WITHDRAWN GAN TEE SHENG
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WITHDRAWN GAN TEE SHENG
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ISBN 978 - 981- 09 - 0370 - 1 PAPERBACK
978 - 981- 09 - 0371 - 8 E-BOOK
KUALA LUMPUR
17 Jalan Pawang 54000 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia T +603 4251 4396 F +603 4251 4331 kl@taksu.com
TAKSU is a leading contemporary art gallery and specialist in Southeast Asia. Representing selections of fine art with distinctive urban edge, we are at the forefront of contemporary art in this region. TAKSU works to forge a platform for established and emerging artists to share their pool of creativity and knowledge through its residency programs and exhibitions. Encapsulating the true meaning of the word TAKSU; divine inspiration, energy, and spirit. Suherwan Abu Director, TAKSU Galleries
SINGAPORE
43 Jalan Merah Saga #01-72 Workloft @ Chip Bee Singapore 278115 T +65 6476 4788 F +65 6476 4787 sing@taksu.com
Essay Rachel Jenagaratnam Graphic Design Jeffrey Lim / Studio 25 Printer Unico Services Artworks & Images Š 2014 Gan Tee Sheng
BALI
W Retreat & Spa Bali Jalan Petitenget Seminyak Bali, Indonesia T +62 361 4738106 F +62 361 4738104 bali@taksu.com
This publication may be reproduced in any form for academic, editorial and/or non-commercial purposes without special permission from the artist(s) and gallery, with acknowledgement of the source. For other purposes, prior consent is needed.
the bodies outside his own
Human faces beset by lines, frowns crinkling up a forehead, and slouched bodies worn by age are all spread across Gan Tee Sheng’s latest paintings. About a dozen of them in total, Gan’s most recent works are painterly examinations of the figure and they serve as the artist’s attempt at reconnecting us with the people in society that deserve a better look. “My interest in observing human relationships and human expression has tickled my excitement into visualizing human figures. I am inspired by the forms of gesture and the expression of one’s subconscious mind” reads the artist’s statement. Picking strangers spotted on the streets of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown as his subject matter, the artist’s modus operandi has been to approach the figure along the route of realism, but with slight detours by way of grittier touches – the ‘unfinished’ or ‘disappearing edges’ of each figure is meant to project the existence of his subjects, which others are yet unaware of. The artist has enhanced this quality by placing his subjects against bleak settings. “The figures are opposed to an empty background to allow viewers to consider and contemplate one’s most inner thoughts towards the subject matters,” argues Gan. As viewers, we thus focus one hundred percent on the individual in each work. In Old Man 3, for instance, our attention traces a path from the man’s wrinkled features and down the pronounced arch of his upper back, whilst our gaze shifts between the solemn facial features of the woman in Wait, to the thumb’s up gesture that the old man offers in Good. In Elderly, we see metaphor at play, with the artist juxtaposing the portrait of the old man with a bamboo shoot – both stoic, strong, and in his mind, always overlooked. In these paintings, Gan has brought these many unnamed individuals to life with expressive brushwork that pays homage to the fleshy contours found in the works of British painters, Jenny Saville and Lucien Freud. And, whilst the artist’s works channel our thoughts towards the older segment of society that often goes unnoticed, Gan’s solo exhibition isn’t merely an exercise in looking outwards – the exhibition also presents a deep study of the personal. Among the many unnamed figures lies a portrait of the artist’s mother, as well as the artist’s self-portrait. The latter stands out as the most stylistically different of the bunch. Painted with more saturated colours and a sky blue background, the work portrays the artist burrowed in thought and channeling his faith through prayer. Still, the work The Injured Boy is the most telling of Gan’s progress as both an artist and an individual. A self-portrait of himself as a child, the painting’s palette is dominated by grey hues and mottled brushstrokes, and where most would find a sense of gaiety, the mood in this child portrait is sombre and despondent.
rachel jenagaratnam
where can i go / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm / 2014
old man 3 / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm / 2014
old man 4 / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm / 2014
old man 5 / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm / 2014
elderly / oil on canvas
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200 x 200 cm 2014
good / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm / 2014
elderly drivers / oil on canvas / 200 x 100 cm/ 2014
wa i t / o i l o n c a n vas / 2 0 0 x 1 0 0 c m / 2 0 1 4
prayer / oil on canvas / 200 x 200 cm / 2014
the bodies outside his own
We need to look further back in Gan’s oeuvre to piece the clues together in this artist’s puzzle. Fresh from his graduation at Dasein Academy of Art, Gan’s paintings were a world away from his current. In his earlier works, surrealism reigned and Gan’s compositions featured settings that were reminiscent of the works of Dali or even Penangite Chan Kok Hooi. Awkward figures mingled with dolls with broken limbs, imaginary landscapes unfolded across the canvases, and Gan’s works generally hinted at a troubled mind and equally displaced psychological state. Indeed, this was the case. Gan admits to having suffered from psychological distress a few years ago, which even amounted to a year-long hiatus from the studio. Counsel was sought from a medical professional and the artist found refuge in his newfound faith in religion. Prayer, the aforementioned self-portrait, was the very artwork from the tail-end of this difficult time, and it serves to represents the artist’s great shift into a more positive frame of mind. Today, Gan argues that his surreal, troubled works are all behind him, and that he has discarded all the negativity from his early days as an artist. The paintings in this current body of work are a bright step forward towards a lighter palette and disposition, and the artist harbours an accentuated attempt to think of others instead of himself. “Human figures are the core subjects in my paintings; to portray the emotional expression hidden deep under oneself,” says the artist, hinting at the tumultuous passage that he has taken to get to today’s state. As such, this body of work marks a momentous period in Gan’s career. It is, one, his first solo exhibition and big debut as a full-fledged artist, and two, it signifies the artist efforts at now concentrating on the bigger picture. From a paradigm shift in the studio, as the artist ventures from the imaginary to the real, and from the inside to what ultimately surrounds him, the body of work that lies before you today sees Gan exploring the bodies outside his own.
rachel jenagaratnam
WITHDRAWN
selected group exhibitions
2014 Locals Only ta ksu 2013
Duo: The Storyteller hom Art Trans Figurative Trajectories g13 gallery p iece of me map@Publika young malaysian artists: new object(ion) 2 (yma 2) exhibition Petronas Gallery uob Painting of the Year 72-13 Gallery, Singapore
2011
The Garden of Hidden Desires Wei-Ling Contemporary Gallery, Kuala Lumpur The Malaysian Rice Plates project klc c Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur uob painting competition 2011 exhibition Malaysian Emerging Artist Award (m e aa)
2010 Artriangle III National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur Absolut18@8 exhibition Wei-Ling Gallery 2009 Young & New Part III Exhibition matahati gallery Blank Page Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur 2008 Bangun Lost Generation Space
GAN TEE SHENG
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ISBN 978 - 981- 09 - 0370 - 1 PAPERBACK
978 - 981- 09 - 0371 - 8 E-BOOK
front cover; cropped; my mother oil on canvas / 61 x 46 cm / 2014 back cover; cropped; The injured boy oil on canvas / 61 x 46 cm / 2014
_ ISBN 978 - 981- 09 - 0370 - 1 PAPERBACK
978 - 981- 09 - 0371 - 8 E-BOOK