Charles ChamMalaysia
CLOSE
Born 1962 Malacca, Malaysia.
2008
Faces To Figures. Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
2005
Ballads. Solo, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
Ballads II. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.
ARTSingapore 2005, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2002
Opposite Attraction. Solo, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
ARTSingapore 2002, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2001
The Yin and Yang of Charles Cham. Solo, Galerie LeonArt, Basel, Switzerland.
Exposicao Lusofona. Solo, Galeria Municipal Gymnasio, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fantasies and Realities. Solo, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.
TIME: The Watch Has No Numbers, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.
Summer Exhibition, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
ARTSingapore 2001, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2000
Yellow Culture. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yellow Culture. Solo, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
ARTSingapore 2000, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
1999
Le Salon For Art Collectors, London.
Le Salon For Art Collectors, Paris.
Layers of Colors, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Aku: Portret Diri, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur.
1998
Primitive Forms Modern Feelings. Solo, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Recent Paintings. Solo, The Orangutan House, Malacca.
Different Visions, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
1997
Charles Cham: Yin + Yang. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yin-Yang Paintings. Solo, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.
Tresors International Art Fair, Singapore.
1996
Recent Paintings. Solo, The Orangutan House, Malacca.
Represented Malaysia in the Oceasie art exchange in France:
Exposition Oceasie, Temple du Gout, Nantes.
Exposition Generation Métisse et Oceasie, Salon Republique, Saint-Nazaire.
Exposition Oceasie, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Cholet.
Exposition Oceasie, Universite de Nantes, Nantes.
Exposition Oceasie, Atelier Alain Le Bras, Nantes.
1995
Yin Et Yang Et Cetera. Solo, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
Symphony of Shadows, Les Tableaux, Kuala Lumpur.
A Christmas Celebration with Charles Cham and Sambas, Gallerie Taksu, Kuala Lumpur.
Cultural Property Asia, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
1994
Yin-Yang Paintings and Drawings. Solo, The Spice Route, Malacca.
Nudes and Portraits. Solo, The Spice Route, Malacca.
1993
Paintings of Malacca. Solo, Air Keroh Expo Centre, Malacca.
1990
Salon des Independants, Aix-en-Provence, France.
1989
Salon des Independants, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2008
Faces To Figures. Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
2005
Ballads. Solo, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
Ballads II. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.
ARTSingapore 2005, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2002
Opposite Attraction. Solo, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
ARTSingapore 2002, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2001
The Yin and Yang of Charles Cham. Solo, Galerie LeonArt, Basel, Switzerland.
Exposicao Lusofona. Solo, Galeria Municipal Gymnasio, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fantasies and Realities. Solo, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.
TIME: The Watch Has No Numbers, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.
Summer Exhibition, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
ARTSingapore 2001, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
2000
Yellow Culture. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yellow Culture. Solo, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
ARTSingapore 2000, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.
1999
Le Salon For Art Collectors, London.
Le Salon For Art Collectors, Paris.
Layers of Colors, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Aku: Portret Diri, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur.
1998
Primitive Forms Modern Feelings. Solo, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Recent Paintings. Solo, The Orangutan House, Malacca.
Different Visions, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
1997
Charles Cham: Yin + Yang. Solo, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yin-Yang Paintings. Solo, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.
Tresors International Art Fair, Singapore.
1996
Recent Paintings. Solo, The Orangutan House, Malacca.
Represented Malaysia in the Oceasie art exchange in France:
Exposition Oceasie, Temple du Gout, Nantes.
Exposition Generation Métisse et Oceasie, Salon Republique, Saint-Nazaire.
Exposition Oceasie, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Cholet.
Exposition Oceasie, Universite de Nantes, Nantes.
Exposition Oceasie, Atelier Alain Le Bras, Nantes.
1995
Yin Et Yang Et Cetera. Solo, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
Symphony of Shadows, Les Tableaux, Kuala Lumpur.
A Christmas Celebration with Charles Cham and Sambas, Gallerie Taksu, Kuala Lumpur.
Cultural Property Asia, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
1994
Yin-Yang Paintings and Drawings. Solo, The Spice Route, Malacca.
Nudes and Portraits. Solo, The Spice Route, Malacca.
1993
Paintings of Malacca. Solo, Air Keroh Expo Centre, Malacca.
1990
Salon des Independants, Aix-en-Provence, France.
1989
Salon des Independants, Aix-en-Provence, France.
