ART-PREVIEW:Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo-Argo
Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo is dedicated to painting, pushing its boundaries with innovative techniques. After ejecting the paintbrush in favor of direct application with his hands, Sunaryo then moved on to industrial methods. In 2008, his impatience with the prolonged drying time of oil paint, further protracted by the layered density of his application, led him to experiment with pigmented resin, which has become his signature material. In its natural, plant-derived form, resin connects with age-old methods of preservation.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Simon Lee Gallery Archive
Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo for his new paintings that are on show in his solo exhibition “Argo” at Simon Lee Gallery, pours volcanic ash and resin on plexiglass to create abstract compositions profoundly connected with his homeland. “Argo”, which translates from Javanese to “mountain”, is the culmination of Sunaryo’s most recent experience and exploration of the mountains of Indonesia. The mountainous region of Bandung where the artist also lives and works, is a significant feature of the landscape of the country, symbolising Javanese culture, spirit and identity. Over the past several years, the artist has adopted an increasingly conceptual approach to painting, using his chosen medium to preserve and embody the Javanese experience of nature. Sunaryo’s paintings capture shifts between solid and liquid, static and animated, synthetic and natural, and are rooted in the embrace of chance. In some works, what is ultimately displayed is the “underside” of the composition; when the resin dries, the artist separates the painting from the ground and flips it over to reveal the finished work. Another way he attains flatness is by pressing glass against the still-wet resin, unpredictably altering the composition. Motivated in part by concerns around the waste products of such processes, Sunaryo has recently begun to repurpose resin remainders as material for sculptures. In preparation for the series of works for the “Argo” exhibition, Sunaryo spoke to residents of places local to the Merapi Volcano, infamous for its violent eruptions over centuries of Central Javanese history. Their emotional memories of the eruption and how it has impacted their lives and the landscape of the surrounding areas led him to source ash from volcanic mountains across Java and Bali. “Argo” is a continuation of the “Ash” series (2012). Similarly to this earlier body of work, Sunaryo continues to explore the medium of ash. Once sourced, the volcanic substance is mixed with resin and poured onto plexiglass, before finally being mounted on wood. The resin is transformed into a binding and preserving agent, while unique pigments are created as a result of the amalgamation of the two materials. Multiple layers are poured to create varied planes within the painting, which generates a multi-dimensional quality and echoes the sensibility of molten magma. Each layer is carefully superimposed over time, resulting in a flat, pristine, and unified composition. Sunaryo’s intensive technique is captured in a video on display in the exhibition. Both paintings and process represent the preservation of memory and document the artist’s ever-changing natural surroundings. In the series “Cyan Magenta Yellow Black” (2010), Sunaryo used only the base palette of mechanical color reproduction to make his expressionist abstractions. In the series “Frozen Stratum” (2012), he further developed his compositions to include layers of digital photographic material. The multiple planes in his poured resin paintings generate a curious dimensional quality, as a sequence of components becomes a flat, pristine, and unified composition. The material’s glossiness retains the trace of its fluid state.
Info: Simon Lee Gallery, 12 Berkeley Street, London, Duration: 4/4-1/6/19, Days & Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.simonleegallery.com
