We were recently in Taipei and have concluded that despite the four-and-half hour flight time, grim weather and so-so food, the trip to Taiwan was definitely worth the time (and money) in order to catch Cai Guo-Qiang’s solo ‘Hanging Out in the Museum’ at the Taipei Fine Art Museum. As photography was strictly not allowed, it is quite impossible to describe the power and epic scale of the artist’s elaborate installations and gunpowder projects presented in this retrospective exhibition. Nevertheless, Rachel managed to sneak a few shots when the guard was not looking. (Please see below for scenes from the show, and apologies to TFAM for breaking rules!) The artist’s attention to detail, precision and the power of his underlying messages are literally mind blowing! The exhibition was divided into two parts: “Dramatic Time Condensed” on the first floor explores Mr. Cai’s tendency to “counteract time, so that movement and dramatic movement –which are only possible in time– are condensed into still objects”, while the second floor, titled “Contradictory, Changeable Gunpowder”, traces the development of Mr. Cai’s gunpowder exploits from early paintings with gunpowder to the blowing up of his ’sketches’. A comprehensive collection of video documentation also provide further understanding to Mr. Cai’s pyromaniacal ‘drawing’ process and gunpowder performances , and these range from earlier works such as the “Project for Extraterrestials” series (made during the 1990s) to the recent opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Head On“, an installation with 99 life-sized wolves, fabricated from sheepskins and stuffed with hay and metal wires, barreling in a continuous stream towards (and into) a glass wall, is definitely a Rogue favourite. Loaned from Deutsche Bank’s collection, this work is a critique of the German reunification. We found the artist’s statement “invisible walls are the hardest to dismantle” –describing the German condition – very apt for Malaysia too. All in all, we spent between three to five hours at the museum (twice!) and found ourselves quite reluctant to leave. To quote our travel companion Mr. Lau,  “Cai Guo-Qiang has single-handedly beat 5000 years of Chinese history” as he held our attention far longer than the National Palace Museum exhibition –5 hours as compared to 1 hour– displaying treasures from the Chinese world. We heart Cai Guo-Qiang : )

Please don’t miss out on this show if you are in Taipei, the show closes on 21 February 2010 (closed on Mondays and CNY).

The Taipei Fine Art Museum

Cultural Melting Bath : Project for the 20th Century

Rent Collection Courtyard

Rent Collection Courtyard

Head On

Inopportune : Stage One

Reflection - A Gift from Iwaki

Lucky Draw Prizes

Rachel was particularly excited about the Lucky Draw at TFAM. The prizes are: (Week #1) A pair of return tickets to Hong Kong; ( Week #2) Tea with Cai Guo-Qiang and a signed exhibition catalogue; (Week #3) TWD $ 20,000 (approx RM 2,200) Voucher from Eslite Bookshop; (Week #4) 1 iphone 3GS; (Week #5) A pair of return tickets to New York to visit Cai Guo-Qiang’s Studio and tea with the artist at the Empire State Building. WOW!!!

To make the trip even more worthwhile, we also caught Takashi Murakami’s print show at Arki Gallery near the Taipei Main Station, which will run until April 2010. We were impressed by the Taiwanese audience’s enthusiasm for art! There were at least 3 rows of people in front of any artwork at any one time when we visited Van Gogh’s exhibition at The National Museum of History. We also had to return to MOCA Taipei twice before we had the opportunity to enter the museum as we could not bear the 2-hour ticket queue outside the museum on our first visit. Rachel managed to squeeze in time to catch the ‘Visual Attract and Attack’ at MOCA Taipei (after the 2nd attempt) and here are pictures of some of the works on show.

The 2-hour queue outside MOCA

The Queen of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Yang Moa-lin

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Yang Moa-lin

PixCell-Elk by Japanese artist Kohei Nawa

A sculpture by Takashi Murakami

Movement Age by Chen Zhiguang

Superheroes in fetus stage by Alexandre Nicolas

Baby Hulk

Baby Wonderwoman

Malaysia Boleh! It was a lovely surprise to see Chan Kok Hooi artworks here too!

(RN & AO)

Natee Utarit, The Dwarf (2008)

Who can tell us which of Snow White’s acolytes this may be?

