Art

Go large or go home – Lim Wei-Ling reflects on her gallery turning 20 this year

The Wei-Ling Gallery celebrates its 20th anniversary as its Founder/Director Lim Wei-Ling looks back

Updated 1 year ago · Published on 19 Jun 2022 1:00PM

Go large or go home – Lim Wei-Ling reflects on her gallery turning 20 this year
The newly-renovated Wei-Ling Gallery is not just a space to display artworks, it is a meeting-point for artists, writers and the art community to engage in meaningful discourse. – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery, June 19, 2022

by Sarah NH-V

IT'S very much about relationship-building, and the artists that I represent and work with are very much a part of the gallery family. We are family, and I remember many many years ago, (twenty years to be exact) when we started, I did say to the young artists at that time, “This a journey that we’re going to grow on together, and we’re going to grow old together. 

"And here we are twenty years later, and we are growing old together!” an excited Lim Wei-Ling says.

Ever the unencumbered optimist, Wei-Ling becomes instantly spirited when the topic of her Gallery, and in particular, the artists she has worked with is brought up. Established in 2002, Wei-Ling Gallery has always been a ‘complete’ and all-inclusive World without boundaries, constantly evolving, and continuously exhibits ground-breaking work from artists who are unafraid to voice their opinions: the more outrageous the better.

Wei-Ling says, “It has never been exclusively about works which are commercially-successful/ viable, it’s really very much more about pushing or allowing the artists to have a voice, to say what they want to say and to do what they want to say, and to move forward in their journeys to get their messages across.”

"I have a strong conviction and belief in the people that I work with. This conviction is what has driven our journey thus far." – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery
"I have a strong conviction and belief in the people that I work with. This conviction is what has driven our journey thus far." – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery

Twenty years on, the Gallery has grown by leaps and bounds. And as part of its 20th Anniversary celebrations, the Gallery brings to audiences, ‘A Paradigm Shift  Reflecting on Twenty Years of The Malaysian Art Scene’.

Wei-Ling further expounds, “This show focuses on Malaysian Contemporary artists. Over the course of twenty years we have worked with international artists as well, but we wanted this particular exhibition to focus on where the Gallery started – promoting and giving a platform and a voice to Malaysian artists. You will see their latest work. People will get to witness a chronology of works by these artists, understand how they’ve arrived at this point today.

"When you come to the Gallery and visit the exhibition, you get a glimpse into their past and (are) able to better perceive the artists and their journeys. It is a seminal show, and everyone will be able to get a nice overview of where Malaysian art sits today, as well as a look back on twenty years.” 

The Gallery initiated several programs as part of its 20th year, and Wei-Ling explains, “We will be highlighting some of the programs we’ve decided to put together for the Gallery that involves more community-building, and the first thing we launched this year was WLG IGNITE. The platform was born out of us wanting to present or curate a body of work that encourages new and young collectors to come into the Gallery, to see works by both established and emerging Malaysian artists and to understand a bit more about their practice.

"It came about from an exhibition we did two years ago, ‘100 Pieces Art for All’. It is art that is more accessible to everybody, so people can come in, understand a little bit more about the artworks and know that everything is priced below RM10,000. Ignite your imagination, ignite the collector in you, ignite the artist in you, ignite your inspirations! It is an ongoing program, and it’s not something that’s just happening for three months – so at one point people can come into the Gallery and look at the WLG IGNITE section. 

"Another exciting program that the Gallery put together three years ago was the WLG Incubator Art Program – to identify the next generation of young artists. One of the things we felt was missing, a lot of young artists do not have enough mentorship and guidance. We created this program to allow selected young artists to be mentored by more established ones.

"Over the course of the last three years, we have mentored five young artists, the first two were mentored by Ivan Lam, and the second set of three artists were mentored by Anurendra Jegadeva (J. Anu). So it’s been a very successful program which we are very proud of. It will continue and this year we will be announcing our two artists coming up.”

Wei-Ling Gallery Director Lim Wei-Ling with her Gallery Family (Left to Right) – Fiqri Adnan, Lim Siew Boon and Noel Tan. – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery
Wei-Ling Gallery Director Lim Wei-Ling with her Gallery Family (Left to Right) – Fiqri Adnan, Lim Siew Boon and Noel Tan. – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery

A Paradigm Shift  Reflecting on Twenty Years of The Malaysian Art Scene’ is a roller-coaster ride – an electrifying journey of human creativity, a howling body of work which honours art’s critical role in comprehending our collective culture, but most all, the exhibition chronicles Wei-Ling Gallery’s own profoundly personal stories, the deep bonds of trust between image-makers and Gallery owner who first and foremost, is a confidante.

