonetheless I’d like to share my favourite exhibitions with you here. As a first-time visitor to two celebrated art capitals, I also made a point to make a thorough tour of their famous collections.

Most art enthusiasts have been salivating over the major blockbuster art exhibitions showing in London for the past 3 months : Mark Rothko’s Late Series @ Tate Modern, Francis Bacon’s Retrospective @ Tate Britain, and a fresh take on the artist’s multimedia productions  (films, documentaries, voice recordings, interviews) in Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms @ Hayward Gallery. The exhibitions were well-curated and made us see beyond the artworks, how the artists’ personal lives and observations have intervened with the development of their works. (However, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the rationale given for the display of Rothko’s Seagram Murals.)

I was also impressed by the Chinese Contemporary Exhibition at the newly opened Saatchi Gallery off Sloane Square, and an amazing show of Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles’s past 40 years’ of work at the Tate Modern. I really enjoyed the way his art enters into ordinary life through the use of everyday objects (fences, coke bottles, currencies).

Top Image : The space at Saatchi Gallery, Middle and Bottom Image : life-sized sculpture by Cang Xin, Communication, 2006.

Cildo Meireles, How to Build a Cathedral (with detail on right), 1987. Medium : Bones, Communion Wafers, Coins.

Back in Paris, it was ‘Picasso season’ – Picasso/Delacroix at The Louvre, Picasso/Manet at Musee D’Orsay, Piccaso/Masters at the Grand Palais.

Impressionism is actually my visual guilty pleasure, and I was entranced by a special curated show “Mystery and Glitter, Pastels at Musee D’Orsay” – that was a real treat for me. However conceptual work has always been what’s intrigued me the most, and I was glad that I went through all the exhibits at Centre Georges Pompidou, especially when I found Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain. Alas, I was later informed by my Parisian friends that the urinal on display is not the ‘original’ work made in 1917. Oh well…

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain

The other exhibition that was really worth travelling for was Jeff Koons @ Chateau de Versailles. Personally I thought it was a fantastic display/play on “Kitch Now and Kitch Then”. ^_^ Unfortunately the show drew a lot of criticism from the Parisians… See it here and decide it for yourself!

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog

After much hype and recommendations from artist-friends, I made my way to Palais de Tokyo. No doubt it’s one of the most important public galleries promoting contemporary art in Paris, but I was disappointed with the exhibition “From One Revolution to Another” curated by Jeremy Deller, a Turner Prize-winning artist. Still, Marc Jacob’s “Baby Disco” was quite fun and the children’s section at the gallery called tok-tok is one of the most interesting I have seen. Also they have a really cool gift and book shop.

Tok-tok at Palais de Tokyo

All in all, the trip was a(rt)mazing, but a lot of shopaholics would say otherwise once they find out that I NEVER made it to ANY Louis Vuitton or Chanel boutiques in Paris. ^_^

RogueArt has officially signed on as a fan of Bea Valdes. One of the most sought-after luxury fashion designers from the Philippines, Ms. Valdes is renowned for her intricately crafted feather and bejeweled bags and necklaces. While her accessories and bags may have been the toast of Vogue, W and Harpers, it is Bea Valdes, the artist, and her work in “Bedtime Stories”, from her recent solo exhibition at SLab in Manila that had completely won us over.

Please bear with me while I gush.

A staunch support of local artisans and their craft, Ms. Valdes worked with her atelier of beaders to create a series of breathtaking depictions of animal figures inspired by fables and folk stories, intricately embellished with sequins, Swarovzki crystals and semi-precious stones. Combining her interest in fairy tales, the artist’s “first exposure to the idea of anything sinister, wicked, or dark,” and a fascination with taxidermy, her cast of lovingly created characters -a baby bear, fawn, squirrel, rat, bunnies, snakes and skulls- have been designed to charm our aesthetic sensibilities through their beauty, fine craftsmanship and immaculate finishing.

“Bedtime Stories” stands on the threshold between old and new, light and dark, the romantic and the macabre. Framed within each bijou-like animal is an amalgamation of sensibilities and style; we witness traces of Gothic and Victorian influences, Art Deco decorative style and echoes of Grimm Brothers and Disney.

