KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — For more than 40 years, the work of the late internationally acclaimed Malaysian artist Datuk Ibrahim Hussein hung in quiet seclusion inside the chairman’s office at Menara Maybank, its audience limited to a handful of executives and invited guests.
Measuring 152cm by 152cm, Ibrahim’s Megawati 78 — an acrylic-on-canvas rendition of a Malayan tiger — represents a departure from his usual works, which typically feature semi-figurative or figurative elements set within flattened or nebulous spaces.
Although completed in 1978, the work featuring Ibrahim’s trademark “printage” — his way of combining printmaking and collage together — remained largely unseen by the public for nearly five decades.
Today, the painting finally enters the public eye as one of 90 artworks from Maybank’s corporate art collection being shown publicly for the first time at the ongoing Maybank Art Collection Exhibition (MACE): “Held in Time, Built on Trust” currently held at Balai Seni Maybank, Menara Maybank here.
MACE curator Liu Cheng Hua said the exhibition brings together selected works acquired by Malaysia’s first homegrown bank, many of which were previously housed in the corridors, offices and institutional spaces of Menara Maybank, reflecting Maybank’s role as a custodian of these artworks since its establishment in 1960.
“Many people do not know that Maybank has an art gallery and most of these artworks are displayed in the director’s or chairman’s office where most employees are unaware of their existence.
“Some of these pieces are so rare that even those acquainted with the artist themselves never knew such artworks existed, especially in a painting style the artist isn’t known for,” he told Malay Mail during a curated tour recently.
MACE curator Liu Cheng Hua presenting the late Kelantanese batik master Ismail Mat Hussin’s ‘Perempuan Pasar (Pisang)’, a batik on cotton fabric created in 1996. The artwork is awash in the warm, earthy tones that are a hallmark of Ismail’s style. — Picture by Choo Choy May
For Liu, curating 90 artworks from Maybank’s collection of more than 350 pieces to be presented in three rotating cycles (30 per cycle) was no easy task.
Among the challenges he faced were artworks requiring restoration because environmental factors had caused deterioration in the paintings or their original frames over the years.
Still, that did not deter Liu — who is also Head of Fine Arts at the Malaysian Institute of Arts — from curating the collection to encourage visitors to engage with the works in parts and reflect on how artistic expression evolves across generations and shifting contexts.
Besides Ibrahim’s work, the exhibition also features pieces by Datuk Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir, known as the “Grand Dame of Malaysian Abstract Art”; Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, hailed as the “Father of Malaysian Modern Art”; Kim Hai Lim, nicknamed the “Apple King” for his renditions of apples; and several other notable artists.
“A majority of the works were created when the artists were just starting out and some no longer paint in this style.
“It is just an amazing and surreal feeling to see these works from local artists for the first time because I just didn’t know they created this kind of artwork before,” he said.
For the first time in over four decades, visitors can experience selected works acquired by Maybank Group from renowned local artists during the formative stages of their careers. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Public viewing ahead of move to new headquarters
Group Corporate Affairs Head and Maybank Foundation chief executive Izlyn Ramli said MACE offered insight into Maybank’s long-term commitment to supporting Malaysian artists and the local art ecosystem, particularly during the formative years of the nation’s modern and contemporary art scene.
Most importantly, Izlyn said MACE also gives both the public and Maybank employees a rare opportunity to experience artworks acquired and gifted to the bank before its eventual move to its new headquarters at Merdeka 118 — the world’s second-tallest and Malaysia’s tallest building — in the second quarter of 2026.
“Because these are very exclusive, one-of-a-kind paintings, only those who have meetings or are guests of any part of our businesses might see some but not all.
“Now that we are moving to the new offices, before we really move and hang it again on our new office floors, we want to ensure we can share and make accessible a collection built over decades with others,” she told Malay Mail.
Visitors experiencing the artworks from Maybank’s collection at Balai Seni Maybank. ‘Malam Karyawan’ by Raja Azhar Idris, an oil on canvas produced in 1995, can be seen on the rightmost. — Picture by Choo Choy May
She added that MACE is part of a broader effort by Maybank to strengthen Malaysia’s cultural landscape, as the paintings highlight the evolving techniques and artistic journeys of their respective artists over time.
With MACE, Izlyn said Maybank felt it was timely to reconsider its role as custodian of the collection, noting that preservation alone is not enough and that there is value in curating the works thoughtfully and sharing them more openly.
Since opening to the public on February 11, the exhibition has welcomed roughly 6,000 visitors, a response that Maybank described as an encouraging sign of public interest.
The exhibition runs until April 17 and is open to the public from 9.30am to 5.30pm every Monday to Friday at Balai Seni Maybank in Menara Maybank.
Admission is free.