From early beginnings to future exhibitions.
Mr Osman Mohammad is a passionate artist with a body of work that spans over thirty years. With his solo exhibition opening next month, ‘Conversations: through time’ showcases sketches and watercolour paintings that convey a dialogue through the decades; a conversation that carries the growth of infrastructure, the stillness of nature and the interaction with people.
Mr Osman gives a prologue to the body of work on display, beginning with his earliest experiences and what was it that drew him to arts.
“I started drawing when I was in primary school, at an early age: around eight, nine or ten years old.
When I was in secondary school, I joined annual painting competitions. One of the competitions I joined was in conjunction with His Majesty, and Yang-Di Pertuan Sultan of Brunei Darussalam’s birthday. I won a few awards from joining such competitions and it encouraged me to pursue art as a profession.
I had always liked to paint, draw and make craft. During my younger days I was drawn the power of art: its aesthetic value, visual power and its power to communicate. I was inspired by great master painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, who is not only a great painter but also a great inventor. And also Rembrandt, a portrait painter with his dramatic lights.”
Mr Osman then told us more of the mediums that was accessible to him during his earlier days in school, and who guided him through this period.
“In Primary classes i use ink to do my drawings, it was the most readily available medium to use at that time and was affordable. In Secondary, I use colours provided by school during the art classes so, given were wash and water colours as part of the curriculum,
And somewhere in Form 3, I was able and manage to buy oil colours, I used them especially for the national competitions and exhibitions. During the course of secondary classes I also studied and did Batiks as well as batik paintings. I experimented with other mediums such as mix media, and used acrylic which then was a new and popular medium.”
I would say my mentors are my secondary art teachers who always guided us during art classes, and senior painter Dato Paduka Asmalee, a well-known artist. These people, my teachers in secondary classes and Dato Paduka Asmalee even then recognised my talent and still give tremendous encouragement to my talent and my skill."
From 1985 onwards, Mr Osman was involved with a large number of national exhibitions and a joint exhibition between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. In 2010, Mr Osman pursued to be a full-time artist and was involved with art exhibitions in Bangladesh, Japan, China, Malaysia and Indonesia to name a few.
In appreciation to Mr Osman’s contribution to the local art scene, Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio will be hosting a solo exhibition showcasing artworks handpicked by Mr Osman himself.
Mr Osman gives us an understanding of the upcoming exhibition and what it discusses.
“I chose the theme and title of the exhibition as 'conversations', they are an important part of our daily life. And this exhibition of watercolour paintings and sketches have the connotation of something that is impromptu, like a recorded conversation in the flash of a moment the watercolour paintings and sketches represent issues of daily life from nature to human activities of everyday life.
My artworks exhibited in the upcoming exhibition are observations of social activities and reflections of contemporary issues. Some goes back as far as the 1980s and most recent as 2017.”
‘Conversations: Through Time’ opens on July 28th, 2017 at Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio. Subscribe with us to get updates on upcoming events or drop us a message and share with us your art stories.