Text and picture: Jaya L.
Yogyakarta- In Sangkring Art Space Yogyakarta last 11 April 2012, the artist Nursani and collector Dr. Oei Hong Djien inaugurated the opening of two exhibitions organized back to back by Jogja Contemporary.
Inside the exhibition room of Sangkring Art Space 10 canvases of paintings are exhibited, they are the works of Agus ‘Baqul’ Purnomo, a Yogyakartan artist known for his unique abstract expressionism style with distinct elements of rhythm, textures, colors and repetition of shapes. Yet this time the solo exhibition of Agus ‘Baqul’ Purnomo presented a different series of work compared to his previous ones.
When usually Agus ‘Baqul’ Purnomo worked with arabic calligraphy, for example in the exhibitions he held before in 2009 when he explored prayers in the form of certain surrahs in the holy book, this time he explored nature and its rich colors.
The exhibition titled Numbers in the Sky presented works with expressive strokes. Random numbers were strewn on the canvases, colliding with colors and brush strokes and producing rich and dynamic images about the sky from various angles. Although Agus ‘Baqul’ does not provide any recognizable shape to enter the imageries of objects he depicted, which is the sky, but the audience can readily recognize the object when they read the title of the work on a label accompanying the painting. For example Blue Sky #2, Hujan Pertama and Sunrise, which after careful observation indeed show the condition of the sky in those certain moments.
According to Eva McGovern, the curator of this exhibition, the nature is not a foreign subject for Agus ‘Baqul’. His previous works had drawn inspiration from the nature, for example the Merapi eruption in 2010, but Agus ‘Baqul’ usually explored the greatness of the nature and human philosophical positions in the world through certain verses from the Quran. What’s different this time is the reinterpretation Agus ‘Baqul’ created from his observation upon the sky is not using holy verses but through random orders of numbers.
Agus ‘Baqul”s latest exploration was also the result of something unexpected. Late last year the artist experienced a traffic accident that injured his legs. The injuries caused him some hindrance in working creating art works, because to create the characteristic works with the calligraphy element, Agus ‘Baqul’ requires the stamina as he adds layers by layers of colors and shapes slowly and meditatively. The series of Numbers in the Sky is the result of his experiments and intuition, the artist’s personal spontaneity to release his ideas and inspiration as he struggled with his physical constraints during his recovery.
At the same time in Sangkring Art Project, an exhibition space in the inner side of Sangkring Art Space complex, a solo exhibition of Samuel Indratma titled Andap Asoooy is being held. Samuel Indratma is also a well-known Yogyakartan artist for his unique style, he’s an exponent of Apotik Komik and also one of the masterminds behind the urban mural art movement in Yogyakarta through the Jogja Mural Forum.
Entering Sangkring Art Project after experiencing the solo exhibition of Agus ‘Baqul’ Purnomo, a different atmosphere can immediately be felt. Most of Samuel Indratma’s works are drawing on paper with various type and sizes. The artworks were displayed in such manner on the wall and the surface of a wooden structure in the middle of the room making it interesting to see, not in order but at the same time also not chaotic. Aside of drawing on paper, also exhibited photography works and three dimensional objects.
Although there aren’t any labels with the work titles accompanying the exhibited artworks, each works of Samuel Indratma is rich in details that its audience cannot be distracted and are interested to observe these details carefully until the whole works exhibited in the room are thoroughly observed. One of the details that will immediately captured attention is the comic style narration, complete with funny explanative texts.
Andap Asoooy itself is the play of words deriving from a Javanese word “Andhap Asor”, which means humility, mixed with asoooy, an expression with the connotation of being laid back and carefree. This can truly be felt, because although being exhibited in a gallery space with a modern and clean architectural style, Samuel Indratma is able to change Sangkring Art Project exhibition space into a different visual imagery. According to Samuel the room itself is the exhibition, it is no longer a space of exhibition.
These two back to back interesting exhibitions are organized by Jogja Contemporary since 11 April to 2 May 2012 in Sangkring Art Space. For further informations you can check http://jogjacontemporary.net and http://www.sangkringartspace.net
Lulus dari Fakultas Hukum UGM program kekhususan HaKI. Aktif terlibat dalam skena musik lokal dan gerakan DIY pada pertengahan 90-an sampai awal 2007, sementara juga bekerja sebagai sound engineer, perancang grafis, kontributor zine, dan pemilik clothing label. Sejak tahun 2007 bekerja sebagai manajer proyek seni rupa lepas dan sound designer.
