Paintings by Ivan Hariyanto.
At Sector Bar & Restaurant, Jl. Hang Tuah No. 58, Sanur.
Tel. 287733.
Ivan Hariyanto is a Javanese artist who was born in Banyuwangi
in 1955. He studied at the College of Fine Arts in Jogjakarta,
graduating in 1980 with an Artistic Major in Painting. Although
he initially didn’t conceive of himself as an artist,
or having painting as his profession, he has been continuously
working for the last 27 years to much acclaim. His work has
been exhibited extensively throughout Indonesia and abroad.
Speaking of his work Ivan says: “I wish to deepen and
develop my painting talent, but at my age it is difficult
to find bliss. This makes me jumpy, and I pour all of my creative
energy into my paintings”. It is easy to regard Ivan
as a Surrealist, but this is a label he resists. “I
wish people to enjoy my paintings as they are, without being
overshadowed by a selected frame of philosophic theory in
fine arts. I capture objects as form, and other physical phenomenon
and events of the real world. The results of that perception
can encourage a ‘pampering’ of the imagination,
and offers the viewer the opportunity to wander through the
infinite alleys of an absurd world”. In essence, by
combining formal concerns of contemporary Indonesia art, such
as balance and placement, with elements of Pop Art and Photo
Realism, Ivan is endeavoring to forge an art style that can
be called New Indonesian Surrealism. What is interesting in
his exhibition, ‘Happiness 2007’, is that within
the works on display we are able to see, stage by stage, how
he is melding these influences together.
The painting ‘Regenerasi Sapi’ shows all of the
hallmarks of historical Surrealism, albeit with Indonesian
subject matter. Ivan demonstrates his mastery of the surreal
landscape, juxtaposed with unrelated elements or objects to
cause a poetic spark. His turbulent sky, in which the ghostly
image of a bull can be seen forming within the clouds, creates
an hallucinatory dream like image. This work is consistent
within the goals of Surrealism, which was to create ‘dream
paintings’, though they may not necessarily be records
of dreams, and to explore the irrational and imaginary interior
landscapes of the unconscious mind. On-the-other-hand, in
the painting ‘Ahaaaaa, My Horse’, Ivan dispenses
with much surrealistic melodrama, to create a simplified image
that still reverberates with mystery. This is achieved by
contrasting the startling images of a man with a gigantic
metallic horse, which are then placed in a balanced and neutral
setting.
The painting ‘Silau, Kemilau dan Terpukau’ reveals
that exquisite sense of composition that has now become mandatory
for all Indonesian artists. As a piece of formal painting,
in which positive and negative spaces are created from the
sinuous bending body of a man, Ivan demonstrates his outstanding
skills in balance and placement. Yet, he cannot resist adding
an element of the irrational to the canvas by including a
floating Big Mac hamburger. This unexpected icon of Pop imagery
startles the viewer, and moves the work into the realm of
the beguiling. The influence of Pop Art, in Ivan’s work,
can also be seen in the canvas ‘The Girl, The Bird and
The Dog’. The girl’s pose, her long nylon clad
legs, and the hint of suspenders, all combine to create the
illusion of a typical piece of Pop Art inspired by a Pin-Up
Girl. All-the-same, there is something disturbing about this
image. It is probably best not to think too much about the
sexual symbolic value of the bird and dog to be found in the
work. Once again, Ivan is offering an opportunity to open
the mind to the unexpected, and to follow the paths of thought
to wherever they might lead. Finally, the painting ‘The
Red Butterfly’ presents an eclectic collection of images
that could trigger a variety of individual responses. However,
the work has been executed in a highly rendered form of Photo
Realism, and it actually explores the use of textures, which
is most notable in the combination of a crystal clear drop
of water, resting on a variegated leaf, that is floating mysteriously
above a pair of denim jeans.
These three individual painting streams, subtly linked by
the use of unexpected symbolism, find their fusion in the
marvelous canvas ‘Menjaga Keseimbangan’. This
extraordinary image of a floating spread-eagled man is open
to a variety of interpretations. The man might be a seen as
a modern-day crucifix, or, he could simply be jumping for
joy. The blurred face could suggest movement, but, it could
also suggest the onset of some form of horrifying transubstantiation.
The crinkled background can imply a paper backdrop, such as
one found in a photographic studio, and hence refer to the
processes of Photo Realism, or, even still, the crinkling
of the image could suggest an image appropriated from an art
magazine or journal, and thus comment on the Pop Art practice
of reproducing pre-existing commercial images. There is much
to be considered in this canvas, but, broken down to its basics,
the work utilizes the formal concerns of composition, the
energy of Pop Art imagery, which is executed with the finesse
of Photo Realism, and the incorporation into the image of
a recognizable form of empirical symbolism, all of which combine
to create a painting of haunting mystery.
This exhibition, ‘Happiness 2007’, demonstrates
that Ivan Hariyanto has been consistently working towards
his objective of creating a viable form of New Indonesian
Surrealism. The exhibition is also exciting because he has
allowed us to see and appreciate the steps he has undertaken
to achieve his visualization, or ‘dream’, of the
world, which disrupts our sense of reality. Ivan’s works
are not offered to us for intense interpretation, although
indications as to their possible ‘meanings’ are
given in the paintings titles. The success of this show rests
on the strength of Ivan’s vision, and it could never
have been accomplished without his formidable technical artistic
techniques. All of the paintings on display are created with
an outstanding degree of illusionist painting skills. ‘Happiness
2007’ is an interesting and thought provoking exhibition,
yet it is also a very accessible body of work.
