cosmicmambo

Amin Gulgee - son of legendary Pakistani artist Ismail Gulgee - has never been under his father’s shadow; his name is associated with ingenuity and originality in Pakistan and the world over. One of the most prominent artists of Pakistan, he has exhibited extensively in the USA, UK, UAE, Portugal, Turkey, and Japan. He will be holding his fourth exhibition entitled “Cosmic Mambo” in Malaysia this year at Wei-Ling Contemporary, which promises to be a landmark event in the art calendar of Kuala Lumpur.

Armed with a Bachelor of Art in Economics and Art History from the prestigious Yale University, USA, Amin Gulgee began his career as an artist in 1990 from his native city of Karachi in Pakistan. Using this ancient land and its rich, diverse history as his muse, his creations synergise Hindu mythology, Buddhist asceticism and Islamic calligraphy to explore the underlying spirituality of man. An aesthetic patron of Sufism - a unique manifestation of the spiritual side of Islam - his works mirror his individual struggle to perceive himself and to substantiate his essence through an immediate and pure union of the soul with the Divine. The elemental forms and simple scripts in his work, he believes, will help crystalise this connection.

As Amin Gulgee the artist has evolved, so has his work, ranging from abstract sculpture to wearable jewellery, from autobiographical forms depicting himself and his family to his groundbreaking three-dimensional calligraphy. To bridge the gap between the viewer and art, he encouraged that sculpture should be touched and jewellery should be worn close. His medium of choice therefore: malleable metals like bronze and copper.

Other than numerous exhibitions all over the world, Amin Gulgee has also made several public artworks in Pakistan including sculptures called “The Message” for the Presidency in Islamabad and “Minar” at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi. Highly decorated, he has been awarded, apart from numerous other awards, the President’s Pride of Performance - the highest award a civilian can receive by the Government of Pakistan.

“Cosmic Mambo” promises to be one of Amin Gulgee’s most ground-breaking and comprehensive exhibits, consisting of the largest volume of work ever shown by him outside Pakistan. It includes a series of work that has sprung from two works “Cosmic Chapatti I” and “Spider I” both of which were first exhibited at the Petronas Gallery in Malaysia in 2009. Amin Gulgee explores the source of pattern and its relationship to geometry in the controlled and meditative “Cosmic Chappatis” series and unleashes bronze spiders to dance and move across the space in his organic “Spiders” series. This exhibition also includes work that is inspired by the Islamic tradition of architecture and metal work, including an installation comprising 64 copper leaves, created in collaboration with Malaysian architect, Lim Cho-Wei. Amin Gulgee challenges himself by stepping out of his comfort zone to explore new ground in this dialogue with Cho-Wei,which is inspired by the four-garden plan of traditional Mughal Gardens of the sub-continent. The artist is also planning a performance as part of this exhibition.

“Cosmic Mambo” features at Wei-Ling Contemporary at The Gardens Mall from 12th Sept 2011- 10th October2011

Wei-Ling Contemporary is located at G212&213A Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur 59200, Malaysia.

Wei-Ling Contemporary is open Daily from 11am-9pm.

Admission is free

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