Contrasting displays of nature at exhibit

Contrasting displays of nature at exhibit

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): The work of painters Idran Yusuf and Gunawan
Hanjaya is currently being shown at the Titian Alam (Bridge of
Nature) exhibition at Galeri Linggar.

As the title suggests, the theme of the paintings on display
is nature. Although each artist paints in a unique style, both
stay within the traditional boundaries of representing nature,
which establishes a common bond between them.

Yusuf, born in 1953 in Pagaralam, South Sumatra, entered the
Indonesian Fine Arts Institute of Yogyakarta in 1972. Along with
painters Syaukat, Lanny Andriani, Sri Hadhy and Trip D. Sasomo,
he founded the Indonesia Five group.

Yusuf's oil on canvas paintings consist of two themes: idyllic
landscapes or chaotic jungle scenes. The idyllic landscapes are
depicted using basically a three-part composition consisting of
foreground and background, with the foreground usually containing
a water element. In Kedamaian (peacefulness), the water element
is a lake with water lilies, while in Nuansa Pagi (morning
nuance), it is a creek. The background is a land element filled
with vegetation. The third part of the composition is a space
beyond the background which turns into a mysterious void.
Although calm in spirit, these landscapes are rendered using such
dark color tones that they convey a sense of gloom.

By contrast, his jungle scenes, such as Anggrek Liar (wild
orchids) and Dynamics of the Jungle, appear to have no formal
composition at all. The paintings show landscapes with overgrown
vegetation.

Completed with such meticulous attention to detail, these
paintings are reminiscent of the work of Nisan Kristianto, and
even to a certain extent Widayat. Of course, Yusuf has a lot to
work on before he can even be compared to Widayat.

Painting in an entirely different style, Hanjaya presents
flowers as his main subject matter. He uses acrylics to give the
flowers bright and vivid colors and succeeds in obtaining strong
decorative images.

Hanjaya was born in 1954 in Solo. He learned painting at the
Himpunan Budaya Surakarta (Surakarta Cultural Association) under
the guidance of Indonesian realist painter Dullah. As early as
1979, Hanjaya already had a solo exhibition at Jakarta's Taman
Ismail Marzuki art center.

Some of his paintings are presented in metamorphic segments,
so that a number of different images seem to be blended together
into one scene. The flowers and the Balinese terracotta figures
in Bunga dan Yang Tertawa III (Flower and the Laughing Ones III),
are depicted as if they were seen through a transparent surface.
While most of the painting's background is dark, which makes the
flowers appear prominent, there are three segments where the
background is treated with lighter colors.

However, the artist does not make his intentions obvious,
leaving the painting obscure and therefore interesting.

In Gerbang Mawar (Gate of Roses), he displays an organic
decorative motif reminiscent of art nouveau designs framed within
a landscape of roses. The painting has two parts, defined by
subtle differences in color and a clear break in delineation of
forms. At the same time, however, the differentiation is so
slight that the two parts seem to blend well with each other.

Unfortunately, Hanjaya does not always succeed. Although,
Kamboja dalam Komposisi (Frangipani in Composition), evidences
his mastery of floral forms, this painting fails to achieve the
blending of two separate images, which he also clearly intended.

The artist is even less successful when he attempts to include
human figures in his work, either in the form of a statue in Arca
Di Kerumunan Bunga (Statue in a Crowd of Flowers), or a dancer in
Wajah Seorang Penari (Face of a Dancer). While his depictions of
vegetation appear fresh and vivid, his figures appear rather
awkward.

Hopefully this exhibition, which will last until Feb. 20, will
give the artists the courage to investigate subject matters
entirely different from the nature theme they have explored until
now.