by ARTERI

Why so ssserioussss? Watching the late Heath Ledger perform that line as The Joker was surely one of the best moments in The Dark Knight. One day someone has to organize an exhibition with that title (along with ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’). With all that’s happening in the country these days (weird new PM, triple by-elections), there’s no better time to celebrate the fool in us all. There are some excellent events coming up in the next couple of days that you don’t want to miss. I’m going to indulge in some serious art-going and recommend you do the same, starting with:

by Yee I-Lann

Nine things that inspire Sabah-born Malaysian artist, Yee I-Lann.

by Zedeck Siew

Behind Australian ape-lover Lisa Roet’s recent In-Sight exhibition are worthy sentiments: generally, that the environment is in bad shape; more specifically, that our simian kin are almost all endangered because of human activity. If you see Roet’s ten orangutan portraits – each sketching a different individual ape that she worked with in the 15 years of her enthusiasm – and are then persuaded to donate to the WWF, that’s cool. Perhaps the works have served their purpose.

by ARTERI

Between Generations: Redza Piyadasa and Vincent Leong

by ARTERI

Exhibition opening and party pics for Bambang Toko’s Titian Muhibah: Serumpun, Senada, Seirama. Celebrating Malaysia-Indonesia relations with Malay retro rock and bad fashion sense.

by ARTERI

Peter Barton Harold Harris, seminal founder of the Wednesday Art Group (WAG) in 1952, passed away on 14 March 2009. The Wednesday Art Group counted amongst its members Patrick Ng Kah Onn, Dzulkifli Buyong, Cheong Lai Tong as well as Syed Ahmad Jamal, who are modern art pioneers in Malaya.

by Jun Kit

These are a selection of old and more recent prints I found featuring my mother, with the exception of one image.

In case you missed it, here is the podcast version of the interview between Valentine Willie (Founder and Director of Valentine Willie Fine Art*) and Patrick Michael on the Money Wise segment of Business FM 89.9. I think it aired in early Feb of this year.

It’s an accessible, down-to-earth introduction on the hows and whys of investing in art in Malaysia. He makes particularly pertinent comments about the realities of our small market, compared to those of Indonesia and the Philippines. You also get the backstory on the origins of his unique name.

by SHARON CHIN

Chuah Thean Teng passed away on 25 November 2008, just months before the opening of his retrospective at Balai. This makes the viewing of his works especially poignant, above and beyond the sense of nostalgia that runs throughout the show. I felt I was looking at a Malaysia I had never known: I can’t recognize myself in his scenes of pastoral kampung life, and the people he lovingly depicted at work, rest or play are strangers to me.

by SHARON CHIN

Over drinks last night, a fellow wurator (writer/curator) asked me, in the context of the local art scene: “Whose work do you like?”