(in Tales of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow at Richard Koh Fine Art, KL)

Oops. Yet another post about Indonesia. You must be wondering what is the matter with us Rogues. Apologies for going back on our word but it is simply beyond our control as Indonesia’s bustling art scene is far too exciting to avoid. We were away again in Jogja several weeks ago to catch Agus Suwage’s 20 year survey exhibition, “Still Crazy After All These Years”. It was an exhibition we could not miss as this show presented a rare opportunity to view a number of Suwage’s most important works from local private collections as well as from the artist’s personal collection.

Locally known as Agus Suwage’s birthday show –the artist had just turned 50 earlier in April, “Still Crazy After All These Years” is one the most comprehensive solo exhibitions the region has seen so far.  News about this project’s grand ambition (and hefty price tag) to bring together over 100 works from different parts of Indonesia as well as making the necessary improvements to the exhibition space had spread through the grapevine for over 6 months, putting further pressure on Suwage’s exhibition team and curator to put together perhaps the most amazing show Indonesia has ever seen.

And what is the verdict?

This show is definitely worth the trip. It is truly impressive and cleverly planned, charting the artist’s development in a clear and concise manner. The works were laid out chronologically according to major themes, taking the audience through Suwage’s 20 year journey as we witness his artistic explorations and personal obsessions. From early self-portraiture to address a wide spectrum of issues from society, politics to the personal, to the artist’s agile appropriation and reinterpretation of performance art documentation, his love affair with music, and lately ruminations of Death, the show reflects the artist’s consistency, the breadth and depth of his focus, his incredible wit and playful mischief.

On opening night, Suwage played host to nearly 2000 guests and well wishers from Indonesia and beyond. Despite several black-outs and the unexpectedly huge turn out –front of house was forced to turn away people at midnight, “Still Crazy After All These Years” has earned its place in contemporary Indonesian art history as a landmark exhibition.

Here are among RogueArt’s top picks from the exhibition (in no particular order):

And Rachel’s personal favourite:

Also, we would like to give a Rogue thumbs up to exhibition curator Enin Supriyanto and salute the formidable Titarubi and the rest of the team at iCAN for a fantastic a job well done! (AO)

“Still Crazy After All These Years”
(Selected works : 1985 - 2009)
curated by Enin Supriyanto
4 - 31 July 2009 at Jogja National Museum
Jl Amri Yahya No. 1

Find out more about the exhibition at www.agusuwage.com

Sigh. We love Teddy’s Love Tank.

S. Teddy D’s Love Tank (The Temple) is on view from now until Sunday, 4th October 2009 at Level 1, Rotunda, National Museum of Singapore.

Admission is FREE. (AO)

We made another pilgrimage down to Singapore’s NUS Museum a couple of weekends ago (yes, I am a bit late) for the opening of Ahmad Zakii Anwar’s new solo exhibition, Being. We were part of a sizable Malaysian contingent, all patriotically heading down to support one of our art world heroes.

Reclining Figure 1

In the ten large-scale charcoal drawings which make up the exhibition, I think it would not be too much to say that Ahmad Zakii seems to have elevated the tradition of the nude drawing to some higher plane - a physical sublime, or a spiritual classicism. This male figure, standing, seated, reclining, seems a contemporary answer to that extraordinary human being presented by the Renaissance masters, a sort of David for today, of different proportions, much as the artist himself would resist such grand comparisons.

Standing Figure 12

Standing Figure 14

Throughout Ahmad Zakii’s work, we are aware of an inherent spiritualism, an interest in humanism, in Islamic, especially Sufi teachings, and Eastern philosophy. For me, though, it is in this new body of drawings that his ideas find their most precise and powerful expression to date. It is as if each taut sinew, shadow of muscle, burnish of hair, and protruding vein pulses with what drives man’s life, and also with what destroys it. The poses, or ’self-presentations’ seem to reference yoga positions, and even, as mentioned by Patrick Flores in the catalogue, “Zakii’s fascination with epic heroes in ersatz western films”. Man here, as expressed purely by his body, is heroic, fragile, awkward, beautiful….

…. before I try to write a gushing review, I urge you to try to catch this show. The drawings are particularly breathtaking as they are presented here, in a museum setting with much room for pause and meditation. The exhibition ends 7 June.

Also on at NUS 9-31 May, Spacing Identities: J Ariadhitya Pramuhendra which looks like it could be interesting.

