Art SG is the top contemporary art fair in Southeast Asia. Launched in 2023, it’s become a key player in showcasing amazing art and encouraging cultural exchange across Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific. This year, the fair took place at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre from January 17–19, 2025, featuring over 105 galleries from 30 countries and regions. It brought together a fantastic lineup of artists, including some incredible homegrown talent. Here are five Malaysian artists you should check out at Art SG 2025.
Justin Lim
Justin Lim has made a major mark in the art world, with his works shown in exhibitions across Southeast Asia and beyond, including Art Basel Hong Kong, the Jeonbuk Museum of Art in South Korea, and the Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan. Growing up, pop culture—especially album covers, comics, and films—along with his love for music, played a huge role in shaping his artistic vision. His art digs into modern social issues, using potent metaphors from urban subcultures. His art has a unique copy-and-paste style combined with eclectic colours to create startling interpretations.
Yeoh Choo Kuan
Yeoh Choo Kuan’s paintings are unapologetically gestural—with themes of spirituality, desire, violence, and the contradictions within the natural world and contemporary life. One of his standout works is Streaming Mountain, a three-part series inspired by his study of shan shui (mountain water), the traditional Chinese landscape style. The paintings are arranged in different formats and heights, which mimic the layers and rhythm of mountain ridges, bringing the concept of “shan” (mountain) to life. His incredible artistry earned him a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia: The Arts list.
Marcos Kueh
Marcos Kueh, a textile artist from Sarawak, is putting Malaysia on the map with his artwork. His pieces have been shown in big galleries like Museum Voorlinden, Stedelijk Museum, and Galerie Ron Mandos in Amsterdam. Kueh uses traditional weaving to tell stories with Sarawakian symbols, motifs, and characters, creating everything from massive pieces over eight meters long to smaller ones just a fraction of that size. At ART SG 2025, he showcased “EXPECTING”, a work inspired by a conversation he overheard between his parents about planning for cremation—a sombre reminder of their eventual passing and his anxieties as their grown-up son.
Anne Samat
Another artist putting Malaysia’s weaving techniques on the global map, Anne Samat has been in the art scene for over 20 years. Her woven creations are more like sculptures or totemic pieces, taking us on a unique journey through intricate, whimsical designs. What sets her work apart is her use of everyday items like colanders, rakes, and combs, which break up the flow of the weave in unexpected ways—many of these objects are significant to her. Her work resonates with themes of family, identity, love, individuality, and freedom, speaking to her own deeply personal experiences.
Mandy El-Sayegh
Mandy was born in Selangor to a Chinese-Malaysian mother and a Palestinian father. Known for her multidisciplinary approach, her work spans painting, sculpture, installation, and performance art. Drawing from her multicultural roots and time spent living in different countries before settling in the UK, her pieces often incorporate elements like newsprint, advertisements, aerial maps, anatomy books, and her father’s calligraphy. The result is a dynamic mix that breaks apart language and imagery, creating space to explore politics, history, geography, the human body, and beyond.
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