LOT 88
ISMAIL LATIFF
(B. Melaka, 1955)
Festival of Inner Jungle… Rainbow Paradise, 1999
Signed and dated “Ismail Latiff 99” on lower right
Acrylic on museum board
81 x 81 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
SOLD – RM 18,800
Ismail Latiff delivers us once more from the wear and tear of reality, and takes us into his realm of escapism. Not one to shy away from colours, Ismail’s works are always enchanting, speaking to us not only visually, but also spiritually. According to art critic Ooi Kok Chuen, Ismail Latiff is one of the greatest escape artists to ever wield the brush.
There is an instant comfort in gazing upon Ismail’s art, as they are always so full of life, seemingly teeming with visual comfort that seems so rare these days. With expert combinations and blending of colours that seem to simultaneously clash and harmonize, he paints dreams. Coincidentally, it was Van Gogh who said, “I dream of painting and I paint my dreams.”
In the midst of the more-than-welcome chaos of colours, Ismail Latiff’s circle of balance is ever-present at the top middle of the canvas, to symbolise the search to become one with the cosmos, as he described. “I embarked on a conquest of inner space, texture and colour, bringing the beauty of the natural world indoor, which is transformed onto paper and canvas”. The NHB of Singapore has two pieces in their collection by Ismail Latiff, namely ‘Festival of Inner Jungle I’ and ‘Puncak Pengkalan Serumbi’.