Accompanied by a certificate issued by Finale Art File confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

ABOUT THE WORK

The older works of Ang Kiukok often had flat surfaces. He dealt with perspective, working around it through color modulations or through either merging or breaking up surfaces. Kiukok explored a purely pictorial element in this 1979 oil painting, Fish. The red fish on the plate does not look edible or appetizing, as it is portrayed with sharp teeth and spiky bones. He rendered the fish as though with x-ray vision, revealing what is beneath the flesh. The overlaying or superimposing of one hue on another was his way to show the volume of the fish. Other subjects of Kiukok also underwent a similar approach; for one, his fighting cocks were armored gladiators with bladed spurs and metallic claws. His imagery, however, does not intend to insult. To him, bodies are more interesting when bare of flesh, exposing the underlying structural form. For the same reason, the skeletons of a fish are more dramatic than the same fish alive, still with its soft skin of flesh. “I want to be able to see underneath the skin,” Kiukok said. (P.I.R.)