Music
Denise Mininfield @ Alexis
April 24 and 25 (10.30pm)
Alexis Ampang Bistro and Bar
10, Ground Floor, Great Eastern mall, 303 Jalan Ampang, KL
RM25
(03) 4260 2288
American-born chanteuse Denise Mininfield is back by popular demand, this time at Alexis. Mininfield has a husky, sexy voice and performs in various music styles, including soul, R&B, funk, jazz and blues. She has performed alongside some of the best in the music business, including Prince, Sheila E, Wynton Marsalis, The Whispers, Money B and John Paris. Always entertaining, Mininfield will perform a selection of covers as well as her own songs.
Visual Arts
Solo Art Exhibition by Master Liu Wen San
Until May 12
Xiao En Art Space
Xiao En Centre, 1 Jalan Kuari, Cheras
10am to 7.30pm (Mon to Sun)
Free admission
(03) 9145 3888
Renowned Taiwanese artist Liu Wen San holds his first ever solo exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Liu is celebrated for his unique individualist painting style, described as dynamic, sensuous, expressionistic and calligraphic. His works reflect the essence of nativism in relation to his homeland, Taiwan. He uses both watercolour and oil techniques. The exhibition features 30 of his most recent works that portray nature, culture and life. They are in his signature style that combines native colours and spontaneous calligraphic strokes.
3D to 2D: Sculpture Studies
Until May 6
Pelita Hati House of Art
22 Jalan Abdullah, off Jalan Bangsar, KL
10am to 6pm (Mon to Sat)
Free admission
(03) 2284 8380
View this collection of drawings and sketches of sculpture studies by Malaysian sculptors. The exhibition gives a fascinating insight into the thoughts and imagination of sculptors and shows the ideas before the creations become 3D artworks. Participating artists are Abdul Multhalib, Ahmad Fauzi Amir, Ahmad Noor Rashidi, Azman Ismail, Daud Abdul Rahim, Diana Ibrahim, Mohd Afifee Ibrahim, Mohd Faizal Ramli, Mohd Razif Rathi, Mohd Roslan, Mohd Saharuddin Supar, Raja Shahriman Aziddin, Ramlan Abdullah, Romli Mahmud, Rosli Zakaria, Stephen Menon, Suhaidi Razi, Suhaila Hashim, Zainon Abdullah, Zakaria Sharif and Zainuddin Abindinhazir.
The Light Show 2009
Until May 3
The Annexe Gallery
Central Market Annexe, Jalan Hang Kasturi, KL
11am to 7pm (Mon to Sun)
Free admission
(03) 2070 1137
The Light Show 2009 presents an assortment of lights and light installations made from recycled and found objects to humour, cajole and inspire. Bernard Chauly, Carolyn Lau, Fabian Tan, Farah Azizan, Jazmi Izwan Jamal, Lisa Foo, Loh Kok Man, Mah Su Sim and Richard Lau are all committed to being greener and kinder to our environment and as such, use things like plastic bottles, plastic bags and milk cartons to sculpt objects inspired by marine life-forms, whimsical one-off items, things for use and more.
Sirens & Lights
Until May 7
Gallerie Taksu KL
17 Jalan Pawang, Keramat Hujung, KL
10am to 6pm (Mon to Fri)
Free admission
(03) 4251 4396
Matthew Carver's paintings immerse the viewer in an unreal spatial vortex. It portrays the metaphorical fracture of speed as paint hits canvas in luminous blips and trails. It is an illusory space rather than that of postcard propaganda or nostalgia and its reverberation consumes the gallery with the energy of a tornado. Speed and its counterpart technology affect not just what we see, but how we see.
Eng Tay — The Exhibition
Until May 17
Galeri Petronas
Level 3, Suria KLCC
10am to 8pm (Tues to Sun)
Free admission
(03) 2051 7770
This exhibition of 30 works that comprise etchings, oil paintings and sculptures from versatile artist Eng Tay, a Malaysian based in New York, represents his most comprehensive one ever. In this survey exhibition, the artist takes viewers on an incredible journey into the landscapes of the heart, touching on tender moments of love, togetherness and camaraderie.
Across the Causeway
Afterlife of the Tang Nobility
Until May 8
SG Private Banking Gallery
Alliance Française de Singapour
1 Sarkies Road, Level 2, Singapore
11am to 7pm (Mon to Fri); 11am to 5pm (Sat)
Free admission
+65 6737 8422
The Tang Dynasty of Ancient China was a period marked by prosperity in every aspect of society — administratively, militarily and economically. It was also a time that saw the flourishing of arts and culture. Amidst a proliferation of opulent silks, resplendent paintings, and glittering gold and silver wares was also Tang san cai, or three-coloured pottery, exquisite burial and decorative objects that exemplified the spirit and soul of the Tang Dynasty with their brightly-hued magnificence. Fifty or so of these ceramic artefacts from the Bryan Collection — horses, camels, figures and pottery — are on display in the exhibition, Afterlife of the Tang Nobility: An insight into an important part of Chinese culture during the Seventh to Ninth centuries. Tang san-cai reflects the openness and gaiety of Tang society and collaboratively paint a glorious picture of Tang culture, providing a narrative of daily life and the afterlife. The exhibition is presented and organised by Alliance Française de Singapour, with presenting sponsors Audemars Piguet and Lee Foundation, and co-presented by the French Embassy in Singapore and SG Private Banking.
