22 Lock Road #01-34
Gillman Barracks
Singapore 108939

Tue - Sat: 11am - 7pm
Sun: 11am - 6pm
Closed on Mondays & PHs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Consonance & DissonanceSolo exhibition by Zulkifli Lee
13 July – 18 August 2024

Artist talk by Zulkifli Lee, moderated by Louis Ho: Saturday, 13 July 2024, 3pm – 4pm
Vernissage: Saturday, 13 July 2024, 4pm – 7pm

Mizuma Gallery is pleased to announce Consonance & Dissonance, a solo exhibition by Zulkifli Lee.
Malaysian artist Zulkifli Lee, in his first solo exhibition with Mizuma Gallery, presents a series of abstract paintingsand sculptures that are characteristic of his materially-based visual language. His objects are largely craftedfrom natural materials, such as soil, limestone and used wood. Not unlike the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which
is premised on an appreciation for impermanence and imperfection, these works foreground the patina of passing
time, evince the defects inherent in nature, and allude to the traces of our constantly shifting environment andmaterial culture.
Zul’s paintings are premised on geometric patterns of lines, waves and shapes, and created from varieties of native
soil and limestone collected from locations around Malaysia. The palette of these compositions are entirely organic,
derived from their constituent materials; there were no artificial colours or dyes involved in their creation. Their
designs are reminiscent of the abstraction of Islamic aesthetics. His sculptural works, on the other hand, arefabricated from found wood and steel, the base materials of large-scale construction and industry. The former was
sourced from old homes, disused train tracks, abandoned bridge structures and also acquired from stores selling
second-hand wood. Carved into modular components, these wooden blocks are juxtaposed with steel lattices ininterlocking combinations that evoke the repetitive systems of modern life, networks of relations and the built
environment created by mass production.
These new bodies of work, as the artist notes, speak to the metaphysical axiom that “we are always part ofsomething larger than ourselves.” His objects embody “the paradoxical coincidence of opposites, since allparadoxes may be reconciled. Nature is built on opposites, on compromises between what is comforting anddisturbing, on the relationship and harmony between the contradictory opposites. These contrasts are our reality,and to ignore them would be to ignore the complexities of life. Like the consonance and dissonance of intervals

and chords in music, I want to celebrate the harmony of opposites, to acknowledge difference and learn to findthe beauty in it.”Consonance & Dissonance is dedicated to the exercise of correlating, harmonizing and, indeed, celebrating
difference and opposites, which is innate to the world we live in. The exhibition will run from 13 July to 18 August2024 at Mizuma Gallery, 22 Lock Road #01-34 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108939. The gallery will open from
11am–7pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 11am–6pm on Sundays. The gallery will be closed on Mondays andPublic Holidays. In conjunction with the launch of the exhibition, an artist talk by Zulkifli Lee, moderated by LouisHo, will be held on Saturday, 13 July 2024, from 3pm to 4pm; followed by an opening reception from 4pm to 7pm.
To confirm your attendance, kindly RSVP to info@mizuma.sg by Friday, 12 July 2024. A digital publication withimages of the artworks by Zulkifli Lee and a text by Louis Ho will be available.

Zulkifli Lee, Korus Duet, 2024, soil and limestone on canvas, 150 × 225 × 6 cm
© Zulkifli Lee. Photography by Dinn Diran, courtesy of Zulkifli Lee and Mizuma Gallery.

Zulkifli Lee, Julang, 2024, chengal wood and mild steel, 219 × 28 × 28 cm© Zulkifli Lee. Photography by Dinn Diran, courtesy of Zulkifli Lee and Mizuma Gallery.

About the ArtistZulkifli Lee (b. 1978, Pahang, Malaysia) holds a MA in Fine Art and Technology (2013) and aBA in Art and Design (2000) from Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. His practice explores
the dynamic between personalised and impersonalised forms, using the language of materials.
His work juxtaposes the beauty and paradoxes of the relationship between humans and nature.
Bridging Islamic aesthetic philosophies with contemporary principles, Lee references traditional
Islamic and Malay folk art to create minimal yet intricate compositions, often involving
systematic and rhythmic geometric patterns. Rather than striving for total control, he embraces
the element of chance and submits to the materials’ naturally occurring properties, sharing thecreation process with nature itself. Since 1999, Lee has exhibited extensively in galleries andinstitutions in Malaysia and abroad. As Rimbun Dahan’s year-long resident artist for 2017, hepresented his first solo exhibition Material, Order & Chance (2017). He also finished ACME
Studio Associate Artist Residency in London, UK in 2019. In early 2021 he presented a solo
sculpture exhibition titled Interdependence at TAKSU, Kuala Lumpur. He has exhibited inMalaysia, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. Zulkifli Lee
lives and works in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

About Mizuma Gallery
Executive Director Sueo Mizuma established Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo in 1994. Since its opening in Gillman
Barracks, Singapore in 2012, the gallery aims for the promotion of East Asian artists in the region as well as theintroduction of Southeast Asian artists to the international art scene. From 2014 to 2019, the artist residency
space “Rumah Kijang Mizuma” opened in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to create a new platform for dialogue bysupporting exchanges between East Asia and Southeast Asia. From 2018 to 2023, “Mizuma & Kips” opened in
New York, USA, as a shared collaboration between Mizuma Gallery from Tokyo and Singapore and Kips Gallery
from New York.

About Gillman Barracks
Set in a former military barracks dating back to 1936 and surrounded by lush tropical greenery, the Gillman
Barracks visual arts cluster was launched in September 2012. Gillman Barracks’ vision is to be Asia’s destination
for the presentation and discussion of international and Southeast Asian art. Today, Gillman Barracks is a place forart lovers, art collectors, and those curious about art. The cluster is a focal point of Singapore’s arts landscape, andanchors the development of visual art in the region and beyond.

Press Contacts
Theresia Irma
General Manager
E. theresia@mizuma.sg
T. +65 6570 2505
www.mizuma.sg
www.mizuma.shop
www.mizuma-art.co.jp

Mizuma Gallery
22 Lock Road #01-34
Gillman Barracks
Singapore 108939
Gallery hours:
Tue–Sat: 11am–7pm
Sun: 11am–6pm
Closed on Mondays & Public Holidays

Text © Louis Ho and Mizuma
Gallery.
© Zulkifli Lee. Photography by Dinn
Diran, courtesy of Zulkifli Lee andMizuma Gallery.
This exhibition is a collaboration
between Mizuma Gallery and