작품 상세

This lively rendition of the artist's friend conveys the warmth of their friendship, with a sensitive focus on the subject's expression and distinctive traits, such as wavy, tousled hair, set against a striking batik backdrop. The friend raised the wattage of his radiant smile to the maximum. Jai has a double Masters in Painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (1988) and the Pratt Institute, New York (1994) after his BFA at the Mara ITM in 1985. His first solos were abroad, Malaysia Hall in London (1987), and for drawing, New Gallery in New York (1994), before his home solo at ITM in 1996. Although it was his Lifeform solo at Taksu Kuala Lumpur in 1996 that saw a "repackaged" Jai, he was already making waves when he won the Major Award in the Young Contemporary Artist (BMS) competition in 1985 and followed this up with the Gold Award in the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank art competition in 1991. His other accolades include the 1st Prize in the Murray Hill drawing competition in New York in 1994 and the Rado Switzerland commission in 2005. Jai was awarded the coveted Anugerah Akademik Negara (National Academic Award) for the visual arts category in 2019. His recent solos include Melekat: Malay Kitsch, Galeri Puteh (2023), and Sepia Tak Sepi, UR-Mu@Toffee (2025).