Lot 002
AMRON OMAR
b. Kedah, 1957
PERTARUNGAN, 2001
Signed 'amron' (upper left0, dated and titled '17 april 2001 PERTARUNGAN' (lower left)
Charcoal on paper
54cm x 36cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur
ESTIMATE RM 9,000 - 12,000
PRICE REALISED RM 22,000 |
Amron Omar’s pugilistic silat poses which depict halfnaked male figures showing off their well-built physique are lodged in the Malay-Muslim ethos of the Malay Archipelago. They show the silat exponents in strategic combat poses which are part ritual and part psyche. The rise of Iran’s religious pedagogue Ayatollah Khomeiny in 1979-1980 with a fundamental brand of Islam saw a suppression if not a complete ban of any form of human representation that promoted idol-worship. In Amron’s silat posturing, it is more about the inner struggle of Good versus Evil. Hence, the figures are rendered shadowy for a sense of movement and devoid of any physicality. Amron Omar graduated from UiTM (Universiti Teknologi Mara) in 1980 and won the Young Contemporary Artists Minor Award for his work Self Portrait in 1982. Selected exhibitions include Gerakan, Art Case Gallery (Malaysia, 1997), Imagining the Contemporary Body, Galeri Petronas (Malaysia, 1996), Sime Darby Art Asia Exhibition (Malaysia, 1985). His first ever solo exhibition Pertarungan showcasing over 150 works spanning three decades is currently on view at National Visual Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
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