Lot Essay
One of Ang Kiukok's greatest strengths lies in his ability to stretch an image without resorting to sheer contrivance or fabrication. The angular shapes tending towards cubistic abstraction, the strong contrast between black and white, and the disfiguration of the human anatomy are all but the artist's effort of 'objectifying' his own internal relationship with the external world.
Like many of his contemporaries who admired the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo, the latter's influence on Kiukok was however negligible or at most, limited to the artist's still-lifes from his formative years. The bunch of bananas and the plates of fruits from which the artist studied underlying structural forms, is the central theme that preoccupied the artist from the very beginning of his career. This subsequently evolved into a more complex and sophisticated level of thematic exploration when the figure of Christ, embracing figures of mother and child and the entangled lovers became recurrent subject-matters.
These subjects are the perfect platform for the artist's geometric rendering of form, partial abstraction, and the multiplication, reduction and strong colouring of planes; all of the stylistic trade marks which would be closely associated with the powerful works of Ang Kiukok. However the techniques and styles would not be sufficient if the artist lacked a profound understanding of his subjects and the works would not be uniquely Ang Kiukok if he hasn't allowed his own interpretation to manifest.
Kiukok's paintings of the Crucifixion, for instance, evoke both the religious significance of Christ's death. as well as the horror and abomination of such an impious act. Christ's mortal body is broken into geometric planes thus expressing the artist's empathy for the Saviour, while Christ's passive and composed expression accentuates his role as a victim.
The present Lovers which is dated 1994 is lacking in the dark sensibilities of his earlier works of the same subjects (dated 1978). The perfect intimacy and harmony between the lovers, however, remain intact and enforced with the use of contrasting colours that emphasize the two separate, yet inseparable bodies.
As the French Impressionist Edgar Degas once said: "It's all very well to copy what you see only in your mind. During such transformation the imagination collaborates with the memory. You reproduce only what strikes you, which is what is necessary. Then, your memory and imagination are freed from the tyranny imposed by nature." Indeed, it has been a life-long pursuit for Kiukok to free himself from this "tyranny imposed by nature" and the rich body of works stands as his testimony.
Like many of his contemporaries who admired the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo, the latter's influence on Kiukok was however negligible or at most, limited to the artist's still-lifes from his formative years. The bunch of bananas and the plates of fruits from which the artist studied underlying structural forms, is the central theme that preoccupied the artist from the very beginning of his career. This subsequently evolved into a more complex and sophisticated level of thematic exploration when the figure of Christ, embracing figures of mother and child and the entangled lovers became recurrent subject-matters.
These subjects are the perfect platform for the artist's geometric rendering of form, partial abstraction, and the multiplication, reduction and strong colouring of planes; all of the stylistic trade marks which would be closely associated with the powerful works of Ang Kiukok. However the techniques and styles would not be sufficient if the artist lacked a profound understanding of his subjects and the works would not be uniquely Ang Kiukok if he hasn't allowed his own interpretation to manifest.
Kiukok's paintings of the Crucifixion, for instance, evoke both the religious significance of Christ's death. as well as the horror and abomination of such an impious act. Christ's mortal body is broken into geometric planes thus expressing the artist's empathy for the Saviour, while Christ's passive and composed expression accentuates his role as a victim.
The present Lovers which is dated 1994 is lacking in the dark sensibilities of his earlier works of the same subjects (dated 1978). The perfect intimacy and harmony between the lovers, however, remain intact and enforced with the use of contrasting colours that emphasize the two separate, yet inseparable bodies.
As the French Impressionist Edgar Degas once said: "It's all very well to copy what you see only in your mind. During such transformation the imagination collaborates with the memory. You reproduce only what strikes you, which is what is necessary. Then, your memory and imagination are freed from the tyranny imposed by nature." Indeed, it has been a life-long pursuit for Kiukok to free himself from this "tyranny imposed by nature" and the rich body of works stands as his testimony.