ART Mustapa

R A Fine Arts is proud to present a solo exhibition by Mustapa Haji Ibrahim, entitled "Mustapa Haji Ibrahim : Paintings 1968-2008 4th Solo Exhibition". For more than two decades Mustapa Haji Ibrahim has been out of the public eye. Therefore this exhibition which displays pictures spanning forty years re-connects the public with Mustapa Haji Ibrahim. In another way, the public meets Mustapa anew and for the first time. R A Fine Arts Gallery is proud to enlist the curatorial capabilities of T.K. Sabapathy in organizing this important fourth solo exhibition of Mustapa Haji Ibrahim. Sabapathy is a renowned

Arca Kabut Warna. Acrylic. 1983.101x101cm

 South East Asian art historian who is currently an adjunct associate professor in the School of Architecture in the National University of Singapore and a consultant lecturer in the School of Art, Design and Media in the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where he teaches Asian art history.

Mustapa Haji Ibrahim was one of the artists who was directly involved in the formation of Anak Alam group, a seminal group of cutting-edge artist, poets and artistic personalities in 1974. Unassuming and keeping a low profile, he is loyal to the modest ways and views held by the members of Anak Alam.

Although linked with the Anak Alam group, but in actuality, Mustapa Haji Ibrahim's art activities had already started when he enrolled in Angkatan Pelukis Se-Malaysia (APS) at the Taman Budaya Studio, Jalan Ampang in the late 1960s.

However, as an artist who drew portraits and landscapes, this period became a bridge to his subsequent development. Inspired by nature and his social milieu, he became aware that art was not necessarily limited to the real world, but could also include the essence or the spirit of nature itself.

Subsequently, Mustapa Haji Ibrahim and a few friends got together and form Anak Alam in 1974. But unlike his peers in Anak Alam, such as Latiff Mohidin, who became widely recognised, Mustapa Haji Ibrahim remained largely in the shadows even though he has been painting consistently. Many feel this is because he has never been widely or appropriately exhibited.

He was not wholly ignored however, as prominent writers such as Redza Piyadasa as well as Krishen Jit and several others had written on him in the 1970s. Around the same time, his poems were also published widely. He also exhibited his works in three solo exhibitions: The British Council in 1973, Anak Alam Studio in 1979 and the Equatorial Hotel in 1983.

Yang Berbahagia Dr. Mohamed Najib bin Ahmad Dawa, Director - General of National Art Gallery will launch "Mustapa Haji Ibrahim : Paintings 1968 –2008―4th Solo Exhibition" on 24 May 2008 (Saturday) at 5pm. The exhibition will be held from the 17 May to 7 June 2008 and will be open to the public. Admission is free. For more details, please do not hesitate to call 03 – 2161 7341 (Monday - Saturday, 11am till 6pm). Address: R A Fine Arts, No. 6, Jalan Aman, off Jalan Tun Razak, 55000 Kuala Lumpur.