Ceramics by Ahadiat Joedawinata,
at Kendra Gallery, Jl. Drupadi No.88B, Basangkasa.
Tel: 736628.
In its brief life span the Kendra Gallery of Contemporary Art has quickly established itself as one of Bali’s most prominent art spaces. Up until now, the gallery has concentrated primarily on painting, so it is with some interest that they present their first 3-dimensional exhibition showcasing the work of the distinguished ceramicist Ahadiat Joedawinata. The title of the exhibition, ‘The Journey’, can have three subtle and separate interpretations. Firstly, it can imply, in a simple way, the journey a lump of common clay must take to become a work of art. The exhibition can also represents the interior journey of the artist, and the processes he must call on to produce the stunning 3-dimensional sculptural forms on display, and, finally, the show can also suggest a journey of discovery for the audience, as they appreciate and realize the range of artistic possibilities presented by the ceramic medium.
Pottery was amongst the first of the Arts. The earliest vessels were shaped by hand from clay dug out of the earth, and were dried in the sun. With fire, pots became more durable and with the invention of the potter’s wheel the artisan could add symmetry, rhythm, and ‘uprising’ to the concept of form.
Ahadiat Joedawinata was born in Cirebon, West Java, in 1943. He received a Degree in Interior Design from the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) in 1973, then, in 2003 he was awarded a Doctoral Degree in Fine Art and Design also from the ITB. For many years he practiced and lectured in his field of interior and exhibition design, so he didn’t start creating ceramic art intensively until the year 2000. Since then, Ahadiat has quickly become recognized as one of Indonesia’s most prominent and unusual ceramicists.
Prior to the opening of his exhibition, Ahadiat conducted a workshop which highlighted some of the problems inherent in the ceramic process. “There is always something imprecise and uncontrolled in the nature of ceramics”, he stated. “The material has its own language. You must listen to the language of the clay”. Instead of using the traditional potter’s wheel, Ahadiat has fashioned his own dialogue with clay through a very simple method which is called ‘Coiling and Pinching’. A flat clay base is first made then pieces of clay are rolled out into strips. These can be as thick as rope or as thin as string, and these coils are then looped on top of one another, starting from the base, building up the shape of the pot or basin. These walls are then ‘pinched’ by the thumb and forefinger, joining the coils together and smoothing out the surface. The result is a basic pot. Fine examples of this technique can be seen in the pieces ‘Webbing’ and ‘Hellicoidal Green Basin.’ Texture can be added to the surface by more ‘pinching’ or scratching with a sharp knife. ‘Speckles and Red Surface’ is another superb example.
As Ahadiat’s workshop continued he also pointed out some of the problems with glazing effects, where color can not be completely controlled and is often a result of the firing process. The glazing mixtures require patience and accurate calculations, and, also, the natural climate for humidity levels and sunlight to assure drying are most important. However, as Ahadiat stressed, it is within the firing process that the fate of the ceramics are decided. They might break or crack. The color might miss the designated hue. At the conclusion of his workshop Ahadiat was happy to explain that the works on display in his exhibition were only the ones that successfully made it through the complexity of the process. They were the only ones, from many, which made it through the long journey from a lump of clay to a work of art.
Within the exhibition itself, we see Ahadiat’s journey as a ceramicist take form. We observe the process of a journey from one shape to another. From the experiments of one technique to another, and the evolution of ideas and concepts from one piece of art to the next. As the art critic Sudjud Dartanto has stated: “Ahadiat’s works are like growing plants, they include his emotions, intuitions and the rational processes he felt and experienced while forming them”. Many pieces, such as ‘Mollusc’, are achieved by taking ergonomic values into consideration. This means that he is aware that there is a difference between working on a product design and working with clay. When working with clay he stops when he feels it is enough. “It doesn’t need to be concluded because it is the process that makes it interesting”. However, as the exhibition continues, and the works grow in size and shape variations, we see simple forms, such as ‘Cooling Vessel’ and ‘Constructed Basin’, develop into abstracted statements. Pieces like ‘Layers’ and ‘Consistency’ can only represent ideas, and must be regarded as sculpture.
Why do paintings have a higher cultural status than ceramics? Many would classify ceramics as a craft or as an applied art. Maybe, paintings are purely objects to be contemplated whereas ceramics are traditionally functional and are used extensively in our day to day lives. Ahadiat Joedawinata’s ceramics are dazzling. As the piece ‘Rotation’ demonstrates Ahadiat has embarked on a successful spiraling artistic journey that is full of much aesthetic discovery.
