Adventures in Wonderland Rafiee Ghani
Adventures in Wonderland
Rafiee Ghani
Adventures in Wonderland
Rafiee Ghani
SUMMARY
7 - Foreword
11 - Artist presentation
13 - Artwork
45 - Curriculum Vitae
47 - Acknowledgements
FOREWORD
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«Rafiee Ghani: Journeys to the Edge and Beyond» You’d be wrong to think that it’s just a slapdash quiz taken in makeshift accommodations. Oh no I’m standing on the set and I see how strong it is. The props are surprisingly precise. The machine rotating the stage has been around even longer. The farthest galaxies have been turned on. Oh no, there’s no question, this must be the premier. And whatever I do will become forever what I’ve done. Life While-You-Wait Wislawa Szymborska When approached by Vallette Fine Art Gallery to pen a few words for Rafiee Ghani’s latest solo, I said yes without the slightest hesitation. A prevailing belief of Rafiee’s works in my mind is that they are impishly witty and steely all at the same time. His canvases are vast, yet within each, retain the undulating warmth and intimacy of a traveller’s life imagined to no end. In this new and thrilling offering, viewers will partake in his cosmic and striking poetic orchestra, of vivid and surreal imagery conducted by a wand possessed. Always, this tireless wonder/wanderlust pushes himself to the extreme, to seize fleeting moments and immortalise these ‘living’ friezes so we may witness them through his eyes. What entrances so about the artist’s creations is his natural ability to make the convoluted appear symmetrical. You can see the forms soaring like leaves in the autumn evening, his lines hurdling among bourgeoning drifts of heavy hues. Abstract Expressionism can be hard to take in, you could never be sure if you’re actually examining the colours, or seeing right through them. But his works are so lyrical and gentle, all else doesn’t really matter. I was honoured when given the opportunity to curate his show in 2013, held at Vallette Fine Art Gallery. «A Dialogue», comprising nine works was primarily centred on his son. The heartbreakingly-enduring relationship of father and son is demonstrated here with so much love and empathy, we are left breathless. As
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adults, we no longer permit ourselves to be distracted by passing pleasures, they are trivial; the pursuit of success, wealth and power supersedes all else. In through «A Dialogue», Rafiee depicts his son and all children for that matter in the simplest way possible: at play, oblivious to anything else. He paints his son as an autonomous being, he cavorts and runs and roams and basks, and what could be more of an intimate subject than your own offspring? His son has been immortalised as a symbol for the purity and power in his artistic visualisation. Of Rafiee’s past shows which have left indelible marks are plenty. «Desert Rose», Homeland, Perfumed Gardens, Rainbow Warriors, Pulanglah Perantau, The Painted «Garden», «Oriental Afternoon» and «Room of Flowers» have all enthralled his audiences since the nineties. It was all a thrill to see and absorb, this ubiquitous man whose works contain luminous blankets of colours. And looking again, at Rafiee’s past and new works, these words by Virginia Woolf hits directly at the spine, “For now she needs not think of anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of – to think; well not even to think. To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others… and this self-having shed its attachments was free for the strangest adventures.” And in this show, we will get to revel in his watercolour efforts, a thing not regularly seen. And so, welcome, once again, to the seductive universe of Rafiee Ghani, of luscious landscapes, rustling depths and surfaces simultaneously tantalising and pensive. Rafiee Ghani, whose restless hunger for knowledge continues to surprise us with fresh perceptions on age-old themes; is never shackled. Ever questioning everything, we pray he never ceases. Sarah NH Vogeler* April 2017
*Sarah NH Vogeler is an arts writer and book editor based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She writes regularly for The New Straits Times Sunday PLUSH, for various art publications local and abroad, and contributes essays for artists' catalogues.
