Picks from my walk around the Malaysian galleries at Art Expo. Totally non-objective.

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RA Fine Art

A nice mix of senior and young artists at RA Fine Arts. Mustafa Haji Ibrahim and Syed Ahmad Jamal sit comfortably beside the crafty, surreal works of Khairul Azmir Shoib. I especially loved the lively painting by Indonesian artist Kartika Affandi, below.

Kartika Affandi, Warung Kopi di Lingga, Sumatra Utara, 1977, Acrylic on canvas, 98 x 124cm

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Syed Ahmad Jamal, Night Train, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 183 x 76cm
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Khairul Azmir Shoib @ Meme

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Pelita Hati

This series of drawings laid out in a row on the ground looked great. Love the red frames.

Bennylita Nasution, What the Hoot series, 2009, Pen, ink and Acrylic on paper, 14 x 20cm each.
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Sutra Gallery

The usual paintings of Bharatayatnam dancers and other traditional performing arts at Sutra Gallery. However, two B & W photographs by Eric Peris of Ramli Ibrahim dancing in a waterfall stood out.

Eric Peris, Dancing with Nature 1 & 2, c. 1980, B & W photograph.

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Metro Fine Art

Some interesting works at Metro Fine Art. A series of drawings by Mat Ali Mat Som had a minature keris attached to each one. These drawings seem much more interesting than his figurative metal sculptures.

Mat Ali Mat Som

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Stephen Menon, It Just Continues, 2009, 38 x 50in, Ink & poster color on paper

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Art Seni Gallery

The most interesting thing at Art Seni’s booth is the director himself, Phillip Wong. He’s wearing a hand-painted PVC tie, an idea he plans to take further as a fashion show next year. Cute, considering Art Seni is the gallery located on the ‘Muse’ level of hyper exclusive Star Hill shopping mall.

Phillip Wong

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Annexe Gallery

A line-up of hip young artists at Annexe Gallery: lovely photographs by Erna Dyanty and Eiffel Chong, paintings by Mun Kao, Shahril Nizam (he’s the cover artist for this month’s KLUE magazine, the art issue), Lim Keh Soon and Nizam Abdullah.

Mun Kao

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Eiffel Chong, A Trace of Mortality, 2009, 32 x 40in, Digital print on C-Type photo paper.

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House of Matahati

H.O.M’s booth is a highlight in its entirety. Works by the five Matahati artists look really good together.

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Art Case Galleries

A fairly recent Khalil Ibrahim holds center stage.

Khalil Ibrahim, Vivacity, 2003, 51 x 74in, Acrylic on canvas

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Art Folio Gallery

A nice one from Anthonie Chong’s e.Monk series, which was part of his recently concluded solo at Art Folio.

Anthonie Chong, The Moon, The Land, The Man, 2009, Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 137cm

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Yahong Art Gallery

Great to see a Chuah Thean Teng up close and personal, away from a museum setting. This one is framed in traditional Chinese scroll format, not behind glass.

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Richard Koh Fine Art

A slick, good-looking booth filled with hot young artists from South East Asia. I liked Malaysian painter Wong Perng Fey’s two moody canvases and Thai artist Nattawut Sing-Thong’s large drawings on canvas. Angki Purbandono’s big scanned prints of fruit and toys were a favorite with many, but not my cup of vodka.

Wong Perng Fey, Bouquet, 2009, Oil on canvas, 86 x 82cm

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Nattawut Sing-Thong, Face, Oil stick on canvas