Lot 010
AWANG DAMIT AHMAD
b. Sabah, 1956
RUMBIA DAN PUCUK PAKU (ESSENCE OF CULTURE SERIES), 1992
Signed and dated 'A. W. DAMIT 92' (lower right)
Mixed media on canvas
76cm x 61cm
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Singapore.
ESTIMATE RM 10,000 - 16,000
PRICE REALISED RM 61,600
|
The works of Awang Damit Ahmad are predominantly based on nature conveying an elegiac quality. The sentimental bittersweet memories of childhood pastimes and intimate impressions of a place in the past (his hometown in Kuala Penyu, Sabah) and a much-changed present are some of the themes seen in his abstraction. This work stems from his early major series, Essence of Culture (EOC) and illustrated here as the title suggests is his expression of rumbia and fern shoots. Expressive brush strokes in bold red, natural grey and olive green with hints of blue is applied onto textured canvas in what was to become an iconic body of work for the artist. Dated 1992, this is the earliest EOC piece on offer in this sale.
Awang Damit Ahmad came into the national limelight when his work was selected for the travelling Malaysian Paintings exhibition in Pasadena, USA in 1988. He had shown early promise when his work won Minor Award in the Young Contemporary Artists competition in 1984. A graduate with a Diploma in Art and Design at the Mara Institute of Technology in 1979, he obtained his Masters from Catholic University, Washington, USA in 1990. He won Second Prize in the Malaysia Bank Association art competition in 1988. In 1992, a work from his EOC series called Farmer’s Song clinched the Painting Prize at the coveted Third Salon Malaysia. He also received Honourable Mention at the 1994 and 1995 Philip Morris Malaysia Art Awards.
|