LOT 85
RAPHAEL SCOTT AHBENG
(B. Indonesia, 1944)
Pedagang Ikan, 2014
Signed and dated on lower right
Oil on canvas
94 x 94 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 10,000 – RM 15,000
Ever since he was a child, Gunarsa has been involved in art activities such as stone carving, wood carving and tahatan. He obtained his experience in art from a formal school of art called SSRI Denpasar from 1970 to 1973. Thereafter, he studied at the University of Udayana, in the Faculty of Technic Arts of Painting). He became an art teacher at the Indonesia Institute of Arts (ISI Denpasar), in Bali. He has taken part in various exhibitions from 1979 until 1990.
His subjects are often the Balinese people, the life they live and the nature that surrounds them. As depicted in this piece, the Balinese dancer is portrayed mid-motion, frozen in a moment that is captured and illustrated in beautiful, expressionistic colours. The soft palette leaves the viewer amazed at the sheer serenity and softness of the moment, and gives an insight into the lives and culture of the Balinese people.