LOT 5
TAJUDDIN ISMAIL, DATO’
B. N. Sembilan, 1949
White Veil No. 5, 1994
Signed and titled “Taj 1994” on lower right
Signed and titled on verso
Acrylic and stucco on board
38 x 38 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 6,000 – RM 9,000
This piece is teasing by nature, as Tajuddin plants a white veil in front of a plethora of colours that lurk behind this curtain. He inspires curiosity by being inventive and composite at the same time, stimulating the mind as viewers resist the urge to pull back the curtain that is obscuring the background.
Never straightforward and obvious with the messages he embeds into his artworks, Tajuddin connects with the audience by inducing various thoughts and perceptions, and that is what he seeks in his abstract art. His pieces revolve around Nature, and perhaps this piece a dialogue between the viewer and the art, about how everybody’s gazes and perceptions on Nature are often clouded, leaving them blind and ignorant towards the true beauty that lies behind the obstruction.
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.