In Singapore, I also spent a very enjoyable afternoon at SAM (Singapore Art Museum), and came out determined not to do any neighbour-bashing for at least a month. It reminded me of leisurely winter weekends in London and Paris in my ‘youth’, where I could seek refuge from the dark and the cold in museums and galleries and happily while four hours away looking at interesting, beautiful, clever and educational things, both strange and familiar.

SAM has very adequate air-conditioning as a reprieve from the equatorial heat. I began with the star exhibition of Wu Guanzhong’s donation of 113 works to SAM which covered rooms on three floors - finding it quite wonderful that this mainland essayist, theorist and oil painter began working in Chinese ink only at the age of 55, and  with such emancipated gusto.

I then thoroughly enjoyed the “PC” show on exhibit (PC - Permanent Collection) - Earth & Water: Mapping Art in Southeast Asia, which created a pretty compelling narrative of seas, rivers, river-crossings and land from early pioneer, modern and contemporary regional works in the collection. It was a good opportunity to revisit some key favourite works bagged by SAM as well as get a peek at some new acquisitions. I was glad to see Jakapan Vilaseenakul’s Mid-Life Crisis installed - it seems particularly resonant now with its slow but cunning crocodiles and watchful crows. PC works were also used in a modest show called Threads, exploring the use of fabric and fibres in art making, where I said hello to Mella Jaarsma’s exotic skin costumes. It’s good to know that the region’s creative output is not disappearing entirely into cold storage or secretive private hands. Thank you SAM.

There was also a show documenting a performance festival “Ket-Noi” for Singaporean and Vietnamese artists held at SMU (Singapore Management University) last year, during the Post Doi-Moi. I ended with a visit to the show of another Malaysian art hero: Latiff Mohidin: The Journey to Wetlands and Beyond, which featured a very important collection of this great poet and painter’s drawings recently donated by a Singaporean collector to SAM. A book comes out soon. It is a fortunate institution that can put up two major donations on exhibition at once.

We made a last stop at the Christian Lacroix exhibition at the National Museum, and this is where we really thought - “Oh why can’t we have this in KL?” A show which would be at home in the V&A, exploring that fabulous fashion icon’s work with opera, ballet and theatre, complete with flying tutus, in a pretty grand museum space. If you’re heading down to Singapore, this is a must-see, especially if you have young dancing daughters, or sons with creative flair.

Costumes for Carmen

Exhibition View

As begrudging neighbours we like to think that Singapore pours all this money into the arts, but they can’t force creativity out of their nation (just look at all the Malaysian content, patriots will say). I now beg to disagree - the children of Singapore get to grow up enjoying weird and wonderful modern and contemporary art from Southeast Asia, and even China and India, and the wild influential creations of someone like Christian Lacroix first hand, presented as spectacle but with all sorts of educational collaterals. They get culture on tap (and it’s mostly free, and undersubscribed) and they will grow up enriched. We can’t boast that now, can we? We can only cross the causeway for that occasional fix.

(BY)

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)

A long desire from this corner, 2008-2009, polyester resin, cotton and kapok, 80 x 440 x 25 cm

Yes, we know. We have been a little “Indonesian heavy” with our recent posts. Apologies if this seems a little one-sided as it is impossible to ignore the inspiring bursts of creative energies coming from our neighbouring country. Here are pictures from Indonesian sculptor Yuli Prayitno’s latest solo exhibition at Nadi Gallery in Jakarta. Titled ” I Love…”, this show has been delayed for nearly 2 years as Yuli, who is somewhat of an obsessive compulsive/perfectionist, launched into control freak mode and decided to make everything on his own. Nevertheless, the quality speaks for itself; the time taken to make each object contributes to the value of the work. Fine finishing, beautiful treatment of material and form, a witty imagination and sardonic humour are some of the reasons why this exhibition should not be missed.

I can't get now satisfaction, 2007-2009, wood, 47 x 260 x 42 cm

Love in Blue, 2007-2009, Polyurethane resin and silver, 100 x 100 x 20 cm

Yuli Prayitno’s “I Love…” opens from April 1-13, 2009 at Nadi Gallery, Jl. Kembang Indah III, Blok G3 No. 4-5, Puri Indah, Jakarta 11610.  We’ll try to keep our next post non-Indonesia related. Promise. (AO)

It is talks season and we are busy preparing powerpoint presentations, reading lists, website links and so on. Beverly will be presenting a 3-part talk series “An Introduction to Contemporary Art in Malaysia” at Galeri Petronas starting this evening while I am preparing “Current Developments in Contemporary Southeast Asian Art” for Asia Art Forum in Hong Kong this coming May.

