LOT 49
Tajuddin Ismail, Dato’
B. N. Sembilan, 1949
Grey Horizon, 1993
Signed and dated “Taj 1993” on lower right
Signed, titled and dated “GREY HORIZON October 1993 Taj 1993” on reverse
Mixed media on canvas
125 x 125 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 30,000 – RM 38,000
This artist’s training in Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Fine are heavily influenced his ‘boxscapes’ and ‘gridscapes’ works in the early 70s and 80s. While they seem more architectonic in form and character, they still revolve around conversations with nature, in spite of their more ‘urbane’ feel.
Any layout or any landscapes for that matter have their own grid systems, as they are integral in composing any work. These dictate the arrangements of forms and spaces, and that caught Tajuddin’s interest, as something so ordinary has the ability to be so exceptional and he demonstrates that through this piece, tinted in his usual choice of subdued colours.
“A simple square can be exciting. In the early days I used squares and boxes to create my works. That’s why I called them boxscapes (a landscape of boxes). They were all based on the grids, on lines. How lines confine space, build space and break free from space. In such simple exercises, we can create something poetic out them too,” said Tajuddin.
A former student of UiTM, Tajuddin Ismail studied Graphic Design at the Art Centre College of Design in Los Angeles in 1974 before venturing into Interior Architecture at the Pratt Insitute in New York. He is the recipient for various awards such as the 1977’s National Drawing Competition, the Major Award, the Minor Award, 1978’s National Graphic Arts and the 1979’s Salon Malaysia Award. Currently, he is Sunway University’s Fine Arts department’s Assistant Professor and Academic Advisor.