Biography

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he lives and works, Ivan Lam holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Maine College of Art, USA, and a Master’s in Contemporary Art and Design Practice from the University of East London. He began his career as a printmaker, using silkscreen to explore color fields and global issues, and was recognized by 2005 as one of Malaysia’s leading contemporary printmakers through his CMYK series. At a pivotal moment, he shifted his focus from printmaking to painting.

Over more than two decades, Lam has developed a multidisciplinary practice in painting, printmaking, and performance. Initially focused on painting, his work later expanded to include printmaking and performance. His works often incorporate resin to achieve a hyper-real finish. They engage with duality, tension, and contradiction, drawing from popular culture, current affairs, art history, and autobiography. Key series such as After All These Years..., Panorama, and Together Alone each mark different phases of his ongoing exploration of scale, material, and image-making.

A conceptual turn in his practice led to works such as Compendium of Malaysian Art (COMA) and The Death of a Nation / The Birth of a Nation. These works critique consumerism and racial division. Subsequent series—including FAUX, Nine Paintings of Bouquets, and Stone—examine truth, imitation, and impermanence. His performance works—66:06:06 and U-Turn—engage with duration, repetition, and political inertia.

Recent works include THE SOIL ON WHICH I BLEED, Aesthetics of Silence, and Catharsis (2022). These respond to the pandemic, sociopolitical tension, and the body. Blind Side (2023) extends into inclusive practices for the visually impaired. Works presented at the 2025 S.E.A. Focus examine geopolitical conflict through symbolism and crosshair motifs.

Lam has exhibited extensively internationally, including at Art Basel Hong Kong, VOLTA New York, and the Karachi Biennale. In 2019, he represented Malaysia at its first National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He was later selected for a residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York from December 2025 to March 2026. His work is held in the collection of Louis Vuitton, and works from S.E.A. Focus 2025 were acquired by the Singapore Art Museum.