Sulaiman isa biography of mahatma

by Dr. Khatijah Sanusi

As cited by art critics and historians alike, Sulaiman Esa is one of the leading figures in the development of contemporary Malaysian art, in similar page with a few other Malaysian senior artists like S.A.

Jamal, Ismail Zain and Redza Piyadasa, who has struggled prominently through his art in linking spirituality, modernism and nationalism. His wide knowledge and intellectual acuity, has enabled him creating milestones in the trajectory of local contemporary art, in the last five decades (Kanaga, 2001; Rajah, 2001; Sharif, 2001).

Born in 1941, Johor Bahru, Sulaiman Esa, grew up in an artistically-inclined family where his interest in art was sparked by the work of his older siblings. 

On completion of his secondary schooling, more than twelve years of his life, were spent in the West, seeking art formal training in London, a Master in Fine Art, Maryland Institute, College of Art and a