LOT 36
AWANG DAMIT AHMAD
B. Sabah, 1956
Belatak Rapuh, 2010
Mixed media on canvas
91 x 91 cm
Artist name, title, medium, size and year on the verso. Signed by the artist on the verso.
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 35,000 – 60,000
Widely regarded as a towering figure in Malaysian abstract expressionism, Sabah-born master Awang Damit Ahmad is renowned for his raw, tactile canvases that interweave personal memories of rural life with profound commentary on human vulnerability. This intense, soul-searching philosophy is brilliantly captured in his 2010 work, Belatak Rapuh, an evocative piece from his celebrated Payarama series. Foregoing literal representation, Awang Damit Ahmad builds a heavily encrusted, weathered topography using thick mixed media layers, aggressive gestural strokes, and a gritty, earth-driven palette that mirrors the fragile state of traditional agrarian communities. The title, evoking a brittle or fragile harvesting basket, serves as a poetic metaphor for the slow erosion of indigenous heritage under the weight of modern progress. By balancing a fierce, instinctive painterly energy with deep cultural nostalgia, Belatak Rapuh stands as a powerful testament to Awang Damit Ahmad’s ability to turn elemental, abstract forms into a universal meditation on resilience and decay.