Bangkok--10 Sep--TQPR
Elysian Fields
HAFFENDI ANUAR & SINTA TANTRA
6 - 25 September 2018
Richard Koh Fine Art
229, Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar
59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) is pleased to announce a two-person exhibition entitled Elysian Fields, an upcoming exhibition by British Balinese artist Sinta Tantra and Malaysian artist Haffendi Anuar scheduled to run from 6 – 25 September 2018 at Richard Koh Fine Art, 229, Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar 59100, Kuala Lumpur. The exhibition will present a series of paintings and sculptures by both artists. The Opening Reception will take place on Thursday, 6 September, from 5 – 8 pm.
Both London trained, Haffendi Anuar and Sinta Tantra produce works across mediums, Sinta will present a series of minimalist and color paintings made with tempera while Haffendi will showcase a series of sculptures from his latest works.
Sinta responds and records space through color and geometry, her minimalist paintings capture Buckminster Fuller's utopian instructive diagrams, stripped down to emphasize on the immense potential and imaginative possibilities that a simple line could offer. Coming together like an architectural blueprint, these geometric abstraction paintings are the artist's contemplations towards the function of spaces. Contrasted against a series of vibrant color paintings, Sinta tunes it up a notch with a playful nod to disco. Inspired by Italian singer Rafaella Carrà and American Singer Sylvester (James Jr.), these paintings capture the spirit of a modernist composition of colors and spliced-circles to emphasize the importance of balancing music and color in her life, given her training in classical music and passion for jazz.
Setting sail for his residency with ACME Studios, London, Haffendi produces object-based sculptures that repurpose found everyday objects and materials. Ranked among the worlds most biodiverse countries, Haffendi is inspired by the color, exoticism, and of tropical plants found in Malaysia. His sculptures are constructed from broken-up terracotta flower pots and decorative ceramics to respond to the forms of indigenousplants such as the pitcher plants, orchids, and Rafflesia. Painted in a single color, his sculptures straddle between abstract and figurative silhouettes, questioning the roles of the interior and exterior that correspond with our idea of spaces.
Elysian Fields presents recent works by two artists constantly pushing boundaries within their practice by running parallel inquisitions. Their work positions contemporary practices of the "new world" through engaging spaces and the unfolding of circumstances around them.
Haffendi Anuar (b. 1985, Malaysia) is an artist based in Kuala Lumpur. He produces sculptures, paintings, and drawings. He did his International Baccalaureate certificate in art at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, his foundation at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence and his BA Honors at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Haffendi's multidisciplinary practice examines how countries in Southeast Asia "progress" or develop through culture and technological advancements, linking these notions of progress and modernity to the natural process of organic growth in the natural world. Mining history of art, digital technology, nature, and local contexts, he creates object-based works that recycle found images, objects and artistic styles from digital and local sources.
The British artist of Balinese descent, Sinta Tantra was born in New York in 1979. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London 1999-2003 and at the Royal Academy Schools London 2004-06. She was awarded the inaugural Bridget Riley Drawing Fellow at The British School at Rome (2017). Regarded for her site-specific murals and installations in the public realm, commissions include; Facebook London(2018); Folkestone Triennial (2017) Newnham College, Cambridge University (2016); Songdo South Korea (2015); Royal British Society of Sculptors (2013); Liverpool Biennial (2012); Southbank Centre (2007). Tantra's most notable public work includes a long painted bridge commissioned for the 2012 Olympics, Canary Wharf, London.
Richard Koh Fine Art has been in operation since 2005 and is regarded as a pioneer for introducing Asian contemporary art to Malaysia and the region. Promoting an adventurous roster of emerging and established artists, the gallery regularly mounts exhibitions locally and abroad with a commitment to emerging practices and challenging media.
For further information about the exhibition, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Low at +6016 217 5112 or the gallery at
[email protected] / +6 03 2095 3300.
All images are subject to copyright.