Water Color Paintings by Agus Budiyanto at Ganesha Gallery,
Four Seasons Resort, Jimbaran Bay. Tel: 701010.
During Agus Budiyanto’s 28 years experience in painting,
he has established himself as one of Indonesia’s most
renowned and revered watercolor artists.
Atmosphere, luminous colors and transparency are all characteristics
of Agus’ work, yet these effects are not easily achieved.
Agus’ chosen medium is paradoxically and simultaneously
the most brilliant and unforgiving of all art techniques.
Unlike oils or acrylics, which can be manipulated and coaxed
after the fact, watercolorists are faced with immediate success
or full failure.
Abandoning the easel, Agus works with the ‘canvas’
masked to the floor, using brushes of various thicknesses,
and sponges, to fling, dribble and manipulate the watercolor
from every aspect of the ‘canvas’, while building
up layer-upon-layer of mainly primary color. Perhaps reminiscent
of ‘action’ painters, like Jackson Pollock and
Willem de Kooning, Agus works in an intuitive manner. For
him, the subject does not exist. It emerges out of the interaction
between the artist and the medium. His painting technique
serves more as an instrument to add calculated chance, spontaneity
and fluctuation. The sweeping brushstrokes recall oriental
scripts with their gestural and energetic calligraphic shapes,
and the strong marks emphasize the process of painting. However,
the key to any successful watercolor painting is to understand
the paper on which the work is made. Agus knows precisely
how much watercolor paint the paper will absorb or repel.
With this blending of brush, sponge or splash work, reacting
with the absorption of the paper, Agus can explore the expressive
qualities of watercolors, to create visual effects which establish
him as a master of his most difficult chosen genre.
All through much of his career, Agus Budiyanto has concentrated
on the depiction of Nature in his works. But he is more interested
in the mood of the scene rather than the superficial world
of appearances. He simplifies, flattens, and turns his objects
into patterns and swatches of vibrant color, to suggest a
reality beyond the physical experience of seeing. It comes
as no surprise that Agus opens his exhibition, ‘A Dream
World of Colors’, with some superb examples of ‘naturalistic’
expressive watercolors. ‘Rhythm of the Leaves 1’
depicts a lotus pond, in which the swaying green lotus leaves
and pink blossoms create a pleasing rhythmic pattern across
the paper. Small scratches and dribbles indicate a light rain
shower, further adding to the movement of the image. However,
it is the sense of serenity and calmness which most captivates
in this work. ‘A Water Hyacinth Drops by the Pier’
is a stunning ‘waterscape’ in which a blood-red
sun reflects in a secluded lagoon’s surface. The transparent
layers of blue watercolor create a rippling sensation of the
lagoon’s movement, reflecting the rays of the sun. There
is a feeling of doom in this work, indicating Nature’s
inevitable eternal rhythm.
Having established his credentials, Agus devotes the rest
of his exhibition to exploring the realm of the human subconscious,
in a series of paintings that can only be called ‘Dreamscapes’.
Most of these works are totally abstract, and consist of sweeping
brushstrokes of bold, rich and sensuous red, blue and yellow
color. ‘Cocoon’ perhaps finds its inspiration
in Nature, but the resultant image reflects more a ‘state-of-mind’,
indicating a reticent and maybe retiring sensibility in the
artist’s psyche. With its repetitious use of positive
and negative shapes, the painting ‘Mirror’ could
be referring to the physical act of observing one’s
self in a mirror, however, I tend to think that in this work
Agus is more likely to be commenting on the function of an
artist to evaluate and record the world in which he finds
himself submerged. Perhaps Agus is noting that old adage,
‘Art reflects Life’. Meanwhile, the works ‘Threesome
1 & 3’ are elegant and enigmatic paintings, created
in a ‘drip’ or ‘action’ style, balanced
on a sea of white bare ‘canvas’. The lively interplay
of intense, pure color draws the eye in a continuous sweep
across the imagery, greatly enhancing the emotional engagement
of the observer.
In the impressive catalogue, which accompanies the exhibition,
Agus states: “Through my abstract paintings I capture
sound, not by my ears but more so with my intuition”.
I think, what Agus is referring to here, is his ability to
capture mood and atmosphere. The work ‘Nature’s
Voice 1’ is a stunning semi-realistic painting in which
the total sensations of a landscape are achieved. It is possible,
within this work, to hear the morning call of birds, sense
a gentle breeze, and to experience the chilly dew and blurry
light of dawn. However, the painting ‘Nature’s
Voice 2’ is an entirely abstracted work, wherein the
sounds of nature are depicted like a musical scale, in which
the rising notes of color, tone and line build to a triumphant
climax.
Agus Budiyanto’s philosophy of life, and the art of
watercolor painting, is expressed in his personal belief of
‘Let it flow as is and everything else will follow naturally’.
This statement is very astute, for watercolor requires not
only great experience but also boundless natural intuition
and self assurance. Agus’ virtuoso painting techniques
will find you amazed by the luminosity, delicacy, transparency,
and dream-like qualities of watercolors. The works are a treat
for the senses. It is not in the knowing about, or being able
to interpret what one sees, that the pleasure of this exhibition
rests, but in the directness, power, and opulent qualities
of the watercolor works themselves.
