Yogya Invasion 01: Three Degrees of Abstraction

10 Jul Yogya Invasion 01: Three Degrees of Abstraction

Yogyakarta is, arguably, the art capital of Southeast Asia – if you’ve been there before, you will probably agree with us on this observation. It may not have the finesse or urban sophistication of say, Singapore, but its vibrancy when it comes to creativity and art-centricity cannot be denied.

Regardless, Yogya is home to the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI), renowned school of the arts, within which is one of the region’s best Fine Arts schools, from which many renowned artists received their formal training.

Yogya Invasion is a planned series of group exhibitions featuring emerging artists from Yogyakarta, and the inaugural exhibition, entitled Three Degrees of Abstraction, will open at 6:00pm this Friday, July 13, 2012, at Artemis Art. We are delighted to announce that the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of The Republic of Indonesia, the Honorable Mr. Mulya Wirana.

Three Degrees of Abstraction examines three different styles of abstract art from three different artists: the lyrical abstract playfulness and innocent naiveté of Andy Firmanto, the geometric precision of Antoni Eka Putra, and the studies of material fluidity, solidity and various in-between states by Maestoria Ve.

Some say that abstract art is not so easy to appreciate. There may be, in fact, some truth to this notion. The appreciation of abstracts requires a little bit more effort on the part of the viewer, as opposed to realist works. Abstract art essentially extrapolates a notion, feeling or idea in ways that are unique to each individual artist.

The question then becomes: can abstract art be appreciated without knowing anything about the personality of the artist? For us, viewing a piece of abstract art requires us to open our minds and hearts, in addition to the eyes alone. What we eventually see and feel in the process may not exactly match what the artist may have intended, but there really is no hard and fast “wrong” or “right” interpretation.

And that, in the end, is the real beauty of abstract art – it allows part of our own experience into the process of appreciation. Granted that this may be true of other types of non-realist art forms, we believe that abstract art requires a deeper self-immersion.

The three styles of abstract art represented in the works featured in this exhibition explore the human psyche from various angles. Whether it is the innate human need to find oneself spiritually, or the admiration of natural material forms that surround us, or exploring what love and passion really are, these and many other characteristics of human nature are presented in ways that are quite subtle.

We have always held the belief that good art work needs to be exposed to a wider audience.

The collection of works by Andi Firmanto, Antoni Eka Putra, and Meistoria Ve in this exhibition is no exception. And apart from the deserved wider exposure outside of Indonesia, we are certain that these works will delight the Malaysian art audience as well.

Here’s a peek at the complete works from the three artists that you will be able to see during the Three Degrees of Abstraction exhibition:

Andy Firmanto

Antoni Eka Putra

Meistoria Ve

The exhibition will run from Friday, July 13, 2012 until Tuesday, July 31, 2012. We hope that you take this opportunity to view these fine artworks from these three emerging artists. Better yet, come join us for the official opening ceremony at 6pm, July 13.