Established Frech visual artist Marc Goldstain bids goodbye to his inaugural exhibition here in Malaysia hosted by the Alliance Francaise Kuala Lumpur.
By SHAFIQUE DANIAL JOHARI
It is not every day that we get to witness renowned foreign artists showcasing their artwork here in Kuala Lumpur but Marc Goldstain has done the honours of holding a 2-month long exhibition to showcase and share his views on how people reconnect with the greeneries that surround us in daily life. “I can feel people getting interested again in nature,” says Goldstain who started his exhibition back in March. His inaugural KL exhibition titled “Tales of concrete jungles and inner gardens” started on Mar 18 and just ended recently on May 20.
Goldstain has always been well known for portraying urban landscapes into his beautifully coloured paintings. He says that our greens have changed so much and that is why he is interested in representing the greens within a city. Now that more and more people are interested in nature, he now wants to move on to other subjects, finding the relationship between urbanity and nature.
In his art, Goldstain also practices a long-lasting meditation process and he believes that this has helped him so much that it is fundamental to him. “First and foremost it is a way of life!” shares Goldstain passionately. For quite some time, Goldstain has been applying a technique called “full-presence meditation” founded by Danis Bois, a PhD and professor in Psychoeducation. It is a kind of meditation based on body sensations which prioritizes sensations over consciousness and now that meditation has become more fashionable and cool, Goldstain has been adapting this into his daily rituals. “Meditation is now fully part of my life and thus my art. I am connected to my sensations when I paint,” Goldstain admits.
Talking about the title of Goldstain’s exhibition, he says that the word “inner garden” is a name he picked up from the theory of a French philosopher Merleau-Ponty. “Inner garden is the name I use for the home of the senses. This home of the senses is the origin of life; it is a conscious and expressive perceiving body,” according to Goldstain. “I also obviously play with the double-meaning of the planted ‘garden’ as it is the theme that currently inspires me.”
Goldstain also says that he is concerned about how nature is playing a role in our daily life and strongly believes that nature is very much connected to our human essence. On top of that, he also thinks that it is very important to take care of our inner peace. “While we have to take care of our environment, one must not forget to take care of one’s ‘inner garden’ and I even believe that this is how we find solutions for environment, for what is external to us,” shares Goldstain.
While the exhibition ran for more than 2 months, but due to a hectic work schedule, the spiritually active artist had to fly back to France after only a month-long stay here in Kuala Lumpur. However throughout his stay, he says that this country has taught him a lot especially the special and unique Malaysian diversity of cultures. “The fact that three ethnic groups manage to live peacefully together as one people is very inspiring!” says Goldstain. He says that discovering this culture has enriched him in such a way whilst the famous Malaysian “tropical intensity” (a phrase chosen specifically by Goldstain due to our scorching humidity) has inspired him to see new shapes and colours.
BASKL also got the chance to ask whether he got to learn a few Malaysian words or maybe even try a few local food and he shared that he is now able to say “Selamat Datang” and “Terima Kasih”. However Goldstain added, “next time I visit Malaysia, I will improve my vocabulary, I promise!” It is always nice to have conversations with a person with good sense of humour. Nevertheless, it was the cultural diversity and vibe that Malaysians portray that impressed him the most. “It was very stimulating to work in harmony with the city’s rhythm,” shares Goldstain. He also says that he really loved our colourful Malaysian batik shirts and thinks that it brings poetry to one’s daily life. “I like the fact that bright colours are considered fashionable for both men and women! From now on, I will always dress this way!” joked Goldstain. Goldstain said that he has fallen in love with our Malaysian batik that he might consider creating a series of paintings on batik alone.
“I would like to thank Alliance Francaise Kuala Lumpur especially Ms Violaince Dupic, the director at AFKL for inviting me.” Goldstain also wanted to thank the whole team at Aliance Francaise Kuala Lumpur for making this happen and for inviting him to Malaysia to have this exhibition.
Malaysia and Malaysians will always welcome you again with open arms Marc Goldstain and we do hope that one day we will be able to see your batik series of paintings become a reality. Till next time! Au revoir and Merci beaucoup Monsieur Goldstain!
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