I Nyoman Masriadi

T.K. Sabapathy, Nyoman Masriadi: Reconfiguring The Body, Gajah Gallery, Singapore, 2010, P. 215, Fig. 149

The work is in good condition overall, as is the canvas, which is clear and sound. There is light wear and handling around the edges of the painting due to the basic framing process. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals no evidence of restoration. Framed.
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Much of I Nyoman Masriadi’s oeuvre may be seen as an exploration of the physical form as per the artist’s introspective relationship with himself as a man. The paintings are a visual analysis of the corporeal structures of human existence, with his themes and subject matters revolving around these value systems. Akin to an anthropologist who studies human behaviour, Masriadi’s body of works are an analysis of social interactions that are being played out upon the canvas. The present work perfectly exemplifies these relationships, for the artist has depicted two individuals who exist together, and yet may also be seen as solitary figures in the vast narrative.

Ku Pandang Langit (Looking at the Sky) created in 2003, was painted five years after he left art school, with the artist slowly gaining traction amidst the Indonesian local art scene, while simultaneously attracting outside interest for his fresh perspective, and distinct artistic style. The present piece foreshadows the psychology and aesthetics that would soon be found in later, and more mature works. Slightly esoteric in context, the artist has introduced the idea of the physical through the deliberate omission of recognizable figures that the audience may use to anchor themselves within the narrative. Therefore by negating the scene of familiar constructs, the work becomes a philosophical study of human connections.

The title of the current work provides guidance to understanding the tonality of the scene at hand.  Ku Pandang Langit (Looking at the Sky) may be viewed as a landscape painting, a rarity in the artist’s oeuvre, for the two individuals who inhabit the narrative are seen as secondary in the work’s composition. Since the birth of civilization mankind has looked to the stars for clues that will provide meaning for their existence on Earth. A faceless man is shown lying down on a beach, only his legs visible to the outside gaze, while in the distance is another man walking along the sand. The artist has divided the composition into two parts, which further emphasizes the isolation of the figures within the landscape.

In Ku Pandang Langit (Looking at the Sky), Masriadi has embraced this notion of existential longing, and applied it to the natural environment as means to become the main drive of the piece. Therefore the artist’s fascination with the physical becomes a study of cognitive perception, and how this may influence his own personal connections, and subsequently his relationship as an artist with the public at large.