米斯尼亞迪

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. Framed.
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Masriadi is one of the foremost contemporary Balinese artists to carve out a new artistic path, departing from traditional themes such as Balinese life, culture and scenery. While attending the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta, Masriadi grew dissatisfied with the teachings of the institute, believing that they relinquished students the opportunity of creating true art by boggling them down with copious amounts of assignments. The pressure to conform to a certain aesthetic appeal within the planned education scheme further restricted Masriadi’s expression, causing him to leave the academy and develop a highly unique and instantly recognizable art style reflective of his personal feelings and attitudes. Masriadi produced an inimitable art form of his own, one that blatantly challenges the conventional hallmarks of figuration. He is fascinated with the grotesque, rendering exceedingly muscular figures with hyperbolic features and glistening black skin.

The present lot depicts a delightfully humorous caricature, featuring a girl bearing a jovial expression, which only serves to conceal an underlying aura of menace. Her speech bubble unabashedly states “kamu meleset cayang!” or “you miss your dear!” ‘Cayang’, a colloquial term for the Indonesian word ‘sayang’, is a word used to identify an object of love and romance. However, in this case, the girl in the image presumptuously assumes that she is somebody’s ‘cayang’.

Far from the coy ladies of yesteryear who exuded with mystery, this brazen woman has an overtly flirtatious grin that almost demands the viewer’s attention. The word ‘Target’ in the title may have a scheming connotation, suggesting that the subject of the work may be using her own smile to capture the attention someone to whom she is sexually attracted. Scribbles of male genitalia scattered across the canvas may allude to the idea that the man, rather than the woman, is being objectified.

Masriadi once remarked that he had difficulties painting the female physique, as they would likely be adversely affected by strength. He said, “Men can look awful, but still look good. But if (women) look awful – pity.” It is possible that the present lot expounds on the desires of the modern woman; how she observes others, how she is perceived, or who she really is. Masriadi’s canvases teem with underlying commentaries. His paintings communicate cryptic messages rich with ambiguity, unfolding a myriad possibilities and interpretations for the viewer to contemplate.