An ongoing exhibit at Gaya Fusion Art Space shows the work of four artists from different social backgrounds -- and with dissimilar aesthetic propensities -- who were tasked with exploring the same topic.
The result is a captivating array of artwork, which are both distinctive and similar at the same time.
"The works are, of course, of distinctive beauty as each artist has their own way of interpreting the theme, yet all works reflect the four artists' similar awe and respect toward the theme," the exhibit's curator Kun Adnyana said.
Titled "Mutation and Invasion", the exhibit features 19 recent works by Jakarta-based Ipong Purnama Sidhi, Bandung-based Tisna Sanjaya and Bali-based artists Made Mahendra Mangku and Made Sumadiyasa.
The displayed works narrate the artists' struggles to revisit nature; arguably the most basic and frequently used theme in the history of fine arts.
Yet, it is also this theme that has never failed to inspire the greatest artists.
The recurring romance between the artists and the majestically beautiful, albeit mysterious, nature was the result of that humble realization.
"If we fix our gaze at the living cosmos and immerse ourselves in it, we will arrive at one ancient truth -- that essentially Man lives inside and through the continuous cycle of the macro-cosmos' five basic elements; water, fire, air, earth and sky," Kun said.
Balinese Hinduism identifies the elements as Panca Maha Bhuta, the five great elements that sustain life on Earth and at the same time also confine our spiritual souls to the physical and material world.
"They explored the spiritual depth of this elemental concept. Their reflective investigation to the fundamental building blocks of the universe gave birth to visual demonstrations as well as a poetic spiritual consciousness," Kun said.
The awareness to consciously talk about water, Kun explained, would naturally yield many critical questions. Those questions could be about the ongoing human-inflicted pollution to the world's waters or on water as the sacred material of so many spiritual beliefs in the world.
Similar questions could arise if fire was the focus of the discussion: How the source of fire (heat) had became the persistent cause of conflict among nations and how Earth was exploited in brutal manners in a tireless effort to extract oil and gas solely for appeasing the insatiable greed of human beings.
In this context, the five elements -- and nature in general -- were not viewed as static, unchanged primal splendors, but as dynamic, living entities whose continuous interaction with human beings had constantly shaped and re-shaped the landscape of our world, for better or worse.
The interaction, the romance between nature and Man, the artists expressed, was not the stuff of "happily-ever-after" fairy tales, but a contemporary story filled with trials and tribulations.
Tisna Sanjaya, for instance, had many times seen the darker dimensions of this romance. A lecturer at the Fine Arts and Design Faculty of the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology, Tisna has explored modern-social behaviors and nature's dynamics for more than 15 years.
More recently, Tisna has intensively experimented with new mediums; ash, dirt and asphalt, the less-than-beautiful products of mankind's relationship with the environment.
"He purposefully uses ash from burning paper and wood in his works to represent the cruelty of power, political or otherwise, that could turn humanity into nothing but ash. Simultaneously, he elevated ash into its subtlest role yet; as the harbinger of beauty, as an artwork," Kun said.
The hard questions and mature answers concerning the relationship between Man and the primary elements of nature is the fine thread that connects each and every work displayed in the exhibit; from Ipong's brazen brush strokes and blinding colors to Sumadiyasa's meditative composition on rain, rainbows and the morning's dew.
"Made Mahendra Mangku is the most poetic of the four artists. His explorations focus on his personal perceptions upon empty space, dimension of nothingness, or the soft breeze of the wind.
"His language of visual abstraction is a landscape of inspiring poems; a natural, mathematical equation that evokes the emotive senses as well as comforts the logical mind," Kun said.
The exhibit confirms that nature is still a fascinating source of inspiration, particularly for those artists who have the courage to examine beauty and explore the truth from different perspectives, literally and metaphorically.
"Mutation and Invasion"
Painting exhibition
Nov. 22 - Dec. 6, 2008
Gaya Fusion Art Space
Jl. Raya Sayan, Ubud
Phone: (0361) 979252
www.gayafusion.com
