Ivan Lam

Ivan Lam is one of Malaysia’s most noteworthy contemporary artists. He is celebrated for his fearless experimentation with techniques and materials—spanning resin, vinyl, honey, soy wax, silk-screen, acrylic, aluminium and more—to explore conceptually rich territories. Over a career of more than 20 years his boldness and versatility have made him a key figure in the national art scene.

Lam’s work has been shown widely, both in Malaysia and abroad—he was one of four Malaysian artists to represent Malaysia at the fledgling National Pavilion at the 58th La Biennale di Venezia in 2019. Among his many firsts: he remains the only Malaysian artist to mount a solo project at Art Basel Hong Kong (2013); first to be commissioned by Louis Vuitton for their art collection; and first to contribute to the Karachi Biennale in Pakistan. His accolades include the 2003 Philip Morris Malaysian Art Award (Grand Prize) and being a 2006 Sovereign Art Prize (Hong Kong) Top 10 finalist.

During the pandemic Lam launched “The Ivan Lam Giveaway”, a social-experiment project where anyone holding RM100 had a chance to win a piece of his artwork valued at RM15,000. The initiative provoked discussion around art-accessibility and Lam channelled proceeds to UNICEF.

Since 2024 through 25 he has delivered a number of ambitious projects: in late 2024/early 2025 he mounted Blind Side, a solo exhibition at Wei‑Ling Contemporary (Kuala Lumpur) centred on blindness and accessibility, featuring paintings with braille inscriptions; in January 2025 he took part in the group show FOCUS 2025 in Singapore presenting new works on the human condition; and in February and March he exhibited The Dichotomy of Opposites at Wei-Ling Gallery and Wei-Ling Contemporary, exploring contrasting human experiences such as doubt and certainty through two bodies of work with differing styles and materials. In 2025 he also collaborated with Martell on an exclusive design for the Cordon Bleu aligning with his ongoing interest in cross-disciplinary and luxury collaborations.