ESPI FINE ARTS

KALAM: IMPRESSIONS OF CALLIGRAPHY

Date 15^th of August 2009 to 18^th of September

Venue Galeri Chandan

15, Jalan Gelenggang

Bukit Damansara

50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Website www.galerichandan.com

www.qalam.com.my

www.espifinearts.blogspot.com

In the spirit of Ramadan 2009, Galeri Chandan and ESPI Fine Arts will host a group exhibition entitled KALAM: IMPRESSIONS OF CALLIGRAPY organized to pay tribute to the late Mohammad Din Mohammad and Ahmad Khalid Yusof. Both artists are modern Malaysian calligraphers. Their brightly colored canvases will be displayed among diverse Islamic calligraphy-influenced works by fellow artistic comrades such as Ahmad Zakii Anuar, Yusof Ghani and practicing contemporary calligraphers that are posthumously acquainted with Mohammad Din, such as Shukor Yahya and Husin Hourmain. The exhibition is chiefly curated by Yusof Ghani, a prominent senior and contributing artist, Ghani will display his knowledge on regional Malaysian art and his interest in modern Islamic calligraphy practice. The show is intended to serve as a medium to remember the contributions by the late Mohammad Din Mohammad and Ahmad Khalid Yusof to the practice of Islamic calligraphy in Malaysia. Both of the honored artists were among the early Malaysians to concentrate on calligraphy for the bulk of their artistic careers.

The launch of the exhibition is on the 15^th of August at 5 pm at Galeri Chandan and a Buka Puasa alongside a Tarawikh and Tahlil session will be held in the exhibition space on the 25^th of August.

Intro and intention

Qalam, in Arabic means a type of mark making tool, composed of dried reed used for writing calligraphy. In the modern Islamic languages, it simply means “pen”. Islamic calligraphy, or ornamental writing, has emerged in the Malaysian art setting for some time, and has nestled itself comfortably in many homes and museum collections. Contemporary Muslim artists in Malaysia have taken a step further by combining indigenous culture (Silat and witchdoctors), nature and modern dialogue into their work. Verses from the Qur’an and Arabic characters depicting Malay poetry are fused with geometric design, arabesque and the sense of mystery derived from Nusantara myths and local folklore. The works of Modern Malaysian calligraphy characterize by expressive play of paint, experimentation of the strokes of the characters, infusion of regional culture into the practice and motifs, differ greatly from Traditional calligraphy, which is a controlled practice with great emphasis on exact depiction of characters. Sufism, which is the introverted and mystical dimension of Islam, serves as an artistic and pious rubric for artists involved in the calligraphy practice. Sufists believe by indulging, writing and memorizing verses form the Quran, their soul will be lifted and brings them closer to Allah.

Qalam showcases 37 works in the exhibition. Majority of the paintings on display will be of Mohammad Din Mohammad’s (16 paintings) and Ahmad Khalid Yusof’s (6 paintings). Works by the contemporary artists that are influenced by Islamic calligraphy are (3 paintings) by Ahmad Zakii Anuar, (7 edition prints) by Yusof Ghani, (5 paintings) by Shukor Yahya and (5 paintings) by Husin Hourmain.

Artists

The late Mohammad Din Mohammad, born in Malacca, on the 24^th of May, 1955 – 2007, was a Singapore-based artist who was also a one-time theater performer, Silat guru and a practitioner of alternative medicine and spiritual healing. Din Mohammad studied art at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1976. He has held 20 solo exhibitions from 1978 to 2006. A widely exhibited artist with international acclaim, Din Mohammad also participated in a two months residency in Paris in 2002 which resulted in a solo exhibition at Atelier Annette Huster, Paris, France. Din Mohammad’s paintings combine elements of action-painting, bold strokes and the act of painting with his bare hands, indigenous mysticism, knowledge of traditional medicine and nature, and Islamic calligraphy. Din’s energetic colorful landscapes and Islamic calligraphy works brim with primordial energy, thick straight-from-the-tube acrylic melt in a cacophony of lines, colors and shapes. Rough surfaces and thick layered paint swirl in all directions, the paint intimately pushed around the surface of the canvas with the artist’s fingers. Din caressed the Jawi script with ardent respect and grave concentration, forming simple and powerful verses believed by the artist to hold talismanic properties. An artist obsessed with the mystical and spiritual, Din is an avid collector of local aboriginal art, Nusantara paraphernalia such as krises and ancient coins, as well as natural objects that are said to contain talismanic magical qualities.

