Carlo Gabuco(b. 1981, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines) studied fine art (majoring in painting) at Philippine Women’s University.
A visual artist and independent photographer, his work dives deep into societal, historical, and developmental themes. His body of work, spanning both photography and painting, explores the complexities of power, history, religion, and societal change.
His ongoing, multidisciplinary projects delve into the intricate interplay between personal narratives and societal structures, offering a profound and nuanced perspective on the complexities of the human experience within broader social contexts.
His paintings and photographs have been exhibited in multiple countries. In 2008, he held a residency at HOM Art Trans in Kuala Lumpur. He was awarded a Magnum Foundation Fund Grant in 2017, and won the 13 Artists Award from the Cultural Centre of the Philippines in 2018. In 2019, he was a fellow at the Magnum Foundation Social Justice Fellowship and Photography in New York. He lives and works in Manila.
Chan Kok Hooi(b. 1974, Penang, Malaysia) studied fine art at Malaysian Institute of Art, graduating in 1996.
He tries to see things in different ways, combining his observations with his imagination to explore various aspects of lives and objects, as well as the depth of human psyches. Constantly experimenting with various materials and subject matters, he continues to seek different possibilities for his paintings and the deeper meanings of life and existence.
He was among the top five winners of the Philip Morris Malaysia ASEAN Art Awards in 2003, and won a Jury Award at National Art Gallery Malaysia’s Young Contemporaries in 2007. He has held residencies at Vermont Studio Centre (Freeman Foundation Asian Artists Fellowship, 2007), Malihom, Penang (2007), and Red Gate Gallery, Beijing (Galeri PETRONAS International Visual Arts Residency, 2008). He has exhibited widely in Asia, as well as in the UK and USA. He lives and works in Penang.
Chang Yoong Chia(b. 1975, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) studied fine art (majoring in painting) at Malaysian Institute of Art, graduating in 1996. He was a founding member of now defunct artist-run space and collective Spacekraft in 1999.
He explores different kinds of materials but with the sensibility of a painter. Focusing on the intricate mix of ethnicity, religion and history in Malaysia, and stories of individuals living there, he turns these into artworks that tell universal stories. His works, ranging from paintings on canvas, painted animal and plant remains and household objects, stamp collages and embroidery, explore topics such as politics, religion, culture and nature. Repeated gestures and complex methods reflect a commitment to craft in which the artist’s labour adds another layer of meaning to the work. Placing importance on material, he believes that each medium has its own characteristics and symbolism thus new interpretations are conjured when found or mundane objects are transformed in an almost alchemical fashion.
Actively exhibiting locally and internationally, participations include the 3rd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (2005), Welcome to the Jungle: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia from the Collection of Singapore Art Museum (Yokohama Museum of Art/Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, 2013), Open Sea (Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, 2015) and 1st KL Biennale: Alami Belas Beloved (2017). He was a finalist for the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize 2011. He has taken part in several residency programmes, among them Rimbun Dahan (2006), JENESYS Program Sapporo Artist in Residence (2008), 1 Shanthi Road Artist Residency, Bangalore (2012) and Leipzig International Art Programme (2020). National Art Gallery Malaysia held a mid-career survey, Chang Yoong Chia: Second Life, in 2018. He lives and works in Tangkak, Johor, Malaysia.
Cheong Kiet Cheng(b. 1981, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) studied fine art at Dasein Academy of Art, graduating in 2006, after exploring journalism, photography, and drama.
Her paintings have consistently highlighted the relationship between humans and nature. The situations she creates convey overriding feelings of beauty and love, using meditative, repetitive forms, even as underlying elements of tension between the human and animal figures emphasise that imperfection is unavoidable. As an artist, she is interested in sharing positive energy through her work, rather than conforming to conventional aesthetics in art, drawing much of her inspiration from philosophy, literature, poetry, music, and theatre.
She has won several major awards and prizes over the years, including the UOB Painting of the Year Award (Malaysia) 2018, participating in the UOB-Fukuoka Asian Art Museum’s Artists Residency Programme that year. She has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Malaysia and around Asia. She lives and works in Kuala Lumpur.
Chong Kim Chiew(b. 1975, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) studied oil painting at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art. He was a member of the now dormant multidisciplinary artist collective Rumah Air Panas.
An artist and curator who enjoys the openness of art language, he works across different mediums, methods and paradigms, and believes the most critical factor in contemporary art is “attitude”. His installation works comment on the social and political environment of the exhibition sites. Seeing the meaning of materials as linked to the environment, he regards materials as being non-static but constantly fluctuating, expanding outwards and prone to being misread.
He has held several solo exhibitions and participated widely in group exhibitions in Malaysia, around Southeast Asia and internationally, including Open Sea (Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, 2015), 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2021) and Busan Biennale: We, on the Rising Wave (2022). He lives and works in Kuala Lumpur.
Chong Siew Ying(b. 1969, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) studied fine art at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts de Versailles from 1991–1995, and from 1995–1997 enrolled and taught printmaking at Atelier 63. From 2001 to 2011, her practice was based between Paris and Kuala Lumpur, after which she settled back in Malaysia.
She is an artist whose practice and philosophy are grounded in both Eastern and Western aesthetics and sensibilities. Her subject matter draws from her personal journey and growth. Her work is intuitive, with an intimacy which speaks to the senses and emotions of its viewers.
In 1999–2000, she was an early participant of the artist residency programme at Rimbun Dahan, and in 2001 received an Asian Artists Fellowship from Freeman Foundation, Vermont Studio Centre. She has held solo exhibitions in Paris, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and participated in group exhibitions internationally. She lives and works between Kuala Lumpur and Janda Baik, Pahang, Malaysia.
Chong Yan Chuah(b. 1992, Selangor, Malaysia) studied architecture at Newcastle University and then at the Architectural Association (AA) in London from 2011 to 2017. He was a co-founder and former director of international digital design studio Inferstudio (2017–2018).
He works primarily in the mediums of digital image, game art and installation art. His main interest is in our lived environments and the fictional worlds he creates, which in turn challenge our perceptions of these spaces, realities, and experiences. Inspired by the idea of an escape, each world serves as an extension of real life, or an allegory of his emotional state — rather than a creation of a new reality. The otherworldly feelings, characters, and elements that populate his digital works are results of his playful approach towards art-making, seeking to experiment around the concept of artist as explorer: one who discovers and reveals the unknown.
He held his first solo exhibition, 27 Years of Lazarian Delights, at The Back Room, Kuala Lumpur in 2020. He has taken part in exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Institute of British Architects, NTU ADM Gallery Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, and ILHAM Gallery Kuala Lumpur. He took part in Maybank Foundation’s Artist Fellowship Programme in 2023. He is director of Somnii, an art direction, digital imagination and research studio. He has based his practice between London and Kuala Lumpur since 2020.
|