Building up a Klimex
They say the best things in life come in small packages. That’s certainly the case at the Kuala Lumpur International Miniprint exhibition 2018 (Klimex 2018), which showcases printmaking techniques and a broad range of miniature prints from all over the world.
This show is currently on at the National Visual Arts Gallery (NVAG) in Kuala Lumpur.
At the exhibition, the range of styles include relief print, intaglio, litography, silkscreen and stencil.
The exhibition is a survey of 200 mini prints from 90 artists. There are works from 50 local artists including Samsudin Wahab, Jalaini Abdul hassan, Ilse Noor, Juhari Said, Mansoor Ibrahim, Stephen Menon, Rizo Leong, Liu Cheng hua, Sabihis Md Pandi, Jerome Manjat and Long Thien Shih exhibited alongside international names such as Sandro Brachitta (Italy), yumemi Kobayashi (Japan), Arwin hidayat (Indonesia), Weronika Siupka (Poland) and Derek Michael Besand (Canada).
“Indeed, prints demand to be seen up close. even more with mini prints. Without looking carefully we miss the essence of these works ... the line and textures that shape a narrative,” wrote Agung Kurniawan, one of the most important contemporary artists in Indonesia, in the exhibition’s catalogue.
All prints on display are not larger than 20cm x 20cm and are printed on paper using either a singular printing technique or a combination of them. “It was a refeshing challenge for me to create the (silkscreen) works for this show. I don’t usually create prints in this particular (small) size. But no matter what the size and scale of the works, it is good to feel the energy rising in the printmaking community,” says Menon.
“This exhibition is also an opportunity for our local artists to participate in the upcoming Jogja International Miniprint Biennale (JIMB),” he adds.
Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Najib Ahmad Dawa, NVAG director general, is optimistic that the Klimex 2018 exhibition will open doors for local artists. The exhibition’s main objective is to encourage Malaysian printmaking artists to participate at the JIMB, a biennial international print event that will take place in yogyakarta this November.
“As you tour around this exhibition and discover more, you will be able to see the uniqueness of the art and significance of the cultures that make this exhibition so special,” says Dr Mohamed Najib.
Klimex 2018 is organised by NVAG in collaboration with KL’s Segaris Art Center and as a joint venture with JIMB.
The are 26 Indonesian artists in this exhibition, a majority of them were a part of the last two JIMN editions in 2014 and 2016.
Kuala Lumpur International Miniprint Exhibition 2018 (Klimex 2018) is on at Gallery 3B, National Visual Arts Gallery, Jalan Temerloh, off Jalan Tun Razak in KL till May 13. The gallery is open daily from 10am to 6pm. More info: www.artgallery.gov.my.