Jalaini Abu Hassan or “Jai” is a contemporary Malaysian artist. His works are inspired by current events, expressed in local and familiar imagery and focused through his personal lens of nostalgia and history. 

Educated at MARA Institute of Technology (now UiTM), where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. Jai continued his education — under scholarship — at the prestigious institutions of the Slade School of Fine Art in London and Pratt Institute in New York, where he obtained his master’s degree and master of fine art respectively. 

A process painter, Jai is interested in the exploration of the act of creating a work, the exploration of materials and mediums, and the marks that form a drawing. 

He is always pushing back the boundaries in search of new processes and working towards presenting a Malaysian visual vernacular, one whose meaning would undoubtedly speak of his identity and culture. 

Acclaimed at home and internationally, Jai has held solo exhibitions in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the US where he presented Bangsawan Kebangsaan at the Tyler Rollins Fine Art gallery in April 2011. 

Jai’s works are in the collection of the National Art Gallery and in private, corporate and gallery collections around the world.

Figures of total auctioned sold lots and value derived from in-house independent research are best estimates based on 2010-2013 Malaysian auction house data