LOT 03
TAJUDDIN ISMAIL
(B. N. Sembilan, 1949)
Untitled, 2009
Signed and dated “Taj 11/09” on verso
Mixed media on canvas laid on board
60 x 60 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
SOLD – RM 16,240
“Any painting, as a matter of fact, relies on grids – the very core of form and space. There is the organic form of space that we see in nature, and the architectonic forms that we see in buildings, arrangements or even in the endoskeleton of a fish.”
This piece, to an extent, looks like an aerial view on planet Earth – and as Tajuddin has said, even nature, at its very base, consists of grids. They were all based on the grids, on lines. How lines confine space, build space and break free from space.
In such simple exercise such as this, he created something poetic out of it, as seen in this piece – the exploration of Nature and grids. He explores more ideas, in understanding architecture and design, and the natural world. His ability to delicately broach the subjects of form and tone, space and bareness provide a meditative atmosphere that stimulates the mind. As fluently described, while his artworks explore grids, lines, colours and their relationship with each other, there is most definitely an embedded meaning deep within.
“Art should never be too direct. It becomes boring. It really needs to challenge the perception and not be too literal, otherwise there is nothing more to engage in. It should engage the viewer in so many ways,” said Tajuddin.
Tajuddin was born in 1949 in Negeri Sembilan, and has held a deep-seated passion for art since he was young. Having studied at MARA University Institute of Techonology (UiTM), he then studied Graphic Design at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, USA. Thereafter, he pursued his post-graduate studies in Interior Architecture at Pratt Institute in New York, USA. He was then granted the Fullbright Research Fellowship by the American Council of Learned Societies in New York. Tajuddin became a professor of design at UiTM’s Faculty of Architecture before resigning in 2004 to establish an art gallery, TJ Fine Art, with his wife.