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ARTIST PRESENTATION Rafiee Ghani is a semi-abstract Malaysian artist who has been consistent in his approach to art and has established a name for himself on both the local and international art scenes. In Rafiee’s artistic approach, travel is one of the most significant sources of inspiration. In this context, travelling is not merely a catalyst for painting; it also encompasses the process of observing, sketching, recording and soul-searching «It’s about feeling. I want to create an enclosure for intimacy. There are fruits and palms in the tropical set-up. However, I am not painting melons or mangoes. I am painting my “feeling” about melons and mangoes. I am not composing “roomscapes”. I am using juxtaposition of forms and colours to bring about that mood in an enclosed space. Having delicate and beautiful things so close, we tend to overlook it. I want to rearrange it. Making it more visible so that we can stop and look around us. And I always want it to be like a folk song, whether it’s joy or sorrow, definitely beautiful. I imagine the light and express it. The child that sometimes appear in the paintings are to represent the sufferings of the children in war-torn countries. They are my children and they, your children. I am not making a report on war crimes. I am trying to paint how a child has suffered and yet he seeks freedom and peace. I imagine happiness and express it. I want the play of shapes to dance in the viewer's eyes. And when it does I want to capture it. It’s like a piece of music frozen in time. People always ask what does it mean? I say don’t concern yourself with the meaning. The key to appreciate modern contemporary art is to put meaning aside. See how the paintings affect you. Does it play in your eyes or does it go deeper? It’s about the "mood". People listening to Tchaikovsky never ask what the meaning is. People listening to Bob Marley never ask why he shook the world from that small Caribbean Island. They just felt it. Meaning will come when your eyes cannot leave the paintings and the paintings are beginning to shout at you.» R. Ghani
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ARTWORK
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Medina, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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Sahara night, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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Tangier, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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The Blue Desert, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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The Red Garden, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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The Red Kasbah, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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The Town in the Desert, 2017 Watercolor on paper 110 x 85 cm
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The Red River, 2017 Watercolor on paper 95 x 127 cm
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Evening rain, 2016 Watercolor on paper 127 x 95 cm
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Scarlet river, 2016 Watercolor on paper 127 x 95 cm
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Kasbah 1, 2013 Watercolor on paper 152 x 95 cm
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Kasbah 2, 2013 Watercolor on paper 152 x 95 cm
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Rose Hills, 2013 Watercolor on paper 94 x 131 cm
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The Red Roof, 2013 Watercolor on paper 87 x 122 cm
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The Red Swing, 2013 Watercolor on paper 87 x 122 cm
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CURRICULUM VITAE
B. 1962; Kulim, Kedah EDUCATION 1987 Master of Fine Prints (MFA), Manchester Metropolitan University 1985 Diploma in Art en Design (Fine Arts) MARA Technological University 1980 Printmaking workshop, De Vrije Akademie Voor Bildeende Kunsten, The Hague SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 Adventures in Wonderland, Vallette Gallery, Kuala Lumpur 2016 Homeland, The Edge Galerie, Mont’ Kiara 2014 Desert Rose by Rafiee Ghani, Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur 2012 Perfumed Gardens, Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur 2009 Rainbow Warriors, Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur 2001 Pulanglah Perantau, Art Case Galleries, Kuala Lumpur 1996 The Painted Garden, Oriental Bank Gallery, Kuala Lumpur/Rusli Hashim Fine Art 1994 Oriental Afternoon, Art Salon, Kuala Lumpur 1993 Room of Flowers, Carcosa Seri Negara, Kuala Lumpur HONOURS/AWARDS 1994 Malaysia Art Open, Kuala Lumpur (2nd Award) Phillip Morris Malaysia Art Award (5th Award) 1991 Salon Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (Minor Award)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Di rector & C urator Patrice Vallette
Gues t Writer Sarah NH Vogeler
A rtis t Rafiee Ghani
Photographer Anahita Ghazanfari
D e si g ne r & A s s is tant coordinator Anne-Laure Girard
52 Jalan Doraisamy - 51-01 1st floor - 50300 Chow Kit - Kuala Lumpur www.vallettegallery.com 49