Art Jakarta 2022

Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) is pleased to announce its participation in Art Jakarta 2022 with the group presentation of three Malaysian artists; Joshua Kane Gomes (b. 1993), Justin Lim (b. 1983), Yeoh Choo Kuan (b. 1988). The presentation will comprise of new acrylic paintings and mixed media sculptures from the artists.

In Gomes’s new body of work, the artist navigates the pitfalls of unhealthy dependencies within relationships, particularly the evolution of distant infatuation into all-consuming delusions of intimacy. These themes are explored through a voyeuristic point-of-view, in relation to the mythos of the Wendigo, a cannibalistic spirit cursed into existence of constant starvation, driven only by the hunger of an ever-increasing appetite. While morbid in a thematic sense, the sculptures underplay their ghoulish inspiration, hiding behind shades of pastels and innocuous expressions, a meld of grim desires against dreamlike delirium.

In tandem with dreamlike landscapes, Lim’s new works are an extension of his ongoing series in which the artist adopts a pensive stance during times of isolation and social change. The works reflect a degree of surreal reality, a juxtaposition of the real and unreal, an ambiguity that Lim strives in his paintings to allow himself space to ponder and look inward in the hopes of arriving at some state of resolution, and most importantly, to make sense of his place in the modern world.

Yeoh presents two previously unseen works from his iconic Streaming Mountain series specifically from his 2019-2020 period. The works are emotionally charged with Yeoh’s personal experiences. Yeoh employs different expressive techniques to express his admiration for frontline fighters and heroes in his personal life, including a dripping style which has become synonymous with this series. The two works are representative of Yeoh’s overall artistic practice in which art becomes a conduit of interaction between himself and his current surroundings.

This presentation comes together as a reminder of the complexities of contemporary life, specifically during these times of social anxiety. Colourful and playful the façade of an individual may seem, but the undercurrents are usually ominous and a constant struggle for acceptance.

Joshua Kane Gomes (b.1993, Malaysia) primarily engages themes of identity and space in his art practice. Documenting his mental processes and states through the art-making process, Joshua peeks into the grey areas between cold rationality and sentimental sensibility. He often works with sculptures and installations that leverage oevoking mood and atmosphere, be it through a form or material language.

In his current body of work, Joshua focuses on captured moments of vulnerability with a sprinkle of levity, stemmed from the artist’s musings during periods of isolation. The works are the product of time spent lost in thought, wandering his own mindscape, the hazy recollections of sluggish days that blur into one another.

Justin Lim (b.1983, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) completed his postgraduate studies in 2006 with the Master of Art (Fine Art) program by The Open University UK conducted at Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore after obtaining a BA(Hons) Fine Art majoring in painting. He has exhibited widely in Southeast Asia in various solo & group exhibitions and was the recipient of the 2008 Malaysia-Australia Visual Artist Residency at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia.

He has since held residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, USA (2011 – Asian Artist Fellowship/ Freeman Fellowship), Red Gate Gallery Beijing (2013 – Khazanah Nasional Artist Residency), and The Tasmanian College of the Arts, the University of Tasmania, Australia (2016 – International Artist in residence). Selected group exhibitions include the Asian Art Biennale: Viewpoints & Viewing points, Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (2009), Modern Love, Earl Lu Gallery / Institute of Contemporary Art, Singapore (2015), Asia Young 36 / Asia Contemporary, a survey of contemporary Asian art practices, Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Jeonju, South Korea (2016) and Contemporary Chaos, curated by Demetrio Paparoni, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway (2018).

He currently lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Yeoh Choo Kuan (b.1988, Malaysia) lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His practice articulates the tension between a spiritual élan and the magnetism of desire, violence and the flesh. The natural landscape and the overload of information are extremes of a spectrum he embraces and represents in all its contradictions. With abstract painting as a strong foundation, he has in the latest years transcended into the conceptual realm of installation. His explorations of different artistic domains meet a sheer enjoyment of textures, mark making, and disintegration of the pictorial matter.

The biographical, psychological and emotional element is always his point of departure, leading then into visual reflections on our shared socio-political realm.

Solo exhibitions include: Today’s Special (2020), Richard Koh Fine Art Singapore; Streaming Mountain (2019), Richard Koh Fine Art Singapore; Lights In (2018), Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok; Live Leak (2017), Richard Koh Fine Art Malaysia; Private Sentiment (2012), House of Matahati, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.