What do a polo player, Marilyn Monroe and a bull have in common? Nope, it’s not the evergreen star watching a bull fight with a polo player as her date, if that’s what strikes you first. These are rather inanimate paintings strategically placed in Galeri Chandan, a four-year-old art gallery that’s making small waves in the growing Malaysian art industry.

Populated not just with paintings but artwork with a modernistic bent, the idea for the gallery was conceived by three art ambassadors: Dato’ Seri Azim Zabidi, Faisal Ghazali and Nazli Abdul Aziz, the latter acting as its managing director.

Says Nazli: “Art is one way to unite a multi-racial society, but we in Malaysia need a creative economic master plan: How to turn the passion for cultural heritage into measurable returns for stakeholders.”

With that in mind, the art gallery has embarked on an ambitious plan to introduce emerging young artists to the world. It showcases young artists, such as the recent under-24-year-old artists from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and organises the Malaysian Emerging Artists Awards every two years. In the near future, it will start participating in international art fairs. On a monthly basis, the up-and-coming art gallery holds an exhibition with themes such as “Signs, Symbols and Icons”.

Other activities include podcast interviews with artists and certification of original works sold. Its clients include the Sultan of Selangor and Bank Negara. The gallery is also working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have Malaysian art displayed in embassies and consulates overseas with plans to curate an exhibition soon in the Malaysian Embassy in Islamabad. Other worthy initiatives undertaken include conducting a curator’s course to educate the market as to the role of a curator.

Galeri Chandan will relocate to new premises in Solaris Dutamas at the end of 2011. For more information, visit www.galerichandan.com