Ruang dan Kesunyian (Space and Silence) | A Solo Exhibition by Ibrahim

Gajah Gallery Jakarta is pleased to present a solo show by Ibrahim titled Ruang dan Kesunyian (Space and Silence).

An influential figure in the Indonesian art community, Ibrahim is known for his “intuitive” abstract-expressionist paintings rooted in an acute awareness of feeling; his method of painting being an exploration of inner turbulence. Ibrahim’s arrangement and juxtaposition of every stroke, line, unresolved shape or unfixed contour is an exploration, and a means to achieve the painting’s final composition. For Ibrahim, a painted canvas does not indicate a final product — instead, it presents the inception of a potentially shared human experience.

Ibrahim studied at ISI Yogyakarta in 1996, then moved back to West Sumatra in 2006 to establish his practice and contribute to his local artistic community through teaching. Now, he is back in the city of Yogyakarta to pursue his doctorate in arts. The move and academic pursuit bring a breath of newness to his art practice, while still holding true to his keenness in presenting the interiority of the soul through his brushstrokes. After a successful solo exhibition Flourishing Within the Void at Gajah Gallery Yogyakarta in 2018, Ruang dan Kesunyian (Space and Silence) will be his second solo exhibition with the Gallery, which is also his first solo exhibition in the capital city Jakarta. The exhibition will be accompanied by essays by curators and art historians Agung Hujatnika ‘Jenong’ and Carlos Quijon, Jr.

Ultimately, this new body of work reveals the relevance and infinite possibilities of abstraction today, particularly in the Southeast Asian context. In his essay Ruang dan Kesunyian: Temptations of Texture, Conditions of Abstraction, Carlos Quijon, Jr. poses the question, “How do we understand abstraction in a contemporary time?” Through Ibrahim’s vividly textured, painterly canvases rife with emotion and memories, Quijon concludes that the artist’s abstraction is “of the contemporary kind — an errant, shifting thing. It becomes a mode of visuality cultivated by and thrives on the temptations of texture, the conditions of refiguring and configuring our memories and our emotional and affective familiarities through paint.” 

ABOUT IBRAHIM

Born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Ibrahim Sutan Parpatiah (b.1975), or Ibrahim, is an abstract artist distinguished among the art communities of Indonesia. Ibrahim began his basic fine arts training at Sekolah Menangah Kejuruan Seni Rupa (SMSR), a vocational arts college in West Sumatra. He later pursued a formal education at the Institut Seni Indonesia—Yogyakarta (ISI) in 1996, finishing his fine arts degree with a focus in painting in 2006.

Ibrahim returned to West Sumatra in 2006 to pursue a new venture in teaching at the ISI Padang Panjang, yet he remains focused on exploring and enhancing his creative work. While he is occupied in the world of academia, Ibrahim continues to push himself to investigate the possibilities of colour and further cultivate his experiments on canvas. Though physically removed from his friends and from the community that birthed his artistic career, Ibrahim works diligently to stay connected to the excitement and vigour of Yogyakarta’s art scene.

Since receiving his fine arts degree, Ibrahim’s approach to painting has been rooted in characteristics of abstract expressionism—a visual language shared among many of his pupils such as the prolific Minang artists, Yunizar, Handiwirman Saputra, Yusra Martunus, and Zulkarnaini. Ibrahim’s method of painting is founded on an acute awareness of feeling; emotions experienced day-to-day, at home or at work, are integral to his creative decision-making. For Ibrahim, allowing emotions to direct his artistic approach is the most effective way to articulate both his inner and external self. Inspired by the works of abstract-expressionist pioneers Willem de Kooning (b.1904) and Jackson Pollock (b. 1912), Ibraham pursues a creative process grounded in visceral instinct and spontaneity.

The fruit of his particular process in abstraction is a sense of beauty unrestricted and free of ideological, psychological, and political encumbrance. Ibrahim’s arrangement and juxtaposition of every stroke, line, unresolved shape or unfixed contour is an exploration, and a means by which to achieve the painting’s final composition. Ibrahim’s paintings are often untitled, encouraging viewers to attach their own personal and subjective experiences to the pieces. This quality thus creates space for a unique and intimate engagement between the artwork and its spectator. Through his work, Ibrahim attempts to intervene with a burgeoning human experience that has severed the connection between people and objects, altering the collective conscious mind. For Ibrahim, a painted canvas does not indicate a final product—but rather presents the inception of a potential shared human experience.