Awang Damit Ahmad
Awang Damit Ahmad
Born 1956 in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Awang Damit Ahmad is a celebrated abstract expressionist painter who was born in Kuala Penyu, Sabah in 1956. Awang paints ‘with all his senses’ as he creates dynamic intuitive works commemorating his adverse yet memorable childhood in rural Sabah. He topped his graduating class at UiTM in 1983 and obtained his MFA from the Catholic University of America, Washington DC, U.S. in 1990. Coming into prominence in the late 1980s when his work was selected for the travelling Malaysian Paintings exhibition in Pasadena, California, Awang had shown promise by winning a Minor Award in the Young Contemporaries Competition in 1984 and the Second Prize in the Malaysia Bank Association art competition in 1988. He also won the Painting Prize at the coveted Salon Malaysia in 1992 and received Honourable Mentions in Philip Morris Malaysia Art Awards in 1994 and 1995. His works are widely collected by individuals as well as institutions, including the National Visual Arts Gallery, Bank Negara and Petronas Gallery.
EDUCATION
Master’s Degree in Fine Arts, Catholic University, Washington DC, U.S.A.
Diploma in Fine Arts, MARA Institute of Technology (now UiTM), Malaysia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Eastern Aesthetics "Cross Border ", Art Seasons Gallery, Singapore
Estetika Timur, Galeri Puteh, Malaysia
ESTETIKA TIMUR: “Merentas Ruang dan Waktu”, CIMB Art & Soul 2024 with Segaris Art Center, MITEC, Malaysia
Qartas, A Papermaking Exhibition, Pantau IRAGA Artspace, Selangor
Dari Payarama ke Garismega, Galeri Prima, KL, Malaysia
Garismega, Art Moments, Jakarta, Indonesia
Garismega, Artdoor Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Garismega... New Journey, Art Stage Singapore, Singapore
Special Tribute – Awang Damit Ahmad, Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
BioRETRO, Pantau Iraga (Art Space) Malaysia
Dari Iraga ke Payarama, Segaris Art Center, Malaysia
Alun-Alun ke Marista, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Solo Show, Creative Centre, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Solo Show, Shenn’s Fine Art, Singapore
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Now & Then, Galeri Puteh, Malaysia
Go Block Vol 5: Contemporary Expanded Printmaking Residency Project, G13 Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Moderns Across Generations, G13 Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Twenty 20, Segaris Art Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Mask Art - Creativity Under Lockdown: UNESCO Beirut & Meadows Artists against COVID-19, Beirut, Lebanon
Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
2nd Meadows Art Exhibition, The Carrousel du Louvre, Salon des Beaux Arts 2019, Paris, France
19th (Japan) International Art Exchange, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan
Finest Artworks Representative Asian Artists, Vincom Center For Contemporary Art (VCCA), Hanoi, Vietnam
Shenzhen International Art Fair, Shenzhen, China
Art Moments, Jakarta, Indonesia
Shanghai Citizen Art Fair, Shanghai, China
Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Art Formosa, Taipei, Taiwan
Art Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan
Meadows “Personal Structures”, Le Stanze Delle Meraviglie -
Wunderkammer, Verbania Pallanza, Venice, Italy
Verbania Pallanza, Venice, Italy
International Culture Art Dialogues & Contemporary Art Shows Yolo Art Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
Meadows “Personal Structures” Salon des Beaux Arts, Paris, France
Shenzhen International Art Fair, Shenzhen, China
Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai, China
Kaoshiong Art Fair, Kaoshiong, Taiwan
Shah Alam Art Biennale, Tapak, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Negaraku, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Art Taichung, Taiwan
Art Formosa, Taiwan
The Unreal Deal (Six Decades Of Malaysian Art), Bank Negara Malaysia
Museum And Art Gallery, Malaysia
Meadows “Personal Structure”, Collateral, Venice Biennale, Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy
Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Art Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Art Shenzhen, Shenzhen Convention And Exhibition Center, Shenzhen, China
Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Kuala Lumpur Biennale, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The 15th (Japan) International Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition and Workshop, Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
International Art Exhibition and Symposium-Olympia Fine Art, Guwahati, Assam, India
Asian Artist Residency Projects, Fukuoka, Japan
Discovering Malaysian Contemporary Art, Shanghai
Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Art Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
A Door Ajar, Start Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, London
Art Basel, Convention And Exhibition Center, Hong Kong
Group Show, Mizuma Gallery, Gillman Barrack, Singapore
The Origin of Beauty (Dramatic Nostalgia), Busan Museum of Art, Korea
Sotheby’s Exhibition and Auction, Hong Kong
A New Dialogue: Southeast Asian Abstraction, Sotheby’s, The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore
Shanghai International Contemporary Art, Exchange, Exhibition and
Workshop, Graceland Park, Shanghai, China
Barehands, Asian Art Workshop & Exhibition, Bandung, Indonesia
Destination 2 - International art Exhibition, Vietnam
National Museum Of Fine Arts, Hanoi, Vietnam 28th AIAE, Taiwan
International Haiyan Fundraising Art Exhibition, Galleria Duemila, Manila, Philippines
The Art Exhibition of 9 Asian Artists, Ya Ming Art Museum, He Fei, Anhui, China
Taman Nurani, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur
9th International Art Festival & Workshop, Poh Chang Art Academy, Bangkok, Thailand
Masterpiece Fine Art Auction Exhibition, White Box, Map @ Publika, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Mokwoo International Art Fair (Miaf), Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea
1st Changzhou China International Art, Workshop and Festival, Changzhou, China
Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Earth, Puncak Gallery, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Suarasa, Segaris Art Center, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Soka Gakkai, Kuala Lumpur
