Hijjas Kasturi was invited to give the opening address for the exhibition Khalil Ibrahim: “A Continued Dialogue” at Gallery Petrons, KLCC Kuala Lumpur, until 20 June 2004.
Opening Speech by Hijjas Kasturi
Tuan Zainal Abidin, director of Gallery Petronas, Khalil Ibrahim and Judith, Shireen Naziree, curator of this show, guests and friends: I was delighted to be invited by Khalil to open this exhibition. As a peer of Khalil’s, it seemed a little unusual that I should be honoured in this way, but I realise now that we are both members of the older generation, and most of our mentors, who would usually perform these duties, have passed on. However, I am pleased to be here, and thank Khalil and the gallery for inviting me.
It is always a major achievement for an artist to be honoured by a large show of his work, with representative pieces from all periods of his painting career on display, but also with a major focus on new work. At first, I was under the impression that this was to be a retrospective, but that is not so. Khalil has continued to produce an impressive range of new work, much of which is on display today. Rather than a retrospective for the end of a career, this is an exhibition of work that is as vibrant as it ever was, with no end in sight.
Throughout his long career, Khalil has shown a remarkable tenacity in pursuing his subject and technique, and has achieved special success in developing an idea into an expression that resonates with all of us. His themes of figures in the endless performance of everyday tasks have been developed in distinctive ways, but the remarkable thing that is apparent from this show, is that he continues to develop all of his artistic techniques simultaneously. In this collection of the last five years’ work, he continues developing his skills in drawing, watercolour and acrylic, in styles that move from the almost real to the almost abstract.
By executing his themes time and time again, but with variations in the exploration of technique or subject, his work attains the rhythm of his figures: the bending, lifting, pulling, striving and pausing to reflect, are all part of his artistic process that becomes the expression itself.
The fact that he never deviates very far from his subject matter shows a remarkable faithfulness to his chosen path. As a younger architect, I was constantly searching for originality in form and finish, believing that it represented the ultimate goal in design: to be different was a goal in itself. Now that I am older, and I hope wiser, the search for novelty is not so important. What is important is to deliver work that, apart from solving the technical problems, also intrigues and fascinates the public viewer, not necessarily revealing all at once, but leaving more to explore and to experience. I think Khalil was wiser than I at an earlier age: he knew all the time what his subject was, he knew he had to paint and to use his talent, and he was undeflected by the surges of fashion around him. He concentrated on developing his skills drawing, painting and making batek, exploring with every piece how to express the unique power of these simple figures performing simple tasks.
Each medium that Khalil uses expresses a different mood, and within the medium, too, there are great variations in tone and feeling. His line drawings shimmer rather than develop the volume that you would expect in a drawing. Some do have a three dimensional quality, as if they were studies for sculpture, but he is very much a painter of two dimensions, and uses those dimensions to create new ideas in his drawing rather than a mere fullness of form. The flatness of some of his works, where plains of perfect colour are interjected by figures and the occasional line, exhibit his superb sense of colour and composition, and are, I am sure, an expression of the Malay in him: his love of vibrant colour and contrast, even when he chooses the most unlikely combinations, always look absolutely right.
Khalil’s subject matter reminds us, too, of a past that was normal for untold generations of coastal villagers, a past that is at the core of Malay culture. In just one generation, this way of life has been lost and for those of us whose lives span that period, his work has an element of pathos that no other subject could ever convey.
Khalil’s continuing journey, or dialogue, is a great career path for any artist, interpreting and expressing the noble figures of the east coast and Balinese fishing villages. Their travail is timeless, and so is the work that it inspired in Khalil, who is ever sharpening his artistic expression and rediscovering the familiar with every new work. Over the years, I have seen his paintings in many homes, and although they are instantly identifiable by the consistency of his subject, it is always amazing to see the diversity of his expression: so many moods, so many vistas, and each unique.
I must say how proud I am of Khalil, surrounded by so many of his works expressing his enthusiasm and candor, and showing us the exuberant side of his quiet and reserved personality. These paintings and drawings will give so much pleasure to all, and will stand to record the spirit of a changing world. Khalil has sustained and sharpened his resoluteness and dedication to his art over fifty years, and that dedication will continue, I’m sure, until his last breath.
Congratulations to Khalil Ibrahim on this superb show and I am delighted to declare it open.