The late Ahmad Khalid Yusof was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1934 and passed away in 1997. He studied Art and Design in the UK and obtained his Masters in Fine Art and Art Education in the USA. He returned to Malaysia to teach as Principal Lecturer at the School of Art and Design, ITM. Khalid Yusof’s poetic jawi works, modern in their finish and approach, aptly illustrate the merging of Malay culture and traditional Islamic calligraphy. Love poems in jawi are painted in an all-over composition on mono-colored backgrounds, particularly concerned on the theme of space as well as hinting at contemporary art practice.

Ahmad Zakii Anwar was born in Johor Bahru in 1955. He is a graduate of the School of Art and Design, MARA Institute of Technology, Malaysia. A well exhibited artist who’s main repertoire include figures, still-lifes, landscapes and juxtaposed objects in a minimal and calm setting. Attentively and delicately rendered images are often placed singularly in a stark empty setting, exuding a humming visual noise. Zakii and Din Mohammad were artistic companions.

Yusof Ghani was born in 1950, in Johor. Originally a graphic artist, Ghani’s transition to fine arts started when he received a loan to study graphic design in the States. However, while in the U.S, the calling to paint became irresistible, Abstract Expressionism serves as a catalyst for Ghani’s artistic development. Dancers (Tari), exotic masks (Topeng), nature (Hijau), moving figures (Segerak and Wajah) and pugnacious roosters (Biring) dominate the painted world of Yusof Ghani. Muscular strokes, hot and bold colors, rough textures and quick-assured lines compose semi-abstract figures that jump and whirl-pool in energy-charged compositions. Qalam serves as a point of departure for Ghani, diving into pure abstraction, the Islamic calligraphy verses melt on the canvas, feeling each character’s strokes, Ghani exaggerate the flow of the brush. Different consistencies of oil paint are smeared, poured and nudged, creating a jangling atmosphere. Structure and chaos, raw masculine energy is put on display in the monstrous canvasses.

Shukor Yahya, was a graphic artist and had worked in various advertising agency before committing full-time to Art. Yahya’s geometric calligraphy paintings take advantage of the hard-edged and rigid nature of the square kufie and apply modern art practice in the choice of color and composition. Savvy design sensibilities balance Pop-inspired colors and centered compositions to create serene yet playful pictures for the purpose of contemplation. In some pieces, edible colored squares twitter on Pollock inspired ground while more geometric and controlled pieces exude introvert tranquility. Random, erratic surfaces pierce through hard-edged square kufie, between order and disorder. His paintings serve as a vessel to carry the words of Allah.

Husin Hourmain, born in 1963, Perak, studied Graphic Design at the Malaysia Institute of Art, Kuala Lumpur in 1982 and is a self-taught artist. Hourmain worked as an Art Director until 2001, which while working as a Visual Merchandising Manager and Creative Consultant, he began to paint seriously. In 2003, he quits his steady job and ventured into Art. Hourmain abstract works combine elements of Abstract Expressionism with arabesque design. Hundreds of obsessively painted jawi scriptures are thrown into cluttered compositions, while in quantity, they form discernible basic characters such as ta, ba and sa. Harmonious and symphonic, the chaotic placements of the scripts renders them almost unrecognizable, thus transforming them into an orchestra of dynamic lines that swoosh and tangle into each other. The surfaces are heavily worked, profusely layered, giving a sense of physicality to the pieces.

Catalogue

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full color catalogue published by Galeri Chandan and ESPI Fine Arts. This richly illustrated catalogue serves as a documentation of the exhibition and includes artists’ biographies with writings by prominent National Laureate Datuk A. Samad Said, Qalam chief curator and contributing artist Yusof Ghani, and artist/writer, Haffendi Anuar.

Dates and opening hours

The opening of the exhibition: 15^th of August 2009 at 5 pm.

Exhibition ends: 18^th of September 2009

Buka puasa, Tarawikh and Tahlil session: 25^th August, 2009

Galeri Chandan is open from Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Admission is Free.