Art Events & Exhibitions

The Golden: A Unique Perspective of Malaysian Culture

By combining the 3 unique colours, The Golden series by the artist Malaysia-- Ethen Ng represents a cultural identity which has never been done before.

Malaysia is blessed with a multi-racial society consisting mainly Malays, Chinese and Indians. The many different ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique cultural identities, with some crossover. Everything from its people to its architecture reflect a colourful heritage and an amalgamated culture. In this article, the artist Malaysia will show you how.

It is a famous saying that you can go from a Malaysian kampung to an Indian shop to Penang’s Chinese kongsi and feel you have traveled through three nations. Conversely in cities like Kuala Lumpur, you will find everyone in a grand blend. For example, in one house, a Chinese opera will be playing on the radio. In another, they are preparing for Muslim prayers. While in the next, the daughter of the household readies herself for classical Indian dance lessons.

A Mixture of Gold, Yellow Ochre and Turquoise

Perhaps the easiest way to understand the highly complex cultural interaction is by a visual aid. The artist Malaysia, Ethen Ng, offers an interesting perspective on Malaysian cultures. And it is done by using only gold, yellow ochre and turquoise colours on canvas.

Check out more Cultural Paintings by these Asian artists.

Gold, by its very nature, denotes wealth and prestige in every country. It symbolises the preciousness of Malaysian culture in its country. Moreover, the colour gold is cousin to the colour yellow. Therefore, it is also associated with courage, passion, and wisdom. On the other hand, the colour turquoise communicates a sense of refreshing, calming and loyalty. In which Ethen deploys it to represent beaches, rainforests and a mixture of various cultures influences in Malaysia.

By combining these three colours together, The Golden is effective to represent a cultural identity which has never been done before.

“Art can be both rooted in history and a catalyst for change in a culture. It connects people of a culture to their past, and it suggests new ideas and insights.”

The Golden Series

The Golden series deploys various types of the Malaysian cultural subjects. Amongst others, we can see mosques, traditional Minangkabau houses, Wau, etc. Besides, some of the artworks also painted with pattern seen in Malaysian Batik, a unique pattern formed by geometrical, leaves and flower designs to represent our Malaysia culture.

Artist Malaysia | Ethen Ng | Original Artwork Malaysia Artroom 22 — *“The Golden Minangkabau House” by the artist Malaysia Ethen Ng*

Started with a Ballpoint Pen?

Prior to The Golden Series, ballpoint pen is the main medium for the artist Malaysia — Ethen Ng. He created his famous animal portrait series using only ballpoint pen.

Everyone has used a pen for writing, but some artists embrace the challenge of taking something ordinary and using it to create something extraordinary. And the artist Malaysia Ethen Ng is one of them. Isn’t it amazing how this easily accessible writing utensil can be Ethen’s magic wand? Check out this artist Malaysia who can draw with both hands.

Drawing with a ballpoint pen allows artists to accurately create small details and sharp lines. However, pens usually cannot be erased. So, it requires extremely high precision and a lot of patience. (Read these tips to improve your sketching with pen.) Not only that, Ethen also paints animal with a cause. He paints to promote a caring Malaysian society through creating awareness for the well being of animal and mankind.

“I am a pet lover. I dedicate my art to create the awareness for animal protection and stand against animal cruelty.” – Ethen Ng

Exhibition Details

Kindly contact the phone number as stated in the poster below for the viewing of Ethen’s artworks. All artworks are open for purchase too. Contact us for more details.

About The Gallery

V’Art Space was established as a collector’s private showroom to showcase the founders’ collection of artworks. The gallery also acts as a commercial art space to host exhibitions, focusing on contemporary paintings, sculptures, and photography.

In addition, V’Art Space has been actively participated in various art fairs around the world to promote their represented artists. You can see their footsteps in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Beijing, Shanghai etc. To date, V’Art Space has more than 500 pieces of artworks by local and foreign artists in their collection for sales.