Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj

b. 1987, Malaysia

With a diploma and a B.A. in Fine Art from UiTM Malaysia, Najib’s interest in the arts began in primary school where he started with sketches and participated in poster design competitions in school.

With a rustic style, Najib experiments with a multitude of materials, colors, and patterns, creating intriguing scenes as he subverts the expectations of his painted subjects. In 2020, his latest solo exhibition, ‘Pride & Prejudice’, held at TAKSU Kuala Lumpur, saw his focus shift from animal subjects to women. Drawing inspiration from a classic novel by Jane Austen and the movie adaptation of the same novel, this series tackled the tricky subject of human emotions. Embracing the practice of figurative art, Najib creates open-ended questions that viewers are drawn in to consider, challenging our readings of others – how they exist and how the world meets them.

Over the span of his career so far, Najib has participated in numerous group exhibitions including, ‘Endangered’, a two-man show with Hirzaq Harris at TAKSU KL (2011), Visual Art Award (2011), LiFest at MAPKL (2011), HIMPUN at the National Art Gallery KL (2010), and many more. In 2012, Najib had his first solo exhibition, ‘Great Migration’, at TAKSU Kuala Lumpur. This collection saw the highly-rated artist exploring various themes through his endangered animal-centric mixed media artwork on a range of surfaces, including mud, cement, recycled wood panels, and zinc. Najib was also a Finalist of MRCB Art Awards at the National Art Gallery (2008), First Prize winner in the Tanjong Heritage Art Competition in Kuala Lumpur (2010), Second Prize winner at Open Johor Art Competition (2009), and a finalist for the Visual Arts Awards in Kuala Lumpur (2011). His works can be found in major private art collections regionally and in the collection at Sri Perdana Putrajaya.