KUALA LUMPUR — Sixteen Malaysian, Singaporean and French artists are putting their artistic works on display at a weeklong exhibition at the Soka Gakkai Malaysia here.
The “Pont de Arts” exhibition, which was opened by French Ambassador to Malaysia Jacques Lapouge Sunday, showcases 66 art works by the artists, who all studied at the prestigious Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts Paris.
The exhibition is the fourth in a series but is the first involving French artists. Previous exhibitions were held in Singapore, Paris and Kuala Lumpur.
Three French artists — Francois Bardez, Michel Herbin and Dominique Thibault — are showcasing their works.
The Malaysian artists taking part in the exhibition include Tan Tong, Tew Nai Tong, Foo Loh Sang and Lim Kim Hai.
Pont des Arts 2002 chairman Tan Tong, in his welcoming address, said the exhibition was aimed at promoting closer ties among countries through art and cultural exchanges.
“I hope this exhibition will bring closer relations among artists from different countries to interact and foster better global friendly ties in art and culture in this new millennium,” he said.
Lapouge, in his speech, also hoped the exhibition would pave the way for closer relationships and cultural exchanges between the three countries.
“Faced with the new challenges of globalization, the existence of such a multicultural event is particularly precious,” he said.
He said the participation of French painters would give more significance to the event and contribute to increased intellectual and artistic exchanges among the Malaysian, Singaporean and French people.
France has always been a country that is rich in art, and in the early 20th century Paris was the centre of the art world.
Pont des Arts or the Bridge of Arts is located near the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, which links the centre of France’s great science and art academies, the Institute of France, and the world renowned museum of Louvre, where the famous painting Mona Lisa is housed.
The exhibition is open to the public from noon to 6pm until Dec 8.