About

“I paint nature, memory, and myth — tracing fragments of the archipelago that live on in stories, dreams, and the quiet wild we often miss.”

Rianne Kow is a Malaysian artist working between Beijing, Malaysia, and Australia. With a Master’s degree in Management from Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris and training in oil painting at CAFA Beijing, she merges global experience with a practice centered on wildlife, memory, and myth. Working in oil, acrylic, mixed media, and encaustic, her art reflects both her Southeast Asian heritage and international perspective. Her work has been exhibited across Asia and beyond, where she invites audiences to reconsider coexistence between humans and the wild.

I paint where nature, memory, and myth meet. My work explores the overlooked ties between humans and wildlife — from hidden traces in cities to echoes of the Malay Archipelago. Urban encounters, family stories, and cultural folklore all flow into my paintings, where reality and imagination overlap.

My figurative works often depict animals in human-like settings, blending humor, tenderness, and observation to suggest new ways of seeing coexistence. Alongside these, my abstract encaustic pieces draw from batik traditions and natural materials, evoking seas, earth, and microscopic terrains. Together, they form a practice that moves between the narrative and the elemental — an invitation to rediscover the wild in both familiar and forgotten places.

Materials & Techniques

My figurative paintings are built with acrylic and oil. Acrylic lays vivid undertones that set the atmosphere, while sketching, painting, and occasional mixed media — collage, texture, or air-spray — add rhythm. Oil enters later, refining details and deepening tones, bringing resolution while preserving a sense of motion. My abstract works often take shape in encaustic. I prepare my own wax medium on wood panels, layering and carving the surface into tactile relief. Inspired by batik traditions, I use a canting pen to draw molten lines, and sometimes embed natural fragments like seeds or stones. These works echo earth, sea, or microscopic terrains, extending my figurative practice into more elemental reflections.

Selected Exhibitions

Full CV available upon request

“Wild Harmony: Panda and Its Precious Friends” – The 4th Shenzhen International Biennale, Shenzhen, China (2024–2025)
“136 Fantastic Beasts” – Solo Exhibition, Space 687211, Beijing, China (Jan 2024)
“Jiwa Membumi” – Museum and Art Gallery, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2023)
“Together We Can” – Dafen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China (Purchased, 2023)
“Together We Can” & “United Around a Simmering Pot” – The 3rd Shenzhen International Biennale, Shenzhen, China (2022)
“Lowland Tapir Liqiu and His Friends” – Featured as limited print & tote bag design, Chimelong Safari Park, Guangzhou, China