CLOSE
Charles CHAM started painting at the age of five inspired by the first movie he ever saw. It was a story about an artist with a magic brush and everything he painted became alive. He painted birds and they flew away. He painted fish and they swam away in the river. Finally he painted a woman, she became alive and they fell in love. When Charles came home that day after the movie, he started to draw a portrait of the painter on the floor with some cake powder belonging to his mother. That was his first portrait.
After working as an editorial artist for a few years in Kuala Lumpur, he went to France to paint. He became a member of the Association des Artistes Independants in Aix-en-Provence and exhibited in the Salon des Independants in 1990 and 1991. In 1993, he set up his studio in the old quarter of his hometown in Malacca, Malaysia, and named it The Orangutan House. In 1995, he mounted his solo exhibition "Yin Et Yang Et Cetera" at the Creative Centre, National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. This quickly followed by other exhibitions in the region and internationally. Since then he has exhibited in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal and Malaysia.
"There is no painting without drawing. For a painting to be strong, it has to come from a drawing. Drawing is the basis of it all, the mother of art. Drawing is the idea, the thought; painting is the emotion, the expression.
I love the simplicity of form and colour. I believe that simplicity is the most profound stage one can achieve, what we look for in art and in life. I look for this in my paintings and paint only what is necessary. With this, I hope to achieve a passionate intensity in terms of colour, shape, line, texture and space." Charles Cham, 1997.
Cham has been working since 1991 on is Yin & Yang pieces, painting in proliferation to keep abreast of the images he sees everyday. "The Yin and Yang paintings are actually multiple paintings. They are in fact two paintings on one canvas, with each other facing in the opposite direction." "I believe that drawing is thinking and painting is feeling. Therefore, I draw what I think and paint what I feel. As there is no feeling without thinking, there is also no painting without drawing. Sometimes I feel more comfortable calling my works painted drawings rather than just paintings."
This compulsion is evident in his current suite of paintings, each an example of the duality in human nature and relationships. That all the paintings can be seen either from the top or bottom has become a trademark of Cham's current work based on the dualistic philosophy of the yin and yang. It is witty rejoinder from the painter that different viewpoints give various insights to the same object, in this case, the harrowing and charged relationships between people.
Cham's paintings, like much primitive-inspired work, narrate stories of human relationships and behaviour. The ambiguity and ambivalence of his work is heightened by the use of humorous titles. Charles has exhibited in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Europe, Australia and the US. He was born in Malaysia in 1962.
Charles Cham's works are in private art collections in more than 40 countries.
After working as an editorial artist for a few years in Kuala Lumpur, he went to France to paint. He became a member of the Association des Artistes Independants in Aix-en-Provence and exhibited in the Salon des Independants in 1990 and 1991. In 1993, he set up his studio in the old quarter of his hometown in Malacca, Malaysia, and named it The Orangutan House. In 1995, he mounted his solo exhibition "Yin Et Yang Et Cetera" at the Creative Centre, National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. This quickly followed by other exhibitions in the region and internationally. Since then he has exhibited in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal and Malaysia.
"There is no painting without drawing. For a painting to be strong, it has to come from a drawing. Drawing is the basis of it all, the mother of art. Drawing is the idea, the thought; painting is the emotion, the expression.
I love the simplicity of form and colour. I believe that simplicity is the most profound stage one can achieve, what we look for in art and in life. I look for this in my paintings and paint only what is necessary. With this, I hope to achieve a passionate intensity in terms of colour, shape, line, texture and space." Charles Cham, 1997.
Cham has been working since 1991 on is Yin & Yang pieces, painting in proliferation to keep abreast of the images he sees everyday. "The Yin and Yang paintings are actually multiple paintings. They are in fact two paintings on one canvas, with each other facing in the opposite direction." "I believe that drawing is thinking and painting is feeling. Therefore, I draw what I think and paint what I feel. As there is no feeling without thinking, there is also no painting without drawing. Sometimes I feel more comfortable calling my works painted drawings rather than just paintings."
This compulsion is evident in his current suite of paintings, each an example of the duality in human nature and relationships. That all the paintings can be seen either from the top or bottom has become a trademark of Cham's current work based on the dualistic philosophy of the yin and yang. It is witty rejoinder from the painter that different viewpoints give various insights to the same object, in this case, the harrowing and charged relationships between people.
Cham's paintings, like much primitive-inspired work, narrate stories of human relationships and behaviour. The ambiguity and ambivalence of his work is heightened by the use of humorous titles. Charles has exhibited in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Europe, Australia and the US. He was born in Malaysia in 1962.
Charles Cham's works are in private art collections in more than 40 countries.