Dreams
April 29 (8pm)
Esplanade Concert Hall
1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore
S$50, S$60 and S$100
www.sistic.com.sg
Under the baton of Craig Leon, the CIC Chamber Orchestra presents its world premiere of Dreams in Singapore. This concert features award-winning Franco-Swiss cellist Ophélie Gaillard, who has distinguished herself as a versatile musician, able to perform the music of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods. The concert will also see the gathering of the best of young French musicians such as Clément Dufour, Antoine Pierlot, Saténik Khourdoïan, Philippe Villafranca and Renaud Stahl, to name a few.
Much Ado About Nothing
May 7 to 31 (7.30pm)
Fort Canning Green, Fort Canning Park, Singapore
S$33 to S$83
www.sistic.com.sg
Shakespeare in the Park returns this May with the staging of one of the greatest comedies of all time, Much Ado About Nothing. The play follows the obstacle-filled courtships of two romances, Hero and Claudio, and Benedick and Beatrice. The brilliance of the main plot witnesses Hero and Claudio falling in love at first sight. But as with any immediate attraction, they have a lot to learn about each other. This is accompanied with the humorous bickering of Beatrice and Benedick in their “merry war” of the sexes.
Bangkok
Capitalism is Dying
Until May 17
Thavibu Gallery
Suite 308, Silom Galleria F3, 919/1 Silom Road, Soi 19, Bangkok
11am to 7pm (Tue to Sat), noon to 6pm (Sun)
(+66 02) 266 5454
On the back of the current financial crisis, Vasan Sitthiket presents a new series of provocative paintings and a video performance pertaining to capitalist greed and the financial trouble the world is currently embroiled in. Through his expressive and at times, explicit style, the artist attributes blame and points fingers at those he considers culpable.
Piece of my Memory
Until May 17
Whitespace Gallery
Lido Bldg 2F, 260 Siam Square 3, Bangkok
1pm to 7pm (Tues to Fri), 11.30am to 8pm (Sat and Sun)
(+66 02) 252 2900
Chairat Mongclonut’s exhibition uses architectural elements as the building blocks for deeper themes. Examining the transition that takes place when old wooden houses are torn down and replaced with concrete, Chairat gives new life to seemingly lifeless scraps of timber and other discarded objects, sculpting them into folk style characters using a traditional technique called Poon Paun.
Silent Decibel
Until May 17
DOB Hualam phong Galery
Resident One Property Co Ltd, DOB Building 4F, 318 Rama IV Road, Bangkok
10am to 7pm (daily)
(+66 085) 482 3566
Thosapol Boriboon’s first solo exhibition presents 12 figurative paintings centred on realistic self-portraits in muted tones. Using subtle colour threads to link the multiple figures, the artist implies he is desperate to escape the endless noise and information overload in today’s technologically driven society. In a world where speed and motion are what determine our routines, the artist uses notions of time to encourage us to be still and silent in order to reflect and contemplate.
Jakarta
Women Film Festival
April 21 to 26
Teater Salihara
Jl Salihara No 16 Pasar Minggu, Jakarta
(+62 21) 789 1202; www.salihara.org
This festival will see screenings of 20 films from around the globe that are either about women or were directed by female directors.
Violin and piano concert by Jaroslav Svìcený & Marie Synková
April 29 (8pm)
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta,
Jl Gedung Kesenian No 1, Jakarta
(+62 21) 380 8283
Rp40,000 and Rp50,000
Listen to the musical styling of renowned Czech violinist Jaroslav Svìcený and pianist Marie Synková. This concert is jointly organised by the Embassy of Czech Republic in Indonesia and the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
Anna Maria Jopek in Concert
May 7
Ritz Carlton Hotel Pacific Place
Sudirman Central Business District, Jl Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53, Jakarta
(+62 21) 2550 1888; [email protected]
Renowned Polish jazz singer Anna Maria Jopek is making a stop in Jakarta as part of her world tour. Jopek is known for the most influential and groundbreaking project in Polish popular music with the 2008 album ID, which went platinum in Poland in just two weeks. She will perform a repertoire of songs from that album, as well as from her previous albums.
Editor’s Pick
Bedraggled
April 21 and 22 (9.30pm)
No Black Tie
17 Jalan Mesui, off Jalan Nagasari, KL
RM35
(03) 2142 3737
Singer Gabrielle Maes and musician Llew Marsh team up once again for a hilarious musical showcase in Bedraggled. The duo first worked together in last year’s production of Souvenir, a true-life account of a woman who can’t sing but who is convinced she can. Bedraggled, a piece written by Maes, follows the rise, but mostly the fall, of La Diva. Using songs from the opera, musicals and nightclubs for comic flashbacks, Maes traces how a Divine Diva ends up drunk, dishevelled and on the streets.
This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, issue 751, April 20-26, 2009