Weekend for the arts: Yoshisuke Funasaka's printmaking, Galeri Petronas reopens

The Star

14-06-2025

EXHIBITION: ASIAN MASTER SERIES: 03 YOSHISUKE FUNASAKA'S 'INTIPATI'
Venue: Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya, KL
Date: ends July 31
Step into the world of renowned Japanese artist-printmaker Yoshisuke Funasaka, 86, in this eye-catching exhibition - his first in Malaysia. Intipati showcases Funasaka's distinctive fusion of traditional woodblock printing with contemporary techniques like silkscreen and katagami stencilling, resulting in striking, modernist compositions.
The show, organised by Japan Foundation, LL, features nearly 100 works dating back to the 1970s. It offers a glimpse into the craft that has made Funasaka a celebrated figure in Japanese printmaking.
Curated by veteran printmaker Juhari Said - who studied under Funasaka in Japan in the early 1990s - the exhibition is also a tribute to their shared artistic journey. As part of his legacy, Funasaka has generously donated over 240 original works to Universiti Malaya, enriching its permanent collection and paving the way for future research and exhibitions.
In conjunction with the Museum of Asian Art show, Funasaka will lead a special Traditional Japanese Baren Making Workshop, alongside a talk by Juhari Said on Saturday (June 14) at 2.30pm.
Free admission exhibition. Gallery is closed on Sundays.
More info here.
'TaTaTa', brought to life by Anne James (right) and Audrey Chua - explores the quiet, often unspoken spaces between generations. Photo: Low Pey Sien
THEATRE: KONGSI PETAK'S 'TATATA'
Venue: Dewan Serbaguna Seri Kembangan, Selangor
Date: June 14 and 15
Here's a show, presented by the Kongsi Petak collective, that takes you straight to the heart of a small town community. It's worth the road trip for a different kind of theatre experience — a repurposed community hall with its own charm.
After a memorable opening night on Friday, don't expect weekend tickets to stick around — snap them up while you still can. Part performance, part memory capsule, TaTaTa transfoms the rough-and-ready Dewan Serbaguna Seri Kembangan hall into a stage where memories and generations meet.
Marking Lai Wen Xin's directorial debut, this interdisciplinary work - brought to life by veteran performer Anne James and rising talent Audrey Chua - explores the quiet, often unspoken spaces between generations.
Blending theatre, dance, and multimedia, it reflects on the emotional distances that can form between the elderly and the young, offering a layered meditation on memory, aging, and the shifting dynamics of care and connection.
The result is a tender, thought-provoking work that invites audiences to reflect on what it truly means to grow older.
More info here.
Visitors pass Azim Rodi's 'Langkah Terasing', an installation spotlighting roadside fruit sellers and the city's everyday scenes shaped by social class divides. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli
EXHIBITION: 'OLD SCHOOL X NEW RULES'
Venue: Galeri PETRONAS, Level 3, Suria KLCC
Date: ends Sept 28
Curious about the rising wave of Malaysian artists reshaping the scene? Old School X New Rules, the group exhibition at the newly reopened Level 3 gallery in Suria KLCC, offers a compelling entry point.
Spanning a range of mediums - from installations and video works to paintings and found objects - the show brings together a diverse, thought-provoking line-up of emerging voices.
It's more than just a survey of fresh talent; it's a snapshot of shifting perspectives, new languages of expression, and the evolving relationship between tradition and experimentation in local art. Featured artists include Zulkefli Jais, Aimman Hafizal, Azim Rodi, Yong Hui Lin, Chong Yan Chuah, Yuki Mun, Burhanuddin Bakri, Foong Yeng Yeng (with Lim Soon Hock), Afiq Romi, Haziq Syawal, Husni Osman, Syazwan Jehan, Syuhada Yaacob, and Akif Azmi - each bringing their own distinct perspective and artistic voice to the table.
Galeri PETRONAS, which paused its programmes during a pandemic-era realignment in May 2021, is marking its return with a series of public programmes around this new exhibition - making it clear that it's back and reengaging with audiences.
Free admission exhibition. Galeri PETRONAS is closed in Mondays.
More info here.
A closer look at Kugan's work titled 'Cascade', which uses graphite on cigarette gold foil. Photo: Jerome Kugan
EXHIBITION: JEROME KUGAN'S 'ALL LIFE IS RECYCLED' and 'TIME IS A DONUT'
Venue: Temu House, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Date: June 14-29
Sabahan artist-writer Jerome Kugan brings together his work in poetry, music and visual art in this deeply personal exhibition, which opens this weekend at Temu House.
