CORE contemporary art

Introduction

Fauzan Omar has represented Malaysia in numerous prestigious regional and international exhibitions since 1980 and is well known for his ‘layer series’ which the late Ismail Zain described in 1990, as “one of the most significant works to appear (in Malaysia art) at this point of time”. It was a series of collages that juxtaposed physical and painted layers in abstract form inspired by the flora and fauna of Malaysia.

In 2017, Safrizal Shahir wrote “as a source of inspiration and idea for Fauzan Omar’s artistic practice, nature is not something to be appreciated with a raw romantic feeling. For him, nature possesses a force, an energy that defines its uniqueness. It is important to understand also that the artist does not focus on nature’s external manifestations but is more interested in depicting the forces and processes that affect natural phenomena”.

This exhibition showcases some of the fine examples of Fauzan Omar’s artworks on nature which addresses different issues in very interesting ways. Canvas bed encrusted with thick foliage, ‘fissures’ with pock marked in parts, pasted surfaces or even wood grinded surfaces are examples of how the artist addresses his expression of nature. Fauzan Omar has dedicated himself to his career evidently through a series of works and exhibitions such as ephemeral elements of flame, symbolic expression of heat, fabric collages of blackened landscape, blossoming garden, certificate of fitness, and beneath the waves, spanning over 40 years as an artist.