LOT 59
ISMAIL LATIFF
(B. Melaka, 1955)
Moonwater….Oceans of Secrets, 1997
Signed and dated “Ismail Latiff ‘97” on lower right
Signed, titled and dated on verso
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
138 x 178 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
“Illustrated on page 25 of “MOSAIC XIII” coffeetable book
Published in 2013 by KL Lifestyle Art Space
SOLD – RM 45,920
After Yusof Ghani moved on from his Protes Series, many had assumed that his paintings have undergone a complete makeover, from sinister and edgy to orchestrated and graceful. Yusof Ghani, however, refuted this. This work from the Tari Series did not change course, it still revolved around social remarks, and until this day, remained as his most popular and coveted series. In this series, he uses dance paintings to portray human behaviour and to experiment with lines, movement and colour.
“Life is sometimes like dancing – we move about with no purpose but we get lots of pleasure out of it,” said Yusof.
Despite how elegant this painting of dancing looks, it was never intended to be graceful. The lines and sketches on this artwork were executed freely and spontaneously in a frenzied and haphazard manner. It is perhaps, the play of colours, that gives this painting that polished, fluid air.