A NEW art collective called Gene8 has marked a return to in-person art exhibitions with a debut showcase titled 'A Journey of Expressions'.
Taking place at The Ledge Art Gallery in the 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 'A Journey of Expressions' has already entered its second week, and has drawn a variety of revellers, ranging from curious onlookers to fervent art aficionados.
Gene8 founder, professor Abdul Hamid Mohamed said the exhibition – which is being held from October 4-31 – showcases some 70 paintings and other crafts worth a combined total of RM300,000.
Aside from Abdul Hamid, the showcase features a diverse range of art pieces made by the group of both well established and novice artists, consisting of assoc prof Alias Yussof, Badrulzzaman Abu, Burhanuddin Bakri, Hafidz Musa, assoc prof Jamil Mat Isa, Khainifa Khalila (Pip of Art), and Taufik Abdullah.
Abdul Hamid told The Vibes that the debut exhibition has received an encouraging response since it launched on October 4, as he had sold 40% of his overall collection on display.
Within the first day alone, Abdul Hamid said he had sold a collection of four paintings titled 'Four Celebrations', a series using the acrylic on canvas medium and which was based on the four major multiracial festivities commemorated in Malaysia.
Separately, the individual paintings in the collection would have sold for RM1,600 each, but a buyer had snagged them all for more than RM5,000.
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Furthermore, the exhibition is also being held in aid of of the charity National Stroke Association of Malaysia (Nasam), with some proceeds of sales being handed to the organisation, Abdul Hamid said.
Abdul Hamid – who is a marketing professor and a retired corporate and media executive – said the exhibition was partly a culmination of his move to explore the world of art as a pastime.
He said during the lockdowns brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, he seized the opportunity to revisit his long-lost painting skills, a passion he left behind about half a century ago.
Now 73, Abdul Hamid said he only began painting again last year, noting that the last time he ever used a pallet prior to that was when he was in Form 4.
With all eight artists bringing their own unique styles to the table, Abdul Hamid said 'A Journey of Expressions' had no singular theme, but celebrated the multiplicity of the individual artists' approaches to art.
He said despite selling off 'Four Celebrations' another collector had already commissioned him to make the same collection.
"I will do something similar (to the paintings sold) but it is impossible to paint the exact same thing," Abdul Hamid, who helped set television network TV3 in the 1980s, said.
"It is similar to the making of Batik as every design is unique and was very distinct from each other."
Abdul Hamid, who studied journalism in his youth, said he did not have any formal training in art or paintings.
"As people say, it is self-taught. When returning to painting I made many mistakes," he told The Vibes' Bahasa Malaysia sister portal Getaran recently.
"Sometimes I bought the wrong brush or paint (colour). But luckily I have friends (in the art world) who are reference points."
Formation of Gene8
Gene8 member assoc prof Alias Yussof said he came to know about the formation of the collective when Abdul Hamid walked into his art studio with Alias' former art student Badrulzzaman.
"We got to know each other, and one day he (Abdul Hamid) came up with the idea of forming a small Art group Generate, or in short Gene8, to make it sound more catchy," Alias said.
"The group is simply eight of us generating ideas. Out of the eight, two are self-taught artists – Prof Hamid and Pip – while the rest are the ones who attended formal art schools in various schools of thought."
Alias said in 'A Journey of Expressions' all artists were given the freedom to express themselves, and more importantly, it had to reflect their respective styles.
He said he selected his 'Urbanscape Series' of paintings for this showcase as it reflected feelings evoked by memories, imaginations and experiences throughout his life.
"It is the essence of the urbanscape that I wanted to create in an abstract manner. I consider myself as an abstract painter," Alias said.
"I do find this exhibition unique due to the fact that we collaborated between self-taught artists and those who received formal art education.
"It gives a good mixture of ideas and the ways art can be interpreted. This group comprises of different generations, the eldest being in the 70s and the youngest in the mid-20s."
Alias said his piece titled 'Frontier' at the showcase is his personal favourite, as it was considered his strongest among my other pieces.
"This piece was done five ago but have not been to any exhibitions. Now I feel it’s time to have it shown to the public. 'Frontier' is about a distant land, a faraway land not inhabited by humans. A place where I am not sure whether I want to be or not."
The group's sole female member, Khainifa Khalila – also known as Pip of Art – said lengthy discussions led to Gene8 agreeing to have its first art charity exhibition as a team.
"Gene8 decided to have artworks made during this pandemic to be exhibited. It's a great opportunity for me to share my Abstract scenery collection, Lighthouse Series and Chinese Ink Series v2.0, as these are most sold items through Pip Of Art Instagram," she said.
"This is my first exhibition with a team and alongside well-known Malaysian artists. This is an honour for me as I am a self-taught artist."
For assoc prof Jamil Mat Isa, Gene8 is about celebrating art and knowledge sharing between different generations of artists.
Jamil said his artwork at the showcase was curated according to its theme, with one painting titled 'Celebrating' and '789' as highlights.
"They are based on my theme, which is 'celebrating our culture' and taken from my 'numbers' and 'celebrating' series (of paintings)," Jamil said.
He added that the works on display were not done during the pandemic.
"But the lockdown did not really affect my creative process, it just slowed down some other activities related to producing my work."
The gallery and exhibition is open everyday between 11am and 9pm. – The Vibes, October 18, 2021
