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.