작품 상세

Arguably, one of the finest of the gifted artist Khalil Ibrahim's compositions of his beachhead fishermen works, this large 1998 work in acrylic belies its elegant simplicity and use of Pop colours accentuated with batik patterns on the sarung. Khalil had consummately used acrylic, oil, watercolours, pastels, batik and (Montel) pen with his southpaw flourish of this trademark theme extolling the unsung heroic qualities of the East Coast fishermen fighting the vagaries of weather when venturing far out at sea. Half-naked women in a cluster of differently chromatised vibrant hues dominate the foreground sorting and transporting the catches, while the men loll in the top left corner. Each group has its sinuous rhythms, blessed and grateful for another successful outing / catch, and tomorrow is another day. Khalil Ibrahim's early promise showed when his fishermen painting won 2nd Prize in the Malayan Life national art competition sponsored by Lever Brothers in 1959. Three unexpected things Khalil Ibrahim did on his return from formal art studies in England (six years, extended): 1) He was relieved of his Pahang State scholarship commitments; 2) He initially jettisoned all that he had learnt to concentrate on batik painting, which was then in vogue; 3) He became full time artist immediately. But his tutelage at St. Martins School of Art in London gave him a strong foundation in his figurative, abstract and/or landscapes-urban scenes. He was the first Malaysian to have a solo in Indonesia in 1970, the year he had a double solo at the Samat Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. He was a co-founder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society (Organisation), and featured in its painting expeditions in Sweden and India. In 2004, he celebrated 50 years of painting in the exhibition, A Continued Dialogue, at Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur. His works have been collected by the National Museum in Singapore, Fukuoka Museum of Art in Japan, New South Wales Museum of Art in Sydney, and the Royal National Art Gallery of Jordan, etc.