November 2024 - UR-MU Toffee
On 27th of November, the MCG visited the Urban Museum in the Toffee building, the second of three museums opened in Kuala Lumpur by Dr Tan Loke Mun, a renowned architect and contemporary art collector. While his first Urban Museum in Bukit Bintang exclusively houses artworks from his own impressive collection of Malaysian and Southeast-Asian contemporary art, the Toffee building also showcases highlights from the collection of the lawyer Pakhruddin Sulaiman, one of Malaysia’s leading collectors of contemporary art.
The MCG had the honor of being guided by none other than Mr Pakha himself. Starting to collect as a young lawyer in the early 90s, Mr Pakha was among a handful of discerning enthusiasts to support the budding Malaysian art scene, buying artworks during the first solo exhibitions of many artists that have since gained fame. Mr Pakha explained how Malay artists such as Madi Anuar Ismail, Raja Shahriman Raja Azziddin and Amron Omar overcame the limitations placed on the depiction of humans in their art and used figurative sculptures and paintings to express themselves on societal issues, religion, personal struggles and politics. Mr Pakha drew the group’s attention to how Amron Omar, Jalaini Abu Hassan, Ahmad Fuad Osman and Bayu Utomo Radjikin inserted themselves into the representations of Silat fighters, Bomohs and traditional Malay male figures to explore how these practices define the role and self-perception of Malay men in an evolving society amid the political turmoil of the late 90s and early 2000 in Malaysia.
Pointing to the benign negligence of the authorities during that period which allowed contemporary artists to flourish despite their often critical take on society, Mr Pakha helped the group to better understand their works as well as those of Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Wong Hoy Cheong, Nadiah Bamadhaj, whose work he collected long before their careers and prices for their work took off. The 6th floor exhibition is rounded off by portraits of Mr Pakha and his late wife Mrs Fatimah, a tribute to the often close friendships he forged with Malaysian artists over the years.
The 5th floor of the Toffee building showcases recent acquisitions by Dr Tan Loke Mun, comprising both figurative and abstract artworks. Miss Oja, the recently appointed manager of the Urban Museum in the Toffee, expertly guided the group through these artworks by promising young talents such as Kide Baharudin with his joyous and comic depictions of city and village life; Faizal Suhif, whose charcoal and stencil techniques bring out visual poetry in oversized critters, and Anisa Abdullah’s masterful collages made from thousand magazine snippets that portray family life in vibrant hues. Dr Tan Loke Mun’s collection also includes recent abstract artworks by Saiful Razman, W Rajaie and Agnes Lau as well as video artwork by Nadiah Bamadhaj, illustrating the rich and evolving Malaysian contemporary art scene.