All Life Is Recycled and Time Is A Donut gather Kugan's works from 2017 to 2025, highlighting his ongoing exploration of recycled and found materials as tools for reflection and memory. These objects, each carrying their own histories, are transformed into thoughtful, tactile works that speak to both personal experience and the wider human condition.
The show also features pieces from Time Is A Donut, created during the Kota Kinabalu-based artist's three-month residency in Frankfurt, Germany under the AIR_Frankfurt programme.
Developed after the death of his mother, whom he cared for over five years, this series is a meditative journey into how humans process time and grief. There is a quiet emotional depth that threads through the collection, inviting viewers to pause and contemplate the stories we attach to the things we leave behind.
The opening reception is at 3pm this Saturday. Admission is free.
More info here.
A view of Bayu's latest solo exhibition 'Resonance Of Soul', which is showing at the Harta Space gallery in Selangor. Photo: The Star/Glenn Guan
EXHIBITION: BAYU UTOMO RADJIKIN'S 'RESONANCE OF SOULS'
Venue: Harta Space, Ampang, Selangor
Date: ends June 29
Bayu Utomo Radjikin's latest solo exhibition, Resonance Of Souls, signals a striking new chapter in the veteran artist's career. Known for his expressive intensity, Bayu returns with a series of large-scale paintings that explore the human condition through anonymous male figures - contorted, raw, and emotionally charged.
Far from conventional portraiture, these figures are stripped of identity, becoming vessels for universal struggle, vulnerability, and resilience. Executed in deep, brooding tones and visceral textures, the works inhabit the Harta gallery space with a quiet force.
This exhibition marks a significant evolution in the Sabah-born artist's practice, blending abstraction with figuration in ways that are both physical and affective. As a founding member of the Matahati Collective and Hom Art Trans, Bayu brings over 30 years of experience to this show - proving that his artistic journey is far from static, and still very much in motion.
More info here.
Khabir's solo debut exhibition at KL's Wei-Ling Gallery, explores time through themes of decomposition, repair, and transformation. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan
EXHIBITION: KHABIR ROSLAN'S 'SUKMA: MEGAH, TUNDOK'
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, KL
Date: ends June 21
After his time in the WLG Incubator Young Artists programme in 2023 under the mentorship of Yau Bee Ling, emerging artist Khabir Roslan presents a solo debut exhibition at Wei-Ling Gallery, exploring time through themes of decomposition, repair, and transformation.
Using compost soil mixed with pigments and oil, along with stitched bandages and cloth, Khabir creates large-scale, tactile works layered with care and memory. Hexagonal motifs - echoing Singgora clay roof tiles from Nusantara architecture - repeat across the surfaces, evoking both fragmentation and continuity.
Titled from the Bahasa Malaysia words sukma (soul), megah (greatness), and tundok (humility), the show reflects on cyclical rhythms of making. Neither quite painting nor sculpture, the works unfold as soil-stained scrolls that stretch floor to ceiling, anchored by a fragment of a boat's hull - merging gesture, object, and grounded reflection.
For those new to his work, Khabir is a transdisciplinary artist whose practice weaves together science, cosmology, and philosophy. A Fine Arts graduate from UiTM Shah Alam, he was awarded "Most Promising Artist" after winning the UOB Painting of the Year 2020 in the Emerging Artist category.
More info here.
Tong's painting titled 'Wood Drill And Tool Box', which is part of his 'Occurs' debut exhibition in KL. Photo: Tong Fung Chuar
EXHIBITION: TONG FUNG CHUAR'S 'OCCURS'
Venue: The Changing Room, Zhongshan building, KL
Date: ends June 22
It's always encouraging to see emerging artists take the spotlight, Occurs marks Tong Fung Chuar's solo debut - a raw, introspective series put together by independent curator Umar Sharif.
With titles like Blister, Screaming Car, and Bloodletting, Tong's paintings explore everyday anxiety and quiet chaos.
Trained in France, Tong channels pain and tension through naive, unstructured forms. Figures are absent, allowing space for personal reflection, while the curation leans into mood over narrative.
More than a promising debut, Occurs also highlights the power of independent art spaces - where experimentation and expression thrive beyond the institutional frame.
More info here.