Creative Cities Collection Fine Arts Exhibition, Barbican Center, London
The 1st Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale 2012, Korea
Invitational Show-SC-UiTM, Kuala Lumpur
Art Expo Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
27th AIAE, Rajchadamnern Contemporary Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand
26th AIAE, Seoul, South Korea
Invitational Group Show with Tajuddin Ismail and Drew Harris, TJ Fine
Art, Kuala Lumpur
Invitational Show, Galeri Chandan, Kuala Lumpur
Kalam 3, Puncak Gallery, Shah Alam, Selangor
25th AIAE, Ulanbatur, Mongolia
National Open Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
“Mixed Media” Art Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Pre-Mongolia (25th AIAE), Galeri Candan, Kuala Lumpur
Selangor Invitational, Galeri Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
World Exposition, Shanghai, China
Malaysian Contemporary 3G, Pipal Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ilham - Continuity, MIDF, Kuala Lumpur
Amal Palestin, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Group Exhibition, Galeri TNB, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Changing Phases, Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur
Charity Show, Galeri Candan, Kuala Lumpur
24th AIAE, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Art Triangle (Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia &Singapore), Soka Gakkai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Warna 2008 (Contemporary Malaysian Art), Consulate General of Malaysia, Hong Kong
Warna 2008 (Contemporary Malaysian Art), Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong
Invitational Art Show (Pelukis-Pelukis Selangor), Galeri Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
23rd AIAE, Guangdong Museum Of Art, Guangzhou, China
22nd AIAE, Imagining Asia: Understanding the Diversity and Change,
Selasarsunaryo Art Space, Bandung, Indonesia
Susurmasa (Time-Line), National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia-Poland Art Exhibition, FSSR Art Gallery, UiTM, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Vietnam-Malaysia Contemporary Fine Art Exhibition, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam
International Art Workshop and Exhibition, Jaskowo, Poland
21st AIAE, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
3rd New Expression Of Asian Art, Soka Gakkai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Asia Invitational Art Exhibition, Semar Art Gallery, Malang, Indonesia
Group Show (Awang, Taj, Sharifah And Abi Akira), TJ Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur
Sketch Exhibition, Elle Six Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Contemporary Malaysian And Vietnam Artist, Soka Gakkai, Kuala Lumpur
Pride For Breast Cancer Charity Show, Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Saruk Kinabalu (Pameran Pelukis-Pelukis Sabah), National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Narrative Strains (Koleksi III), Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur
20th AIAE, The Ayala Museum, Makati City, Manila, Philippines
19th AIAE, The Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan
Continuities: Contemporary Art Of Malaysia Art at The Turn of The
Century, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Post-Asia International Art Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“Inspirasi” Art Exhibition, Shah Alam Art Gallery, Malaysia
“Charity Art Exhibition” In Aid of the Iraqi People’s Humanitarian Assistance Fund, Art Talk Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
“Transition” Invitational Exhibition, Shah Alam Gallery, Malaysia
Art Exhibition & Auction (Tsunami Humanitarian Fund), Art Case Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Invitational Exhibition “Modern Malaysian Art 2003”, Elle Six Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
18th AIAE, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong
Alami II, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Baghdad 3rd International Festival of Plastic Art 2002, Saddam Art Center, Baghdad, Republic Of Iraq
The 17th Asian International Art Exhibition, Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art, Korea
Asian Fine Art Professor Exhibition, Korea
2nd Biennale of Islamic Contemporary Painting of The Islamic World, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
Malaysian Masterpieces, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Alun-Alun Ke Marista - Pameran Solo Terpilih (PST), National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“End Of Growth”, International Exhibition, Chulalongkorn Uni, Silpakorn Uni, Thailand
Group Show, Taksu Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Asia International Art Exhibition, Brighton University, England
Group Show, Kumpulan Pelukis Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia
16th Asia International Art Exhibition, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Bentuk Dan Makna Galeri Seni FSSR, UiTM, Shah Alam, Selangor
Pameran Berkumpulan, Galeri Taksu, Kuala Lumpur
Cahaya Dan Biasan, Art Case Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Festival Seni FSSR, Galeri Seni FSSR, UiTM, Shah Alam
Rupa Malaysia, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur
15th Asia International Art Exhibition, Tainan County Cultural Center, Taiwan
AWARDS
Malaysian Public University Icon Alumni, Ministry of Education, Malaysia
Awarded "Brandleadership Award Grand Master Icon Contemporary Artist", The Brandlaureate BestBrands Award 2022-2023
Special Award for Visual Arts of Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
Awarded (MCM Icons) - Lifetime Achievement in Modern Art, McMillan Woods (Global Award) Kuala Lumpur
2016 Awarded Alumni Cultural Icon (Universiti Teknologi MARA) Malaysia
Awarded Gold Medal (Olympic Fine Art, London)
Major And Consolation Award For “Salon Malaysia”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Awarded Gold Medal as Honorary Ambassador (1st Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale 2012), Korea
2nd Prize (Painting Competition Organised By Malaysian Bank Association, Kuala Lumpur)
Minor Award (The Young Contemporary Art Competition), National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Best Student Award (Fine Art) MARA Institute of Technology, Shah Alam, Selangor