Draft:Nik Zainal Abidin (Malaysian artist)

Nik Zainal Abidin Nik Mohamed Salleh (1933 - 1993, Kelantan, Malaysia) was a self-taught artist and a pioneer in incorporating traditional art forms into modern fine art in Malaysia. He was the first to use Kelantanese Wayang kulit forms for modern art forms in oil, watercolour and sculpture.

Nik Zainal has the distinction of having works being in the foundational National collections of both Malaysia and Singapore. His 1959 work "Wayang Kulit Kelantan" was gifted by the Shell Companies in Malaysia to the Malaysian Government to form the nucleus of the collection of the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. Similarly, his work was gifted by Loke Wan Tho to the Singapore Government, which became Singapore's National Collection of visual art, currently under the care of the National Gallery, Singapore.