The organisers have requested that I put together a ‘further reading list’ for those interested in Southeast Asian art. Unfortunately, publishing is not our region’s forte but there are a few valuable gems and references. Here they are in chronological order:

Indonesian Contemporary Art Now
By Marc Bollansee and Enin Supriyanto
SNP Editions, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789812481429

Between Generations: 50 Years Across Modern Art in Malaysia
Beverly Yong and Hasnul J Saidon (editors)
Universiti Malaya Press, Universiti Sains Malaya Press & Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2007
ISBN: 983861348

Contemporary Art in Singapore
With Essays by Russell Storer, Gunalan Nadarajan and Eugene Tan
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Singapore, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789810564612
(Note: ICA Singapore is a part of LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts)

Telah Terbit (Out Now): Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Practices during the 1970s
Ahmad Mashadi
Singapore Art Museum, 2006
(Note: This is an exhibition guide and does not qualify as a book but the introduction essay for this show is insightful and really worth the read)

Art and Social Change: Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific
Caroline Turner (editor)
Pandanus Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 1740760468

Protest: Revolutionary Art in the Philippines, 1970-1990
By Alice Guillermo
University of Philippines Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 9715421679

Exploring Modern Indonesian Art: The Collection of Dr. Oei Hong Djien
By Helena Spanjaard & Oei Hong Djien
SNP Editions, 2004
ISBN-13:  9789812480101

Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art
By Steven Pettifor
Thavibu Gallery, 2003
ISBN-10:  9749173767

Image to Meaning: essays on Philippine Art
By Alice Guillermo
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001
ISBN: 9715503764

Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions, Tensions
Essays by by Apinan Poshyananda, Thomas McEveilley, Geeta Kapur, Jim Supangkat, Marian Pastor Roces, Jae-Ryung Roe
Asia Society, 1997
ISBN-10: 0878480838

Modern Asian Art
By John Clark
University of Hawaii Press, 1998
ISBN-10: 9057040417

Southeast Asian Art Today
Joyce Fenema (editor)
Roeder Publications, 1996
ISBN-10: 9810060025

Vision and Idea - Relooking Modern Malaysian Art
T.K Sabapathy (editor)
National Art Gallery (Malaysia), 1994
ISBN-10: 9839572016
(Note: This book is unfortunately out of print but you can find it in some libraries in Malaysia and Singapore)

Modern Art in Thailand: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
By Apinan Poshyananda
Oxford University Press, 1992
ISBN-13: 9780195885620

UPDATED NOTE: It seems I have overlooked another key publication. Please also check out

Indonesian Women Artists: The Curtain Opens
by Carla Bianpoen, Farah Wardani Et Al
Yayasan Seni Rupa Indonesia, 2007
ISBN-13:  9789791656207

I apologise as these titles may not be readily available at your local bookshops but for those of you interested (and living in Kuala Lumpur), do visit the resource room at Valentine Willie Fine Art if you feel like browsing. For those keen to purchase these books, I believe Select Bookstore in Singapore stocks a number of titles, or feel free to email us contact@rogueart.asia and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Also, I’d like to bring to your attention “Figuring The Times: Philippine Paintings 1996 - 2009, A Selection from the Paulino Que Collection”. This catalogue documents a small selection of works from Mr. Paulino Que’s vast collection. It was launched in conjunction with an exhibition sharing the same title on March 13th at Finale Art File, a highly anticipated show among the locals as Mr. Que is one of Manila’s most renowned and well-respected collectors. Exhibition ends April 3rd. For those of you in Manila, this show is not to be missed. Seriously. This is truly a rare opportunity to view some stunning Pinoy paintings from Mr. Que’s collection as this serious collector is somewhat ’shy’ and does not make a habit of receiving guests regularly at home. (AO)

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)

Wiyoga Muhardanto, Buy One Get One Free

Our favourite at this year’s Jakarta Biennale, ARE(N)A (see previous post). Aptly located near the new Harvey Nichols store at Grand Indonesia mall.