JAN’22 NEWSLETTER
Hendra Gunawan Exhibition
Hendra Gunawan was one of the important Indonesian painters born in 1918. His works are known for portraying the life of Indonesians up close. Yet visually he’s a breakthrough for applying modern technique and methods without leaving the traditionals and for the use of vibrant colors. Hendra is also a member of ‘Pelukis Rakjat’ and a guerilla warrior, never leaving the issues in Indonesia at his time, especially about its people, in his works. He portrayed Indonesians with humor, happiness, and determination, celebrating the humanity that lies in Indonesia's everyday life.
ISA Art & Design as a gallery find it important for younger generations to be able to learn about his works and history of Indonesian art. We invite 17 Indonesian artists to respond to this work in particular and/or any works of Gunawan’s in a collective exhibition: ‘Respond to Hendra Gunawan’. Thus letting the younger artists reflect and challenge themselves about intergenerational artistic expressions and issues surrounding Indonesian these days. Through this exhibition, we hope that the narrative built by Hendra Gunawan can continue to live and create new forms of expression that can keep up with the times.
‘Respond to Hendra Gunawan’ will be held on 14 January–17 February 2022 at Wisma 46 Kota BNI gallery, with artists participating: Adi Sundoro, Argya Dhyaksa, Ferial Afif, Galih Adika, Hadassah Emmerich, Haiza Puti, Ida Lawrence, Luh Gede, Maharani Mancanegara, Sarita Ibnoe, Sillyndris, Sinta Tantra, Talitha Maranila, Vienasty, Widwar, Yogie Ginanjar, and Yosefa Aulia. For more information about this exhibition and other ISA Art & Design Exhibitions, please visit our Instagram @isaart.id and website www.isaartanddesign.com.
Art @ WTC: Woman in Contemporary Art
Each artist has their own manners of creating their piece, has their own background and way of thinking affected by the ever-growing complex condition of the society and culture. Hence the phenomenon of contemporary art is not merely only about visual and/or aesthetic exploration, but is the development of the artist's personal experience influenced by the said social and cultural influences, building the context of visual representation. Unconsciously in each artwork, in any way or form, still brings out its creator roots.
In spirit/attempt to understand and study the process of self and cultural actualization in contemporary art, especially by Indonesian female artists, later this month ISA Art & Design presents ‘Women in Contemporary Art’ on 17 January 2022 at WTC 3. ‘Women in Contemporary Art’ will feature five artists: Aurora Arrazzi, AY Sekar, Ida Lawrence, Ines Katamso, and Luh Gede.
In this exhibition, it’s possible to observe how different ways of expressions and explorations have a hold on contemporary art creation and identity. For instance, through re-imagination, like Ines Katamso artworks where she creates diverse imaginative visuals-fantasy visual styles in a realistic or abstract way. There’s also through recollection of memories, where the artist mimics and expresses the subject. Ida Lawrence chose jackfruit as her object to remember Indonesian culture. For AY Sekar, by using a symbolic significance shown in elements of Batik in a new interpretation and explored visuals. And lastly for Luh Gede, she uses contra-tradition as her way of criticizing cultures with individual interpretation in her works’ concept and visuals.
For more information about this exhibition and other ISA Art & Design Exhibitions, please visit our Instagram @isaart.id and website www.isaartanddesign.com.
Artist Spotlight: Vienasty
Vienasty Rezqina (b. 1994) is an artist based in Bandung. Graduated from FSRD ITB majoring in painting in 2017. In her work, Vienasty is interested in generic perceptions and stereotypical perceptions of visual images that emerge from the internet, she is curious about how a screen becomes a new reality considering that today's humans are more visualized than before. It is this curiosity that makes Vienasty often discover new possibilities from the practice of painting and/or two-dimensional art that are all artificial. Vienasty often applies the juxtaposition of images to her paintings with the quality of the images that have been digitized.
Vienasty participated in several art exhibitions, such as Art Jakarta 2017 and 2018, group exhibition “Deciphering Clothes” at Hatch Art Gallery Singapore, group exhibition “All The Small Things” at CANS Gallery, and received a Cross Section Award at the TOP Generation 2.0: Muda Kaya Karya event at the Jogja National Museum organized by TOP COFFEE. In this month, Vienasty will be featured in our group exhibition “Respond to Hendra Gunawan” on 14 January-12 February 2022 at Wisma 46 Kota BNI gallery. She will be showcasing her recent work “Pattern in RGB (after The Legend)”. In this work, Vienasty composed patterns on the clothes worn by figures in Hendra Gunawan's paintings. The pattern was identical with the identity of the middle class community in the coastal areas of Java Island and she digitized it into a contemporary pattern without changing the essence of its identity.
