Asian Art Feast for Art Lovers

The National Art Gallery of Malaysia or also known as Balai Seni Lukis Negara recently hosted the 24^th Asian International Art Exhibition (AIAE), a joint collaboration between the Federation of Asian Artists (FAA), National Art Gallery and the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture. The exhibition was initiated by FAA chairman, Dr Choong Kam Kow. The AIAE took the organisers more than two years and more than RM300,000 to hold an exhibition of this multitude which opened on 20^th November 2009 and will end on 31^st January 2010.

This is the third time that Malaysia hosted the AIAE. Previously Malaysia was the host for the 5^th AIAE and 13^th AIAE in 1990 and 1998 respectively. The 24^th AIAE featured the handiwork of some 250 artists from 12 countries, namely China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Puan Rohana Mohd Yusof, the Public Relations Officer of the gallery said that she was glad that the art exhibition has received an overwhelming response from both the public and foreigners alike. So far an estimated 22,120 people have visited the exhibition. The visitors comprise of individuals, family, institutions, schools, companies and even a political party was given a guided tour.

The main gallery on the ground floor displayed the gallery’s permanent collection while four additional galleries hosted exhibitions by local and foreign artists. Some 45 artworks of Malaysian artists were displayed. During the duration of this exhibition the art gallery organised various programs such as films, lectures, workshops and special art related activities for children.

Some of the visitors were impressed and fascinated with the various contemporary artworks which are a mixture of local and multinational flavour. One of the visitors, Aberami Jaishana from Malaysia said that the collection of artworks that was on display was creative, thought provoking and mind enriching. As an art student, Aberami observed that there were abstract and intricate paintings that use contemporary painting techniques.

Some of the abstract artwork exhibited were ‘The surface of painting’, a monoeramit  art piece by Oh Beung Ouk from Korea in black and white using different shades that looks like trees in shadows and Shin Tang Sik also from Korea with his artwork, ‘Keumgang Mt- Winter that looks like mountains. Intricate paintings can also be seen through the artworks of Malaysian Ng Bee titled ‘Rebound from the jungle’ describing a man’s terrified experience of being attacked by a rhinoceros and Araceli “Cheloy” Dans artwork, ‘Shawl of the Innocents’ portraying babies.

There were also artworks that conveyed meaningful messages from Vietnam. For example, Nxgunyen Xuan Long’s artwork, ‘Viet Chat’ emphasizes on the importance and value of wisdom

found in abundance in Vietnamese proverbs. Another artwork by Vietnamese Pham Huy Thong,

‘Stop’ focuses on child abuse.

Artworks that are difficult to interpret could also be found. One such example was Steven Lam Woon-heong’s ‘Peach Blossoms’ with integrated elements of painting, printing making and digital imaging that resembles  printout artwork in Adobe Photoshop when you are standing near it. But from a distance, Steven’s artwork is actually a portrait of a woman that teaches people not to make assumptions and take their time to reflect upon it.

This art exhibition is a must for art lovers, art students and budding artists. What more, its admission is free.  The next time it is in town, don’t forget to check it out and feast your eyes and nourish your mind and soul.