LOT 65
ALEX ONG
(B. Johor, 1951)
Untitled, 1990
Signed and dated, with seal of the artist on lower right
Watercolour on paper
27 x 37 cm
Untitled, 1990
Signed and dated “ALEX B H ONG 90”, with seal of the artist on lower right
Watercolour on paper
27 x 37 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
SOLD – RM 5,600
Alex Ong’s paintings always have that naturalistic element to them, and he often depicts plants from the wild. His muse is the notable yarrow. Dubbed the ‘little feather’ in Spanish, this flower is always featured in his beautiful paintings.
Ong attended the Kuala Lumpur College of Art and graduated in 1977. Since then, he has held at least seven solo exhibitions, the first of which being in 1994. Ong has received two awards from the Malaysian Watercolour Society, one in 1987 and another in 1990, in recognition of his watercolour rock paintings.
Ong’s works have been cited as being able to “conjure up a romantic expression of life and love”, such as the paintings in his 2008 exhibition titled Romance. His third solo exhibition, Seasons 2, which was held in 2002 as a follow-up to 1999’s Seasons, reportedly took three years to complete. A member of the Singapore Watercolour Society, he visits New Zealand at least once every year to seek inspiration for his paintings.