Two painters explore humanity in joint expo

Two painters explore humanity in joint expo

JAKARTA (JP): In this modern era, people seem to be more
egalitarian and liberal than previous generations. In the realm
of art, a conducive and supportive atmosphere is unquestionably
important for creative development.

Even though a freedom of expression is still somewhat
constrained here, this does not discourage Achmad Syahri and
Munadi, two young Indonesian artists, from expressing and putting
forward their unique idea as well as their personal vision.

Their joint exhibition, titled Dua Nafas (Two Breaths), is
being held at Galleri Cipta III, Taman Izmail Marzuki arts
center, Jakarta, until Thursday. They share an almost similar
vision in the show: to explore humanity in the sense of looking
closely into humans' social life and their deep emotions.

Former minister of education and culture Fuad Hassan, who
opened the exhibition, said the two artists have a strong
inclination to depict objects in deformity but, surprisingly, can
exude beauty and artistic statements this way.

The two artists, when asked about the style of their
paintings, gave similar answers: they didn't adopt any particular
style because, they said, they do not want to be trapped in one
style.

Achmad Syahri is presenting 11 impressionistic paintings,
mostly of oil on canvas, while Munadi puts forward 12 paintings
of acrylic and oil on canvas.

Initially, they planned to hold solo exhibitions but due to
the arts center's tight schedule, they had to accept the joint
exhibition.

The Jakarta Art Council's management confirmed this by
indicating that in 1999, there would be no solo exhibitions, just
joint exhibitions due to a legion of exhibition proposals.

The council's chairman, Sulebar M. Soekarman, said that even
though the two painters were very indulgent in creating
mysterious imaginative pieces, he could perceive differences in
their vision. Achmad Syahri tends to explore the human psyche and
emotions, while Munadi delineates the same theme in a wider
aspect and portrays human social life and relationships among
individuals while simultaneously going deeply into a supernatural
world.

On their preference to delineate the human figure and to
explore a psychological aspect, both painters responded that a
human being is the most dynamic object for study, especially the
psychological aspect, which consists of abstract factors of,
among other things: emotions, consciousness, the soul,
intelligence, inner beauty and other obscure matters.

As a matter of fact, almost all artists deal with this matter
since all humans up until now, after thousands of years, still
don't understand about themselves completely.

"I always tried to pour my whole contemplation and thought
into my paintings," Munadi said.

Most of his paintings depict human figures in bizarre forms
and quite deliberately adorned with circles and dominated by
gloomy colors. This monochromatic style of painting might have
become Munadi's trademark as it can be seen in all his works. He
has named his paintings with simple titles -- Sosok (Figure)
numbered from 1 to 12, and he seemingly has a bold sense of humor
by adding some words or sentences to his paintings. He surely has
his own reason for this artistic deed; he said that the words
also have forms and color and he hoped these words could express
his thoughts and statements.

While Achmad Syahri presents his paintings more gaily colored,
he seems to shares a similar idea with Munadi in exploring the
human psyche although, unfortunately, they tend to expose only
the dark and gloomy side of life. This fact can also be known
from his paintings' titles, for example: Was-was (Worried),
Gundah (Anxious), Wajah-wajah cemas, Wajah-wajah was-was (Worried
Faces). Syahri has other paintings with more dynamic and wider
spectrums, such as: Getar Alam (Nature Vibration) and Tentang
Hewan (About the Animal).

Figurative paintings by Syahri are made creatively by mixing
dark colors with bright colors in stimulative forms, and this
technique makes him distinguishable from Munadi.

Both Syahri and Munadi have been painters since 1981, and they
have participated in many prestigious art events in Jakarta and
overseas, either in solo or joint exhibitions. Munadi has held
eight solo exhibitions in many big cities in Indonesia and
abroad. Munadi asserted that he wants to dedicate his life to
painting, even if leading a life as an artist is not quite
promising in Indonesia today.

Deliberately, this joint exhibition is also expected to be a
good chance for observers and the public to compare the artworks
of the two painters, either to know their similarities or to
identify their conspicuous differences. And, inevitably, this
joint exhibition also serves as a means of competition for both
painters because willingly or not, they will get rather different
responses and reviews from the public. This could mean positive
stimulus for both painters as well as potential young Indonesian
artists.