Artist Rosjid steps forward
Artist Rosjid steps forward
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor/Jakarta
As a solo exhibition of drawings by Rosid is almost coming to an
end, both the owner of Edwin's gallery and the artist may sit
back in satisfaction, as sales of the artworks have been more
than satisfactory.
The rise of Rosid as an artist, whose early beginnings were
outside the academic sphere, may not be a new phenomenon in the
Indonesian setting, considering the process of art education in
the early stages of modern art that centered on the sanggar, a
traditional atelier system.
What amazes is how Rosid determined his own sphere of
learning, by becoming a 'jack of all trades' to professional
artists, not declining even to help in household chores.
From a high school student who practiced drawing by making
portraits of his neighbors, Rosid (born in 1969) has now reached
the stature of a professional. That is evident from his current
solo exhibition, the sixth in eight years.
Twenty-one large works, the largest measuring 200 centimeters
by 300 cm, attest to the meticulous skill of his drawings, marked
by fine hatching (loose parallel lines) over an acrylic base.
This time, his works particularly highlight his joy as a
father in viewing his toddler and baby grow up in the warmth of
family love.
Similar to blown-up crops of photos taken at what will be
remembered as memorable moments, the works show fragments of
happiness, like the holding of a baby's foot in the palm of your
hand, or a baby's getting hold of your finger, and other dynamics
of simple action and reaction like the pressures on skin when
touching, holding, pinching, kissing or rubbing.
Within the context of photorealistic works, Rosid invented the
illusion of a dream by filling the canvas with a realistic image
while leaving a part of the canvas blank, the contours of the
face only slightly visible as in Mimpi Menggapai Awan' (Dreaming
to touch the heavens). The line of the visible and the invisible
is further drawn by a separate part which has been inserted into
the canvas.
Rosid, who seems to have experienced a personal resurrection
through his young fatherhood, further explores his realistic mode
by adding the conceptual to his photorealism. In Tumpuan Harapan
(Fundament of Hope) the child's hands are laid upon the parent's
hands while a green-leaved branch symbolically emerges from the
child's hands.
As Rosid avidly travels the wide horizons of ideas, artistry,
imagery and techniques, there is no doubt as to his further
proceeding on the path of excellence.
Larger than Life
Solo Exhibition by Rosid
Edwin's Gallery,
Jl. Kemang Raya 21
South Jakarta
through 28 May