Lot 034
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN, DATUK
b. Kedah, 1936 - d. Kuala Lumpur, 2009
UNTITLED, 2003
Signed and dated 'ibrahim hussein '03' (lower right)
Mixed media on canvas
40cm x 40cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Singapore.
ESTIMATE RM 35,000 - 50,000
PRICE REALISED RM 51,851.20
|
“I paint to express the silence inside me; consciousness of a certain space, a kind of stillness that builds up within… until it turns to restlessness. A painting is never finished. Each point of rest is also a point of beginning and has no ending.” – Ibrahim Hussein, Datuk.
Ib, as the artist was affectionately known, never confined his creativity to only paint on canvas. He was a visionary artist who created breath-taking works in both abstract and figurative paintings as well as sculptures. Here, Ib introduced layers and textures on canvas by using a white piece of fabric adhered onto primed canvas and began connecting the dots in tangerine and orange ink with hints of darker shades of brown, forming biomorphic grids and imagery. Its white void create an illusionary space and strands of threads unintentionally form a continuation of fine lines.
Datuk Ibrahim Hussein was enrolled at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore in 1956. He received a scholarship to study at the prestigious Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting and the Royal Academy of Arts in London where he graduated in 1963 and 1966 respectively. A Fullbright Award saw him touring the United States and participating in exhibitions there. His career hit sky-high when he was selected to exhibit alongside Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali in Kuwait in 1977. In 1970, he was selected for the Smithsonian Institute workshop in the Venice Biennale. He had won many illustrious international awards, including the Japan Foundation Cultural Award (1988), the Monte Carlo 18th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art (1984), the Order of Andres Bello of Venezuela (1993), the Order of Bernardo O’ Higgins of Chile (1996), the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award (1997) and the Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang (2007). A rare recipient of triple “Datuk” titles from various royalties, Ib was honoured with a retrospective exhibition by the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in 1986. After 11 years of struggles and planning, the Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation in Langkawi was launched in 2000. Together with his wife Datin Sim, he had organised the Club Mediterranee Asian Arts Festival in Cherating, Pahang and in Bali, Indonesia, as well as the 1st Langkawi International Festival of the Arts.
REFERENCE
Ibrahim Hussein: A Retrospective , National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 1986.
|