Taufan's paintings: A combo of rhythm and hues
Ve Handojo, Contributor, Jakarta
One punter looking through the Oktagon Gallery recently was perplexed. Why, he asked, was an abstract painting exhibition taking place in a photo gallery?
Perhaps he should have asked the artist, Taufan S. Chandranegara, whose work is on show at the gallery between Feb. 16 and Feb. 26. "Before I found this venue, I was looking for a warehouse. I looked for a place with strong lines," he explains. "Most of the other venues that I found were too clean. Here, I have this important construction," he said, pointing upward to the gallery's exposed ceiling.
The 49-year-old finds that the rough finish of the gallery's interior decor strongly compliments the esthetics of his abstract works.
The whitewashed walls frame the paintings to bring out what the painter calls "the energy" from each.
What energy may come out of an artist with a wide range of experiences; from graphic design to lighting design for stage plays, and from directing to acting for the controversial Teater Koma.
The answer lies in the rich variety of his brush-work. Sometimes curly, sometimes straight, and other times moving in vibrant chromatic spirals, Taufan's paintings contain coiled, captivating energy.
"In 1994, I decided to revisit fine arts; to paint what I feel, and that's it," he is quoted as saying in the exhibition catalog.
More than 10 years have passed and Taufan work is now mature; a flow of the rhythm from within; a harmonizing of the spectrum.
"It is not the color of the object that I try to capture, but the aura surrounding the object," he says.
His canvases are all washed with oils, and most work well, especially when he lets his brushes create the form and tell the story. With friendly signs and symbols, Taufan presents blazing energy in Midori Atawa Jaran Kepang, Fighting Cancer, and Last Life.
However, when he is entrapped in an urge to draw a form in Agony, or tell a story in Sleeping Beauty, he seems to lose a bit of his harmony, and his rhythm loses its integration. But when the brush and oils are set loose to express their own magical energy, such as in Color Blind Fate, or Thoughts of a Dying Atheist, the works reach a mystical, spiritual peak.
Taufan does not hesitate to hit on lighter tones. The brown- washed straight lines in Tiramisu present little more than the title promises. "I taste the delightful cake, and paint down the senses," he explains.
With these energies portrayed on a variety of different levels and in differing tones, the gallery exudes an honest, sensual and, at the same time, provocative atmosphere. "Because this is a visual art gallery, and abstract paintings are visual arts," Ening Nurjanah, a representative of Oktagon Gallery, says.
This justification may well explain why the audience, which passes through the photography store downstairs, will easily be able to enjoy themselves at this exhibition.
Taufan S. Chandranegara's solo exhibition runs through until Feb. 26 at Oktagon Gallery, Jl. Gunung Sahari Raya, NO. 50A, Central Jakarta