Charles Cham

ABOUT CHARLES CHAM. Born 1962, Malacca Malaysia. OFFICIAL SITE: charlescham dot com.
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 Indépendants in Aix-en-Provence and exhibited in the Salon des Indépendants 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.

Charles CHAM’s works are based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang – the duality of life and the attraction of opposites. He believes that everything has another side, visible or not. “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.”

Charles CHAM divides his time between studios in Malacca and Budapest where he is now based. His works are in the collections of art collectors in more than 40 countries.

More information and paintings at charlescham dot com.


BIODATA

Born 1962 Malacca, Malaysia.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2005
Ballads, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
Ballads II, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.

2002
Opposite Attraction, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.

2001
The Yin and Yang of Charles Cham, Galerie LeonArt, Basel, Switzerland.
Exposição Lusófona, Galeria Municipal Gymnásio, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fantasies and Realities, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.

2000
Yellow Culture, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yellow Culture, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.

1998
Primitive Forms Modern Feelings, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Recent Paintings, The Orangutan House, Malacca.

1997
Charles Cham: Yin + Yang, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yin-Yang Paintings, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.

1996
Recent Paintings, The Orangutan House, Malacca.

1995
Yin Et Yang Et Cetera, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

1994
Yin-Yang Paintings and Drawings, The Spice Route, Malacca.
Nudes and Portraits, The Spice Route, Malacca.

1993
Paintings of Malacca, Air Keroh Expo Centre, Malacca.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2005
ARTSingapore 2005, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.

2002
ARTSingapore 2002, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.

2001
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
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
Different Visions, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.

1997
Trésors International Art Fair, Singapore.

1996
Represented Malaysia in the Océasie art exchange in France:
Exposition Océasie, Temple du Goût, Nantes.
Exposition Génération Métisse et Océasie, Salon République, Saint-Nazaire.
Exposition Océasie, École des Beaux-Arts, Cholet.
Exposition Océasie, Université de Nantes, Nantes.
Exposition Océasie, Atelier Alain Le Bras, Nantes.

1995
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.

1990
Salon des Indépendants, Aix-en-Provence, France.

1989
Salon des Indépendants, Aix-en-Provence, France.

THERE IS NO PAINTING WITHOUT DRAWING.

"I believe that drawing is thinking and painting is feeling. Therefore, I draw what I think and paint what I feel. Drawing is the idea, the thought. Painting is the emotion, the expression. As there is no feeling without thinking, there is also no painting without drawing."

- Charles CHAM



Charles CHAM’s works are based on the eastern philosophy of Yin and Yang. There is no fixed top-bottom position for his paintings. In fact, they are actually two paintings on one canvas, sometimes side by side and other times intertwined, and can be viewed from both directions. His challenge is simple: what else can you create on a flat four-sided canvas?

CHARLES CHAM


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2005
Ballads, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.
Ballads II, Art-2 Gallery, Singapore.

2002
Opposite Attraction, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.

2001
The Yin and Yang of Charles Cham, Galerie LeonArt, Basel, Switzerland.
Exposição Lusófona, Galeria Municipal Gymnásio, Lisbon, Portugal.
Fantasies and Realities, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.

2000
Yellow Culture, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yellow Culture, Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong.

1998
Primitive Forms Modern Feelings, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.
Recent Paintings, The Orangutan House, Malacca.

1997
Charles Cham: Yin + Yang, Art-2 Gallery, The Substation, Singapore.
Yin-Yang Paintings, Framed Gallery, Darwin, Australia.

1996
Recent Paintings, The Orangutan House, Malacca.

1995
Yin Et Yang Et Cetera, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

1994
Yin-Yang Paintings and Drawings, The Spice Route, Malacca.
Nudes and Portraits, The Spice Route, Malacca.

1993
Paintings of Malacca, Air Keroh Expo Centre, Malacca.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2005
ARTSingapore 2005, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.

2002
ARTSingapore 2002, Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore.

2001
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
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
Different Visions, Ganesha Gallery, Bali.

1997
Trésors International Art Fair, Singapore.

1996
Represented Malaysia in the Océasie art exchange in France:
Exposition Océasie, Temple du Goût, Nantes.
Exposition Génération Métisse et Océasie, Salon République, Saint-Nazaire.
Exposition Océasie, École des Beaux-Arts, Cholet.
Exposition Océasie, Université de Nantes, Nantes.
Exposition Océasie, Atelier Alain Le Bras, Nantes.

1995
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.

1990
Salon des Indépendants, Aix-en-Provence, France.

1989
Salon des Indépendants, Aix-en-Provence, France.