Exhibition Period: 17th March 2014 - 30th April 2014

Shafarin Ghani has a rather romantic side; he truly believes a work of art inevitably moves another human being. 

In April 2014, Core Design Gallery presented the 5th solo exhibition known as ‘Man & His God’ by Penang born artist M.Shafarin Ghani.  From his well known seascapes exhibition Oeuvre of Movement No. 1 and No. 2 which were held at Core Design Gallery in 2010 and 2012, he now moves on to break the still water within the art scene and abstract expressionism through the new series of works in Man and his God solo exhibition.

During these 2 years of exploration on his life and identity, he unmasks through each painting about his travels and insights to philosophy, religion and spirituality. He may have moved away from his well-known seascapes but his colors and strokes are still imminent in this series.

In abstract expressionism works, there lies a potential tendency to have similarities within a series. Somehow this set of works vibrates an inexplicable sense of maturity in each and every painting along with its own distinct individuality. Probably this is his hardest attempt yet to make each and every painting breathe and live by itself.

Shafarin is not interested to show how the world looks like but rather to reflect our senses in response to the world as opposed to merely painting a representational form for the naked eyes. As evident in his Oeuvre of Movement No.1 and No. 2, Shafarin has definitely proven himself as a skillful artist. His impeccable colour usage allows him to command and manipulate the form of the horizonless wave with its varying degrees of depth creating nothing less than a pleasing optical visual for its viewer. However in Man and his God, his works of abstraction consist of a variation; the exploration of minimalism, lyrical, symbolism and colour fields. When one feast his or her eyes on the paintings, it communicates poetic and emotional contents that stir the psyche of viewers. It has an important content or message on the philosophy and spirituality of life, rather than a mere colour splash of expression. The artist is concerned with the exploration of ideas and the states of mind challenging the hollow dogma of art. Yet the representation of the aesthetics of design, colours, forms and composition is never neglected in fact, they are enhanced further with the content filled paintings produced.

Man and His God is a tough and bold transition for Shafarin Ghani to break away from his previously known seascapes. The artist has created a truly universal imagery of works that does not represent any belief or religion but rather, an imagery to prompt our minds to seek and reflect within ourselves. It is perhaps his personal way of carrying the responsibility of his art to the society and to himself. To truly understand these works, one cannot neglect the title “Man and his God” which wholesomely converges the series together, conveying a reflection of his existential concerns.

Oeuvre of Movement No. 1 confirms Shafarin as a painter, Oeuvre of Movement No. 2 as an artist. However, Man and His God exhibition confirms him as a man.