Nyoman Masriadi is a leading artist of the post-Suharto era and one of the most prominent Indonesian Contemporary artists in the Southeast Asian region. His most recent solo show was in April 2011 in New York. This came after a successful preview of his painting ‘Tragedy’ at Art Basel Miami 2010. Nyoman Masriadi and his works have gained a select collectors base, which includes prominent collectors in and around the region.
Read MoreMasriadi received his training in art at the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta. From the time he was an art student, he had already been recognized by peers as one of the very first contemporary Balinese artists who eased himself away from an encompassing concern with Balinese life, culture and traditions in his works. The visual imagery and narratives in his paintings are derived from keen and intelligent observations of social life and behavioural traits. Masriadi’s works are marked by consistent high quality — thoughtful in the messages that transmit from scenes and figures in his pictorial world, and painstakingly detailed in execution and finish. His visual vocabulary is striking, continuously refreshing and relevant.
A monograph, ‘Nyoman Masriadi – Reconfiguring the Body’ by renown author and art historian, TK Sabapathy and poet and editor of Tempo Magazine, Goenawan Mohamed was recently launched in Singapore. This publication uncovers the layers and thoughts behind his bold works placed within context of Indonesia. An interview between TK Sabapathy and Nyoman Masriadi lends a rare insight from an artist who prefers to speak through his paintings rather than in interviews.
His maiden solo show took place at the Singapore Art Museum in collaboration with Gajah Gallery in 2008, “Masriadi: Black Is My Last Weapon,” spanned across Masriadi’s 10-year career and explored the evolution of his signature dominant use of the colour black, a motif now widely copied by other Indonesian painters. Masriadi’s preference for the use of black is aimed towards infusing his pictorial bodies with weight and immensity. The show also highlighted Masriadi’s sarcastic humour, often expressed through small scribbles in black ink on strategic places on his canvases, and his focus on power relations inherent in everyday situations.
