Lot 86

LOT 86

JEIHAN SUKMANTORO
(B. Indonesia, 1938)

Si Penari, 2009

Signed and dated “Jeihan ‘09” on lower left
Signed, titled and dated on verso
Oil on canvas
90 x 70 cm

Provenance
Private Collection, Singapore
Acquired directly from the artist
Comes with certificate from the artist

SOLD – RM 9,520

Women are enigmatic, incomparable and made to be revered, although unfathomable, according to the artist. The mysticism is thus enhanced as Jeihan captures his dancer subject mid-performance. This piece is full of mystery with hints of riskiness that makes it even more thrilling. The artist chooses to paint his subject’s eyes black, to signify the depth of secrecy that surrounds a woman despite being unsettling at first. Dramatic and striking, there are many theories that surround the technique of painting black on the eyes of his subjects, and one of the few that were procured was that Sukmantoro was notorious for his non-conformist views when it came to painting the eyes, and the other being that he preferred his subjects to look out-of-this-world.

“We are all walking in the darkness of mystery, we still don’t know where we’ll go,” added the artist. Flat (like the wayang kulit he was inspired by when he was younger), minimalistic and set against a huge amount of space, they signify the physical and non-reality of things.