She writes in her artist statement:

‘The term taxidermy is derived from two Greek words: taxis, meaning “arrangement” and derma, “skin”. I am continually intrigued by the concept of skin and applied surfaces. Being an agent of transformation, skin has the ability to either conceal or expose by validating or mystifying identity. Layers, grafted on or draped, serve to alter the self/essence associated with the form. One bead at a time, one minute at a time, and thousands of hours later,  we have woven stories on skin. As the object is re-surfaced, it evokes an atmosphere saturated with skewed nostalgia. In this liminal state, objects encased in decorated hides or cloaked in metal membranes straddle the threshold between ambiguity and certainty.’

For further information about the show and artist, do check out SLab’s website here.

Photos courtesy of SLab.

We took a road trip to Singapore last Wednesday to attend the opening of JENDELA group’s exhibition “A Play of the Ordinary” at National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum. It was a spur of the moment decision as we wanted to kill a few birds with one stone: 1) cheer our friends on 2) see Handiwirman’s ‘knives’ which we’ve heard so much about during our recent trip to Jakarta and 3) get our ‘mee-pok‘ fix. Hee.

This show is a big deal for the group as it is their first major exhibition outside Indonesia. Combining old works dating as far back as 1999 with new ones, “A Play of the Ordinary” traces the group’s development over the past decade. Working in a distinctive visual symbolic language, using still life and landscape forms,  these five artists from West Sumatra have differentiated themselves from a predominantly figurative-based and socio-politically driven Indonesian art context and are now leading figures in their own right. Kudos to curator Enin Supriyanto for his sensitive and well thought-out presentation. As we walked through the thematically curated rooms, we witness their sense of humour and wit, their close friendship as well as the influence they have on each other’s artistic development. As for the knives, there were not 2 but 3 knives on show -a pair of pointed slicing knives from Handi, measuring 2 meters long each, and a giant cleaver by  Rudi Mantofani which miraculously turned up 2 hours before opening.

Here are the pictures. We’ll let you decide if you think they were worth the trip.

Useful info: Kelompok Seni Rupa JENDELA or JENDELA Art Group members are: Jumaldi Alfi, Handiwirman Saputra, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar and Yusra Martunus. The word ‘Jendela’ means ‘window’ both in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia. (AO)

It was a busy June for RogueArt. We’ve been meaning to put up these pictures from our Where Art Happens talks series but the three of us seem to be running relay in and out of KL.

Our series of three Saturday talks was all in all a great success thanks to our wonderful speakers from both Malaysia and abroad, our sponsor Yayasan Sime Darby, media partner Off The Edge, as well as to the fantastic audience, especially those who faithfully came for the full whack. We ourselves were impressed with the turnout, and salute all those who came for their dedication to the issues surrounding art in our community.

Session 1 – Art Spaces: Policies, Agendas and Ways Forward got off the ground with a most venerable panel of speakers – Dr Najib Dawa, Director-General of our National Art Gallery, Ahmad Mashadi, Head of Singapore’s NUS Museum, Hasnul J Saidon, Director of Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah at USM in Penang, and Iqbal Abdul Rahim, Creative Producer for Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery. It was a lesson in the challenges facing institutions dealing with art today, but it would seem that there is a general recognition of changing contexts and a sense of investment, particularly for the university museum-galleries, in developing future generations of audiences. It was particularly exciting to get a peek at the plans for the new Bank Negara museum and gallery which looks extremely impressive, and while it is very much a multi-faceted institution dedicated to more than just art, we’re sure it will make a big impact on our corner of local civilisation.

L-R : Dr Najib Dawa, Hasnul Saidon, Ahmad Mashadi, Iqbal Abdul Rahim & Beverly during a floor discussion

In the afternoon Rifky Effendy an indendent curator from Indonesia who took us on a quick tour of the Indonesian art scene which has changed dramatically since the regional market began to boom a few years ago. Pang Khee Teik, Programme Director of the Annexe Gallery waxed political and philosophical on the dangers of art policy, and the advantages of organic development (complete with arm movements). Simon Soon, a local independent curator, made a sweep of independent and alternative spaces in the region, showing us the breadth and depth of bold and exciting artists’ intitiatives from Malaysia to Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Syed Nabil represented the largest sector of non-institutional spaces in Malaysia – private galleries, telling the story of his own space NN Gallery.

