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

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.

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.

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

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.

We’ve just received our e-invites to Agus Suwage’s solo exhibition in Yogya and we would like to encourage anyone who is popping by to Yogya within the month of July to make a point to catch this show at Jogja National Museum. I heard from the grapevine that it is going to be one of the most amazing shows ever to be mounted in Yogya!!

Agus Suwage: Crazy After All These Years
Exhibition runs from 4 to 31 July 2009
Jogja National Museum
Jl. Amri Yahya (Gampingan) No. 1
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

We’ve recently returned from a quick trip to Yogya and Beverly had her first experience of attending a typical Yogyakarta art exhibition opening (with lewd comedy skits and artists singing and dancing). The said exhibition was “Rai Gedheg” (meaning “Shameless” in Java) at Bentara Budaya (23 June - 3 July) and will tour to Jakarta, Malang and Surabaya. Again, the artwork that I like “Lelah” by Agapetus Kristiandana has something to do with my collection of pigs… ☺. I was very amazed with the detailing - right down to the cardboard paper that the artist used to display the sculpture.

A typical art exhibition opening party in Yogyakarta

“Lelah” by Agapetus Kristiandana

“Seperti Chaplin” by Hedi Hariyanto

We heard that Bob Sick and S Teddy D were having an opening on the 24th but we were already leaving so we decided to preview the exhibition at Taman Budaya when we popped over to Malioboro the next morning. It is a pretty amazing showcase – Bob Sick made new paintings, S Teddy showed some of his old objects with new sculptures. I especially liked General, “Platoon, better you die? Ok!”.

General, “Platoon, better you die! OK?” by S Teddy D

“Show me the way to the next bridge” by S Teddy D

“The Farmer’s name is Hulk” by Bob Sick

“Black Gold” by Bob Sick

L-R: “Lady Coffee”, “White Lotus”, “Black Buddha”, “Meja Hijau” by Bob Sick

Opening night

The opening of Personal Effects, our first exhibition project for 2009, on 30 May was a roaring success. We were really happy to see so many of our friends from the art world and beyond come to the show. Thanks all for your support. Thank you especially to the exhibitors for being so forthcoming. I hope in the end they rather enjoyed having their prized possessions on display.

Jalaini Abu Hasan & Jaslena Amir setting up

Hayati Mokhtar, with Attachments

The first floor was a great crowd-pleaser, especially with the younger guests - they really took to Su Ann Wong’s shrine “The Dolphin is My Goddess” and Chang Yoong Chia’s clever shadow play “Shadow of Flora and Fauna”. Wong Hoy Cheong’s “Free Coffee” was also very popular, attracting such luminaries as Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal and his wife Datin Hamidah.

Free Coffee, served in person by Wong Hoy Cheong

Su Ann Wong, The Dolphin is My Goddess

Iqbal Pakhruddin with Shadow of Flora & Fauna

We apologise now for not having many photos of the night - sadly, while the crowd was wonderfully respectful of the fragility and preciousness of the exhibits, my camera went missing at the end of the night. If you came for the opening, please do post any nice images you may have!

For more about the show, and to download the PDF catalogue, go to our Exhibitions Page.

BY

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)

Gosh, weeks have gone by since our last post! May has been a hectic and exciting month for RogueArt. I was away for the first two weeks –in Singapore, Jakarta and then 9 days in Hong Kong to be a part of Asia Art Forum and attend Art HK09, while the second half of the month was spent running around getting ready for our show Personal Effects, which opened on Saturday 30th May. Please check our exhibitions page for our recently uploaded e-catalogue of the show.

To prove that we have been busy, here are some shots from the well reviewed Art HK09 (Hong Kong International Art Fair) held from 14-17 May 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Despite the slowing down art market, N1H1 flu alerts and precautions, Art HK09 has proven itself as Asia’s ‘to-watch’ art fair. The presence of blue-chip galleries such as Gagosian Gallery, White Cube, Lisson Gallery with their stellar artists clearly states Art HK has the edge to give other Asian art fairs a run for their money, and should to be taken very seriously.

Apart from the “Backroom Conversations” hosted by Asia Art Archive during Art HK09, other major corollary events include SCMP | ART FUTURES, a showcase of emerging artists from around the world sponsored by South China Morning Post. Christine Ay Tjoe’s typewriter installation, “Panoroma Without Distance” was selected by a panel of judges and critics as the winner of this year’s showcase.

For reviews about Art HK09, do check here and here. (AO)

Starched shirts installation along the hallway to the convention hall

Julian Opie (Lisson Gallery)

Julian Opie (Lisson Gallery)

Julian Opie’s View of Matsuzaki Bay in the rain, from route 136 (Lisson Gallery)

Winston Roeth, Easy Lover

Bea Valdes’ Longhorn presented by Silverlens Gallery

Asia Art Archive’s Build Your Dream Museum booth

A special presentation of Anthony Gormley’s sculptures by White Cube

Marc Quinn’s Microcosmoss (Victory) (White Cube)

Damien Hirst (White Cube)

Gilbert & George (White Cube)

Gabriel Barredo at Soka Art Center

Konstantin Bessmertny, Monument to Anyone presented by Amelia Johnson Contemporary

Choi So Young (CAIS Gallery)

Tang Gallery booth detail

Tatsuo Miyajima presented by Scai The Bathhouse

Shi Jindian, Osage Gallery booth

Sarah Lucas/Olivier Garbay, LOVE IS A BIRD LOVE IS A BURDEN at Other Criteria

Christine Ay Tjoe’s “Panaroma without Distance”, winner of the SCMP | ART FUTURES section at Art HK09