Rise Above It is believed to be the only piece from Ibrahim Hussein (better known as Ib)'s China series that was sold by the late artist (to the current owner). The China series stems from Ib's tour to Kunming, among other Asian cities, in the mid-1990s, with trips to Beijing later. In the series, Ib remixed readymade images with gestural lines and forms, and reemployed 'printage', a transfer technique he made popular during the late 1960s. It represents Ib's interpretation of the triumphs and struggles in China's history. Rise Above It depicts a group of Chinese looking up at a 'cocooned form', which represents the 'New China' - a result of recent drastic change in China. China has risen, and will continue to rise. Datuk Ibrahim Hussein was the first Malaysian artist featured in the Venice Biennale (Smithsonian Institute Workshop, 1970). In 1977, he exhibited alongside Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali in Kuwait. He was a celebrity recipient of the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award (1997). In 1986, he was accorded a Retrospective by the National Art Gallery. He celebrated the opening of his Ibrahim Hussein Museum and Cultural Foundation in Langkawi in 2000 with the Langkawi International Festival of Arts. He had also organised the Club Mediterranee Asian Arts Festival in Cherating (Pahang) and Bali (Indonesia). He won the Monte Carlo art prize in 1984 and was awarded Venezuela's Order of Andres Bello (1993), and Chile's Order of Bernardo O. Higgins (1996), besides the Japan Foundation Award (1988) and the Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang (2007). He studied at the Byam Shaw School (1959-1963) and the Royal Academy in London (1963-1966).