Latiff Mohidin

B. 1941

Born in Seremban, Malaysia, Latiff Mohidin emerged as a child prodigy who grew into one of Malaysia’s most celebrated modernists. He studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin from 1960 to 1964 on a German scholarship, where traces of German Expressionism shaped his early style.

His artistic journey expanded with travels across Southeast Asia, where encounters with the landscapes and cultures of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia enriched his visual language. In 1969, he pursued printmaking at Atelier La Courrier in Paris and continued to refine his practice at the Pratt Institute in New York on a John D. Rockefeller III scholarship.

Throughout his career, Latiff has remained a restless and evolving force in Southeast Asian art.His achievements culminated in 2018 when he became the first Southeast Asian artist to be featured at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.