Bangkok--1 Oct--Total Quality PR
Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) is pleased to announce Malaysian artist Justin Lim's (b.1983) highly anticipated solo exhibition in Malaysia. Planet Shangri-La is scheduled to run from 11 – 26 October 2019 at Richard Koh Fine Art, 229, Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar 59000, Kuala Lumpur. The artist will present 12 new acrylic paintings on canvas.
In Planet Shangri-La, Lim continues his research into the various depictions of Utopia throughout history and art. In his previous exhibition, Honey Trap Arcadia (2017), Lim referred to great western depictions, and as an extension of this, the artist has widened his research into Eastern interpretations of paradise, particularly through oriental mythology paintings and traditional blue and white porcelain. Hence, the series is identified by a distinctive Dutch blue.
A hallmark of Lim's practice is his keen sensitivity of colour and understanding of its politics within human psyche and social history. In this exhibition, Lim examines the notion of the 'art object' via the juxtaposition of specific colour markers, closely associated with precious commodity prized by both Western and Eastern royals. Laced in his familiar tongue-in-cheek commentary, the series is somewhat conceptually ironic; venerated as a 'precious' object, yet simultaneously, it is a testament to human's neglect of the natural environment and the artist longing for a utopia. As explained by Lim, "In a way, I am documenting my outlook and sentiment on the state of the world and trying to find beauty in between the bleakness and discomfort of the human condition." There is a strong sense of melancholy within its narrative and Lim expresses this via his depiction of underwater landscapes with coral and flowers, void of human intervention, providing hints that a non-human infested world is probably what Shangri-La, an earthly paradise looks like.
Justin Lim (b. 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) completed his postgraduate studies in 2006 with a Master of Art(Fine Art) degree from The Open University UK conducted at Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore and has a BA(Hons) Fine Art majoring in painting. He was the recipient of the 2008 Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia and participated in the 2009 Asian Art Biennial held at the Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Asian Artist Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center, USA and the 2012 Khazanah Nasional Artist Residency hosted by Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China. In 2016, he exhibited in Asia Young 36, a survey of young contemporary art practices in Asia at the Jeonbuk Museum of Art in South Korea and was also the International artist in residence at The Tasmanian College of the Arts, University of Tasmania, Australia. He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Founded in 2005, with spaces in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore, Richard Koh Fine Art is committed to the promotion of Southeast Asian contemporary art on regional and international platforms. Centred around a core belief in developing an artist's career, the gallery looks to identify understated, albeit promising practices, and providing it opportunities to flourish. Through its regular exhibition cycles, print & digital publications and cross-border gallery collaborations, Richard Koh Fine Art engages the art community with the aim of developing regional and intercultural dialogue.