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Painter Arfial presents retrospective exhibition to mark 50 years of his artistic journey
Veteran artist Arfial Arsad Hakim is showcasing dozens of his works created between 1968 and 2018.
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Arfial’s choice of shades are not those of primary colors, but the cool and calming shades of pastel. The muted tones of green and blue that dominate Arfial’s works signify a serene mood and are easy on the eye. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
A
rtist Arfial Arsad Hakim is showcasing his works at Bentara Budaya’s Balai Soedjatmoko in Surakarta, Central Java. The exhibition, titled "Retrospeksi Karya Perjalanan 50 Tahun" (Fifty Years of Work in Retrospective), is slated to run the whole of October, featuring dozens of Arfial’s works created between 1968 and 2018.
“This exhibition marks my journey as a painter for 50 years. To me this is a retrospective, or sort of a flashback into my body of work,” Arfial told The Jakarta Post at the exhibition venue.
The works of the veteran artist include watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, sketches and drawings. Afrial, a retired professor from the School of Art and Design (FSRD) at Surakarta’s Negeri Sebelas Maret University (UNS), is known for his finesse depicting natural landscapes.
“Looking at the works of Pak Arfial, I feel calm. He presents nature, the mountains, forests and their surroundings in a different way,” said Ravik Karsidi, rector of UNS at the opening of the exhibition.
In the hands of Arfial, paintings of scenery are not presented in vivid, detailed strokes and colors as is typical in paintings of natural scenery. Arfial’s style is more focused on color gradation in soft pastels to capture landscapes, mountains and rice fields.
The sky and rice fields are painted with soft strokes. Arfial's painting are more than just visual depictions of nature, but also evoke its mood. Peace and serenity are conveyed in each painting.
Arfial’s choice of shades are not those of primary colors, but the cool and calming shades of pastel. The muted tones of green and blue that dominate Arfial’s works signify a serene mood and are easy on the eye.
“Nature is the place where human’s journey in life is supposed to meet a feeling of peace and tranquility. That is why the colors in these paintings are not common,” said Arfial.
“Fifty Years of Work in Retrospective” presents artworks that follow Arfial’s journey to many cities such as Medan in North Sumatra, Palembang in South Sumatra, Bandung in West Java and Surakarta in Central Java. He signals the natural and cultural differences according to the locations that inspire each painting.
Read also: Celebration of watercolors at Balai Soedjatmoko
Prior to this exhibition, Arfial, who graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology's (ITB) school of fine arts in 1978, held exhibitions titled “Pesona Indonesia” (Wonderful Indonesia) in Brunei Darussalam and Jakarta, “Solo dalam Sketsa” (Surakarta in Sketches) at Balai Soedjatmoko, Surakarta, and “Sewindu Beber Seni” (Eight Years of Arts Exposition) at Fort Vrederburg Museum in Yogyakarta. (mut)
