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Jakarta Post

Artists Invite Artists exhibition highlights Indonesia’s rising creators

Tunggul Wirajuda (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, November 30, 2022

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Artists Invite Artists exhibition highlights Indonesia’s rising creators No bed of roses: Elma Lucyana’s “Chopin - Prelude in A Minor #1“ and “#2“ recalls bittersweet childhood memories. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda) (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)

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em>The 2madison café and gallery bring contemporary Indonesian from their art hub in South Jakarta’s hip Kemang district onto the wider world.

The wall-mounted mixed media installation catches one’s eye with its intricate details and slate gray color. Titled Lords of the Grotesque, artist Izal Batubara’s work evokes the bas-reliefs of the iconic Borobudur and Prambanan temples with their finely-detailed portrayals of daily life in Indonesian history. But the Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) alumnus maintained that Lords of the Grotesque is based on the world around him. 

“The forms are the distorted forms of items I see daily, then formed into an open-ended composition to expand the scope of interpreting [the artwork] and the imagination. This installation also has dynamic shapes and depths due to its layers,” said Izal of Lords of the Grotesque, which along with its sister piece School of Grotesque, was inspired by frescoes. 

Lords of the Grotesque alluded to several archetypes. “The panel on the left includes the diplomat, the false savior, the general and the thief. On the right panel stand the silent monk, the teller [seer], the swordsman and the sage. The figures under them represent the traits inherited [by the archetypes],” noted Izal. 

School of Grotesque was inspired by 16th-century Renaissance master Raphael’s fresco, The School of Athens. But while the latter work celebrated the intellect by featuring Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato and other ancient philosophers and intellectual figures, the School of Grotesque is less lofty and more abstract in its outlook.

School of Grotesque is represented by ‘distorted figures’ like the alpha sage, the hidden lord, then myth, mischief, the magician, the passionate [lover] and the long life [sic],” said Izal. He has exhibited his work in Jakarta, Bandung and other Indonesian cities overseas, like Malaysia and Japan.  

Baser instincts: Izal Batubara’s “The Lords of Grotesque“ and “School of Grotesque“ takes on archetypes framed in frescoes. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)
Baser instincts: Izal Batubara’s “The Lords of Grotesque“ and “School of Grotesque“ takes on archetypes framed in frescoes. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda) (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)

Supporting fellow creators

Lords of the Grotesque and School of Grotesque are among the works featured in the 2madison Collective #6 exhibition, which features artists and their art picked by a panel of their fellow artists. 

Themed “Artists Invite Artists,” the virtual and physical exhibition is held at the 2madison café and gallery at its outlet on Jl. Bangka, South Jakarta. The event reflects the outlet’s standing as a small and medium enterprise (SME) that moves in creative and cultural services that “pays particular attention and a commitment to empowering the creative capabilities and achievements of Indonesia’s creative movers,” the startup said in its website 2madison.com of the 24 artists and their works in the exhibition. 

“[2madison’s] dream has always been to introduce the diversity of creative works in Indonesia and help them to achieve at the international level, a goal that we achieved for nearly the past decade since our founding in 2013,” it stated on the website. This includes helping the artists sell their works for prices ranging from Rp 6 million (US$380) to Rp 60 million.

2madison’s notion of introducing space to allow the artists and their works to grow is perhaps epitomized by artist Gracia Veronica’s Abandoned series. The Gunadarma University lecturer in design observed space through her mastery of embroidered hoops in fine technical detail, including their rich colors and form. 

“Space has multiple functions, depending on the user’s needs. They become useless once their owners abandon them,” Gracia asserted on 2madison’s website.

“Even if they are abandoned, space has the residue of previous memories. This is why depictions of previously warm spaces show them becoming cold due to abandonment; the resulting neglect leaving behind the chaotic growth of weeds,” she added.

Gracia made skillful use of green fabric to get this point across, as its resemblance to weed or grass gave the impression of nature taking over the abandoned space. The use of white and blue fabric on the upper half of the piece gave an effect of the process occurring under an open sky.

Between the earth and skies: Gracia Veronica’s “Abandoned #1“ examines collective memories left from the past. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)
Between the earth and skies: Gracia Veronica’s “Abandoned #1“ examines collective memories left from the past. (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda) (JP/Tunggul Wirajuda)

Drawing on childhood memories

The orchids and other flowers looked like they would pop out of their canvases at the viewer as their petals seemed to burst out of their respective frames. While the flowers might seem to be plucked from the Pasadena Rose Parade float, pomp and pageantry were the last thing the work’s creator, Elma Lucyana, had in mind. 

“When I was in school, my parents enrolled me in private piano lessons […] The piano at home faced the garden in our backyard so that whenever I played, I could see the orchids and other flowers that my mother grew,” said Elma of the Chopin – Prelude in E Minor #01 and Chopin – Prelude in E Minor #02 paintings. 

“Whenever I complain about having difficulty memorizing a composition, the image of the flowers would remind me that I am a lucky child to be able to take piano lessons.”

While the flowers and the Chopin pieces might indicate the good life, they misrepresented the bittersweet inspiration stemming from relative affluence after growing up in poverty. Most of all, the piano lessons symbolized Elma and her family’s efforts to escape poverty. 

“[The piano lessons] instilled the notion that if I want to be successful, I must practice [harder] and put more effort than more affluent people, as our family has had hard times. I must succeed if I want to be successful and avoid falling into poverty again,” added Elma, who managed to sell three of her paintings in the exhibition. 

As with real flowers, the vibrancy of Chopin – Prelude in E Minor #01 and Chopin – Prelude in E Minor #02 reflect that art and creation need nurturing as much as inspiration, a premise that is just as valid for other works in Artists Invite Artists.

2madison Collective #6: Artists Invite Artists

Until Dec. 4, 2022 

2madison Café

Gedung Promenade 20, Jl. Bangka Raya, Jakarta 12730

Opening hours:

9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday

9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday

Website: 2madison.com

Instagram: @2madison_gallery

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