The Island of Gods is notorious for attracting artists to paint its rich culture over the centuries and Ahmad Zakii Anwar is one of the contemporary artists who excel in capturing the alluring dances of Bali from Kebyar to Barong and Legong. On offer here is a preparatory study of a dancer perhaps executed on the spot while the artist was observing the dance. From a successful advertising background, he switched fulltime to fine art in the early 1990s and has become a master of Urban Realism. A graduate of Graphic Design from the Mara Institute of Technology in 1977, he made great impact with the Smoker series for his first solo in 1997. Zakii came to attention with his virtuosity and command of a spectrum of media from charcoals to oils, building a reputation for stunning photorealistic still-life paintings and expressive portraits. His career milestones were noted in 2007 when he joined the premier ranks in the artist’s workshop project at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, as well as a mid-career survey exhibition Disclosure held at Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur in 2008. He has had a number of notable exhibitions abroad such as Bones and Sinews, Andrewshire Gallery (USA, 2011), Kota Sunyi, C.P. Art Space (Indonesia, 2007), Shadowland, Plum Blossoms Gallery (Hong Kong, 2001) and Presence, Barbara Greene Fine Art (USA, 1999). He participated in an artist residency program hosted by Baik Art in Jeju Island, Korea in October 2013.