Yunizar (1971-) is a prominent Indonesian artist. He was born in Talawi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. He graduated in 1999 with a degree in Fine Arts from ISI,
Indonesian Institute for the Arts, Yogyakarta, a school of national
pride and the heart of progressive art-making in Indonesia. Creativity
and change are the forefront of the school's agenda and this is evident
in Yunizar's work ethic.
He is a leading member of the Jendela group, Indonesia's most
prominent contemporary art collective and has participated in numerous
group and solo exhibitions in Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. In
1995, he was awarded "Best Painting" from the Peksiminas lll Exhibition
in Jakarta and in 1998, he was awarded "Top 10" from the highly
prestigious Phillip Morris ASEAN Art Award V.
Yunizar
is a painter whose works may be described by an attempt to advance his
preoccupation for still-life. Bottles, potted-cactus, apples and other
elements are painted singly, and later reproduced in simplified
outlines, eventually multiplying exponentially as minuscule elements on a
vast canvas, as crammed two-dimensional landscapes choking on its own
reproductive capacity. At other times he obliterates this multiplicity,
displacing it with a single figure, or a head, unsmiling, disfigured and
consumed by a sense of estrangement or exile. In a distinctive series
Coretan (Marks), lines and markings are deployed as frantic utterance.
Obfuscating and never declaring any form of intent. However, the sense
of narrative is kept remaining in the fringes of the frame, is eternally
held in anxious tension. One of Indonesia's most dynamic new artists,
Yunizar draws from a rich heritage to create images that evoke memories of dreams and myths as well as the mundane.
Yunizar spent his formative years at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta.
This is a school of national pride and the heart of progressive
art-making in Indonesia. Historically, Yogyakarta is the seat of
traditional, global and popular fused in a fertile and stimulating
environment, culminating in an art scene that is bold and original.
Yunizar's training and maturity shines through with his palette make-up;
faded colours, sun bleached and weather fatigued. The colours reflect
his surroundings in Indonesia and remains a constant theme in his works.
This restrained palette of yellows, browns and greens is juxtaposed
with society's craving for all things new and bright. It hints at his
desire to deconstruct the audience's notions of beauty, and how it is
composed. For Yunizar, beauty in art comes through complex compositions
that introduce different ways of perceiving things
Preferring to play with empty spaces, his paintings carry his
signature abstract style with a focus on texture that invites the viewer
to reach out for a feel. He understands and manipulates materials,
working primarily in acrylic and pencil, artfully building volume and
anti-rhythm with his brushwork and setting forth impressions through
contrast and lines, forms and colours.
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Selected Group Exhibitions
| Year | Exhibition | Venue | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Art Stage | Gajah gallery | Singapore |
| 2012 | India Art Fair with Gajah Gallery | New Delhi | India |
| 2011 | Art Stage | Gajah gallery | Singapore |
| 2009 | Jogja Biennale X | Yogyakarta | Indonesia |
| 2009 | Jendela - A Play of the Ordinary | NUS Museum | Singapore |
| 2006 | Angkor-The Djin Within | Gajah gallery | Singapore |
| 2006 | - | Exhibition at Vanessa Art Link Gallery | Jakarta, Indonesia |
| 2005 | CP-Open Biennale: Urban/culture | - | Jakarta, Indonesia |
| 2004 | Merahnya Merah (How Red is Red) | Nadi Gallery | Jakarta Indonesia |
| 2004 | Object(ify) | Nadi Gallery | Jakarta, Indonesia |
| 2004 | Faces | Chouinard Gallery | Hong Kong |
| 2003 | Borobudur International Festival | H.Widayat Museum | Magelang, Indonesia |
| 2002 | Alfi-Yunizar-Mantofani | Chouinard Gallery | Hongkong |
| 2002 | Indofood Art Awards | National Museum | Jakarta & ARMA Agung Rai Art Museum Bali, Indonesia |
| 2001 | Not Just Political | H.Widayat Museum | Magelang, Indonesia |
| 2000 | Indonesian Expressions | - | Singapore |
| 1999 | From a Window, Group Exhibition of the JENDELAll | Padma Gallery | Bali, Indonesia |
Publications
- Jogja Psychedelia Flowers From Yunizar (30 July-29 August 2010) Soemardja Gallery Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology JL.G
- Yunizar Diary 2010 (10 December 2009- 10 January 2010) Gajah Gallery
- JENDELA: A Play of the Ordinary (5 March-19 April 2009) NUS Museum
- Coretan Recent Works By Yunizar (16 November - 9 December 2007) NUS Museum
- Biasa Aja: A Solo Exhibition by Yunizar (19–29 October 2006) Gajah Gallery
References
- ^ "Yunizar Article by I-S". Is.asia-city.com. 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ "YUNIZAR-Coretan" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ a b c "Yunizar" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ "Yunizar: The Letters of expression" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ Jogja Psychedelia – Flowers from Yunizar (2010-08-29). "Jogja Psychedelia – Flowers from Yunizar « Gajah Gallery". Gajahgallery.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ Coretan – Recent Works by Yunizar (2007-12-09). "Coretan – Recent Works by Yunizar « Gajah Gallery". Gajahgallery.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ Yunizar – Biasa Aja (2006-10-29). "Yunizar – Biasa Aja « Gajah Gallery". Gajahgallery.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ "Gajah Gallery". Lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ "Jendela" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-03.
