Lot 75
KHOO SUI HOE
b. Kedah, 1939
SISTERS BATHING AT SEA, c. early 1970s
Signed ‘Sui Hoe’ lower left, inscribed ‘Khoo Sui Hoe
Sisters Bathing At Sea Oil’ on reverse
Oil on canvas
86cm x 86cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur;
acquired directly from the artist.
ESTIMATE RM 20,000 - 35,000
PRICE REALISED RM 20,900 |
Water is always a cleansing ritual used in the works of Khoo Sui Hoe. Invigorating and even sensual, it is a source of life found only in Nature. While specific location is seldom important for Sui Hoe’s work, except maybe for the Cameron Highlands series, the inspirations for this work is a beachfront in Sungai Petani, Kedah, where Sui Hoe used to go to during his younger days when based in Kulim. Although frequented by the young, the place has become one of calmness despite the waves and as though exclusively for the two water nymphs shown with the cast of their dramatic shadows. The sky is brilliant with patterns of clouds. It is a beautiful day for a dip, as the two damsels demonstrate, with the lobster-red of their skin from long exposures to the midday sun. This work was done at the same time as Swimmer and Lovers By The Sea (illustrated on pages 66 to 67, The Painted World of Khoo Sui-Hoe, Penang State Art Gallery, 2007).
Sui Hoe, who divides his time between the United States and Malaysia, is a cult hero in Malaysian art folklore for being one of the earliest who dared to become a fulltime artist at a time of economic want and early nationhood. He has also helped promote art and other artists through his setting up of the Alpha Singapore Gallery in 1972 and the Alpha Utara Gallery in Penang in 2004 and through his founding of the Utara Group of artists in 1977. After graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1961, he pursued further studies at the Pratt Institute in New York in 1977. He won First Prize (oil category) in the 1965 Malaysian Art Competition and a Honourable Mention in Salon Malaysia 1969. His other awards include twice winning the Asian Arts Now Awards given by the Las Vegas Museum in the United States in 2002 and 2004. In 1974, he was awarded the prestigious John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund Grant.
REFERENCE
The Painted World of Khoo Sui Hoe, Khoo Sui Hoe Retrospective, Penang State Art Gallery, 2007.
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