BE THERE
Tales From Wounded-LandPresented by Tyler Rollins Fine Art May 14, 2009- July 25, 2009Reception: May 14, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmEko Nugroho, Wedhar Riyadi
Nugroho and Riyadi are firmly engaged with the culture of their time. With Tales from Wounded-Land, they make a pointed commentary about the current state of politics and society in contemporary Indonesia, a period in which the newly democratic country is going through great transformation. Enin Suprianto, one of Indonesia’s most well regarded independent curators, writes that Nugroho and Riyadi’s works “openly reflect the crisis of life in Indonesia today: there are so many violent elements informing the daily existence and experience of most people.” Alluding to the title of the exhibition, he adds that “whilst rhetorically, in the exotic-romantic ideals of the politicians, Indonesia can be perceived as a ‘wonderland,’ many facts in daily life experienced by the people show that Indonesia is also, candidly, a ‘wounded land.’” Nugroho and Riyadi grew up in Java and reside in one of the island’s major art centers, Yogyakarta. Their works are grounded in both local traditions and global popular culture. Nugroho in particular has cited the influence of traditional batik and embroidery styles, as well as Javanese shadow puppetry. The influence of the latter can be seen in the strange, hybrid figures that appear in his works. There is of course also a powerful inspiration from contemporary street art, graffiti and comics. With Riyadi, these influences are very much to the fore, most notably in his use of line drawing and color. For Tales from Wounded-Land, Nugroho and Riyadi have created a series of new works that highlight themes that are central to their artistic vision. Nugroho makes characteristic use of socio-political commentary with three related canvases that address the role of religion in contemporary Indonesia, a topic much in the news in recent years. Riyadi, on the other hand, continues to plumb the psychological depths of pop cultural imagery, creating strange, rather macabre fantasy worlds populated by figures that are at once playful and disturbing. Tyler Rollins Fine Art is very pleased to present the first New York exhibition for these two compelling artists.
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