Surprisingly there weren’t many challenges from the floor, although one attendee did comment that it was all a lot to take in….

L-R: Syed Nabil, Simon Soon, Pang Khee Teik, Rifky Effendy & Beverly

Session 2 – Getting Out There: Art in the Community attracted the biggest crowd. It was a pretty international event, with artists Amanda Heng from Singapore and Tran Luong from Hanoi, Reza Asung Afisina & Ardi Yunanto from ruangrupa Jakarta, and Defne Ayas of ArtHub and Performa from Shanghai. From our home corner Hari Azizan talked about various Five Arts projects in the community such as Asian Youths ArtsMall, Lim Kok Yoong talked about the Let Arts Move You project on KTM trains and at KL Sentral Station in 2007, and Yap Sau Bin showed off the brilliant just released DVD of the Contemporary Art in Schools Project at Stella Maris school last year, managing to sell a few copies that day. This session was moderated by Eva McGovern. It was all very inspiring, and we had lots of audience feedback (with some pondering on the age-old question of the role and identity of art), and we hope to see more beautiful art-in-public/public art initiatives in our back yard soon.

L-R: Hari Azizan, Amanda Heng, Eva McGovern & Tran Luong

The crowd catching up with friends during lunch break

L-R: Eva McGovern, Yap Sau Bin, Lim Kok Yoong, Defne Ayas, Reza Asung Afisina & Ardi Yunanto

Session 3 – Feeding Creativity: Art Residencies and Grants had givers (in the morning) and takers (in the afternoon) give their viewpoints on the worthy practice of funding fine art.  Rahel Joseph talked about the two residency programmes she had initiated, for the Australian High Commission (Sydney) and for Galeri Petronas (Beijing), while Angela Hijjas described the RImbun Dahan residency programme(s) updated us on its latest developments, hinting at possible new programmes in Penang and Yogyakarta. Stephanie Yeap talked about the RBS-Malihom AIR programme in Balik Pulau while HOM (House of Matahati) was represented by Bayu Utomo Radjikin who told off many great initiatives by HOM including their residency programme, art competition, artists’ fund and fundraising events. Mella Jaarsma, co-founder of Cemeti Art House came to share her experiences from their Landing Soon residency programme and how Cemeti will expand on this to be a residency-based project space from next year onwards. Marion d’Cruz talked of the good work of the Krsihen Jit-ASTRO fund, and her experience with Artists’ Network Asia (ANA), and noted how there was a positive increasing trend of artists giving to artists.

Marion d’Cruz speaking about 5 Arts Centre

L-R : Angela Hijjas, Mella Jaarsma, Marion d’Cruz, Rahel Joseph, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Sharon Lai & Stephanie Yeap

By the afternoon, things had got pretty relaxed. The last panel of the series included residency/grant veterans Malaysian artists Ahmad Fuad Osman, Chang Yoong Chia, Ise and Vincent Leong, a handsome young crew who gave eloquent presentations on the ups and downs of residency experiences (80% ups) – not being able to speak Korean, bureaucratic issues in the land under JB, the efficiency of the Taiwanese, the luxury of time and of Rimbun Dahan,freezing in Vermont, partying in Oz. We saw some of the work they did out there, too.

L-R: Roslisham Hashim (Ise), Vincent Leong, Ahmad Fuad Osman & Chang Yoong Chia

We’d just like to say thank you once again to our speakers, our sponsor Yayasan Sime Darby, media partner Off The Edge, and everyone who came and made the talks a worthwhile initiative. We hope to make this a yearly event, addressing different pressing issues for the art community.

We are preparing a fuller report on the talks which we will publish on our Projects page in the near future, so please do post here any comments or feedback on the talks series you feel may be of interest.

Meanwhile, check out our Where Art Happens art map, published in the June edition of Off The Edge, reproduced here.