Lot 79 | Auction XIV

LOT 79

JOHN LEE JOO FOR
(B. Penang, 1929)

Untitled, 1966

Signed and dated “LJ FOR 66” on lower middle
Chinese ink and colour on paper
59 x 49 cm

Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur

SOLD – RM 2,912

“The true artist is an intellectual, finely attuned to all the influence of the arts around him. He draws from the worthwhile of music, poetry, literature and the philosophical sciences. He is not brashly and emptily modern. He admires the best of history and customs and traditions and invokes the images and patterns of the past to empearl them in fresh
light and look in the modern symbolic context of today.” – Lee Joo For

In this artistic adaptation of by Lee Joo For, strong and forceful lines are present, as are an assortment of intermingling, mellow colours. The focus of this piece is the architecture of the subject itself, accompanied by the other detailing such as the horses and the people. The results of the artist’s works are the collective influences from his Chinese heritage, Malaysian upbringing and Western education.

Lee Joo For was awarded a scholarship by the Malaysian government to study art at Brighton College of Art and the Camberwell School of Art and the prestigious Royal College of Art. He is also a leading playwright, and a lecturer for arts.