Fendy Zakri

b. 1982, Malaysia

Fendy Zakri has established himself as a leading artist in Malaysia and is starting to gain recognition internationally for his deeply spiritual approach to his painting. Fendy is a minimalist artist, who brings his strong faith and background in Islam to his very pure "celestial-scapes". His lyrical Moonlight Fragment series, featured in this calendar, displays the artist's perception of the power and beauty of the moon and the sun, as they rotate in a heaven nuanced with undulating colors and shades. According to Malaysian newspaper The Star: "For fresh inspiration, he just went back to basics.

Fendy talks about spending many nights just looking at the moon, studying its contours, texture, and the different colours the moon and the sky exuded."

In the Moonlight series, the title of his work Dhuha refers to the prayer usually performed at the rise of the sun. This painting only shows one half of the moon, which takes on a blue-grey hue. The left corner of the artwork is painted in light blue while the right corner is black, reflecting the transition from night to day.

Fendy's works are inspired by nature, but draw on the principles of Islam, the poetry of 13th Century Persian poet Rumi, and the artist's own personal and religious journey. In 2011, he spent months travelling in India and had an influential stay in Delhi's Markaz Hazrat Nizamuddin Bangle Wali Mosque, where he heard lectures from scholars on Islam and spirituality. "They talked beautifully about love, humanity, and devotion to God, among other topics. From there, I got to learn of the inspirational spiritual story and poems of Maulana Jaläl ad-Din Muhammad or Rumi," he recalls.

The works of the artist display simplicity and fragmented geometric forms, which draw on the symmetrical patterns of Islamic art. He seeks to convey harmony and cosmic symmetry. The landscape genre investigates the painter's ability to record the authenticity of the real world and to communicate the artist's experiences in nature — the emotions, feelings, thoughts, and concepts that artists delve upon to create their work. In Fendy's case, these elements are influenced by the beauty and power of nature and, paradoxically, its evanescence.

Fendy Zakri, born in 1982, is a Malaysian Contemporary artist based in Kuala Lumpur. Having received his formal education in Mechanical Engineering, Fendy is a self-taught artist. Fendy's artwork can be seen in the collection of LVMH Group, Louis Vuitton Kuala Lumpur KLCC, and among other private & public corporations. His awards include Incentive Award, Mekar Citra Gallery, Shah Alam (2012), and Finalist MEAA (Malaysian Emerging Artist Award), Kuala Lumpur.

In 2021, his works were in the successful group exhibitions titled Stay, a collaboration between TAKSU and Hidden M Gallery in Seoul, South Korea. He held his first solo exhibition Seeing The Unseen at Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur in 2014. He is most frequently exhibited in Malaysia, but also has had exhibitions in Singapore, with a solo show and six group shows over the last three years. A notable show was Moonlight Fragment at TAKSU Kuala Lumpur in 2019.