Wei-Ling quietly contemplates, “One of the quotes I love most is 'a comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there.' I think we can step out of that zone and with the artists we work with; all of us, in the way that we approach life. When you’ve come to a point where everything is just too easy, you’ve got to switch it up, and look for the next thing.”           

About the Exhibition

A Paradigm Shift  Reflecting on Twenty Years of The Malaysian Art Scene’ surveys the culture of artistic experimentation that Malaysian artists undertook in the last two decades, during a time characterised by constant rapid cultural changes as a result of the fluctuating economy and the rise in technological advancements. This time period also witnessed a myriad of political sagas, divisiveness in race and religion, and an overall shift in power paradigms that perhaps defined Malaysia the most, and shaped public life and discourse.  

Through their experimental practices, the featured artists have sought to closely trace the country’s most sensitive predicaments, revealing how a myriad of issues revolving around identity, equality, ideology, and control have evolved over the years. Particularly, what this exhibition wishes to highlight is the rambunctious creativity and unwavering, relentless development that artists took throughout their careers to widen the public’s view of contemporary art and inspire new ways of thinking about and understanding Malaysia as a nation. 

This exhibition is therefore both a retrospective that looks back at the critical evolution of Malaysian contemporary artists, as well as their current practices that remain significant in engaging with themes that continue to have a pressing relevance.

A Paradigm Shift  Reflecting on Twenty Years of The Malaysian Art Scene’ features Anurendra Jegadeva, Chen Wei Meng, Cheong Kiet Cheng, Chin Kong Yee, Choy Chun Wei, Hamidi Hadi, H.H. Lim, Ivan Lam, Juhari Said, Noor Azizan Paiman, Rajinder Singh, Sabri Idrus, Sean Lean, Wong Chee Meng and Yau Bee Ling. 

Since its inception in 2002, Wei-Ling Gallery has published over 200 monographs, artists books and exhibition catalogues. – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery
Since its inception in 2002, Wei-Ling Gallery has published over 200 monographs, artists books and exhibition catalogues. – Pic courtesy of Wei-Ling Gallery

Ongoing programs at Wei-Ling Gallery

The WLG Incubator is an initiative that was launched as a platform to highlight and collaborate on projects with emerging Malaysian artists. It is dedicated to help artists create a sustainable art practice, which allows them to develop their confidence towards making art that is authentic, experimental and progressive. Through this Incubator, the Gallery hopes to discover and nurture artists and projects, which are critical towards shaping the voice of the next generation.

The WLG Young Artists Collaborative Mentorship Program is a WLG Incubator program that provides the opportunity for emerging artists to be advised and guided by an established artist. Launched in 2020, the program started with Ivan Lam as mentor, followed by Anurendra Jegadeva. This year, the mentor will be Yau Bee Ling.  The results of the previous two programs were presented through the WLG Incubator Young Artists Show at Wei-Ling Contemporary, which served as a channel to introduce their work of art to a wider audience.

Another exciting program is WLG IGNITE by Wei-Ling Gallery, which highlights a curated selection of artworks by artists represented by the Gallery, as well as those under the WLG Incubator program. In a concentrated effort to make art collecting more accessible for a wider audience, and to open up opportunities to introduce contemporary art to the next generation of collectors, all works in this section are priced RM10,000 and below.

This space offers specific artworks by serious artists who are committed to their art practice approaches, are committed to making art which is relevant to the time through which they live, and are unfearing to take risks in order to progress.

ABOUT WEI-LING GALLERY

Wei-Ling Gallery was founded in 2002 by Lim Wei-Ling with the ambition to nurture the development of Malaysia’s contemporary art scene. The flagship Gallery is housed within a heritage shophouse that was ravaged by a fire in 2004. The unique interior is an installation unto itself, having been designed by renowned Malaysian architect, Professor Jimmy CS Lim. The Gallery’s positions has been achieved through ambitious, diversified and contextual curatorial projects and programming. Wei-Ling Gallery has repeatedly presented Malaysian Contemporary art to International audiences, simultaneously representing a selection of widely-acclaimed local and International artists. 

In its continuous efforts of cultivating the local contemporary art scene, Wei-Ling Gallery is also one of the most prolific publishers of art publications in the country, valuing the importance of archiving. The Gallery’s publishing activity encourages an appreciation for contemporary art with a backlist of monographs, artists’ books, and exhibition catalogues which highlights the often-overlooked characteristics of an artist’s practice. – The Vibes, June 19, 2022

GALLERY INFORMATION

A Paradigm Shift  Reflecting on Twenty Years of The Malaysian Art Scene’ opens on Tuesday, June 21 and runs until August 6, 2022.

Free Admission

Operation hours: 

10am-6pm (Tuesday-Friday), 10am-5pm (Saturday)

Closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays

Wei-Ling Gallery

No 8 Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

T +60322601106

E [email protected]

W www.weiling-gallery.com

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