Hendra Gunawan - Ciputra Artpreneur

HENDRA GUNAWAN
ART CATALOG
Hendra Gunawan (born in Bandung June 11, 1918) emerged in the nation’s art
scene around the 1930s in the city of Bandung. He developed a strong
friendship with Affandi, Wahdi, Barli and Sudarso. At first Hendra wanted to
learn from Abdullah Suriosubroto, a famous naturalist painter of the time, but
then he decided to learn from his comrades. He learned to paint landscapes
through Wahdi and learn to paint forms from Affandi. as experienced by
Affandi, Hendra’s painting took the attention of Syafe’I Soemardja, an
Indonesian scholar with a European education background who later became
his supporter that expanded his knowledge of painting. During his time living
in Bandung, Hendra and friends went in and out of villages in search of
objects to draw.
During the Japanesse expansion, Hendra join Poetera (Center of People’s
Power). When the revolution broke out in August, Hendra join the Pelukis
Front (Painter’s Front) with comrades such as Barli, Abedy, Sudjana Kerton and
Turkandi who actively captured the warscene. This group held exhibitions in
Tasikmalaya and Jog jakarta. Since then, Hendra resides there. In the same city,
in 1947, after he pulled out from SIM (Indonesian Young Artists), Hendra and
Affandi established their own group People’s Painter who later actively held
exhibitions. In 1948, this group held a modern sculpture exhibition that later
becoming an important event in Indonesian art history.
CURATORIAL
NOTES
HENDRA
GUNAWAN
AND US
SEEING
INDONESIA
A year after the nations independence, Hendra had his first solo exhibition in
the Indonesian National Comitee building, Jog jakarta showing paintings with
themes of revolution. Since this exhibition Hendra’s career as a painter and
sculpter started gaining recognizition. In the same city Hendra finished his first
sculpture of the Indonesian General, Soedirman. In the 1950s, he initiated the
founding of Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia (ASRI/Art Academy of Indonesia)
with other comrades such as R.J. Katamsi, Djajengasmoro and Kusnadi.
Ten years later, he got his second solo exhibition held in a paviliun of the Des
Indes Hotel, Jakarta. in 1962 he went back to Bandung and was assigned as the
Head of West Java’s LEKRA and later founded a sanggar (workshop) in Pabaki
street. Beside paintings, Hendra is an active figure in traditional art activity such
as Sundanesse dance and Wayang Golek.
Entering the 1960s, LEKRA grew rapidly. In July 1962, Hendra and other
LEKRA’s figures founded The University of People’s Art at Bandung which was
built to rival ITB’s Fine Art faculty that was frequently condemed for it’s
western-centered ideas. As the university started to developed, the famous G30
S/PKI occured and Hendra was arrested. Hendra was imprisoned for 12 years in
Kebon Waru jail, Bandung and relocatted to Bali after he was released in 1978.
Towards his final days, Hendra was ill with Diarhea, Alcer, and heart problems.
After refusing to be hospitalized he passed his last days in the hospital of
Sanglah, Bali. A painter who was also a member of the pre- election constituent
in 1955 passed away in July 17 1983.
Aminudin TH Siregar
A self-portrait, 12 Years Without Bathing, shows Hendra’s condition
TWELVE
YEARS
WITHOUT
BATHING
during his time in prison. Captivity is often associated with
suffering, but seeing the fact when Hendra was in prison, his body
caged but his mind and creativity still growing. Hendra’s growth was
supported by his being allowed to have a wood-man, paint behind
bars, and even teach painting to whomever was willing to learn from
him. An important factor that should be noted from this period is
the change of color choices in Hendra’s painting. Dark, gloomy
1977
147 x 70 cm
Oil on canvas
colors transformed into bright and vibrant colors. These color
choices are believed to be influenced by Nuraeni’s paintings,
Hendra Gunawan’s second wife, whom he met in prison.
HENDRA GUNAWAN
This work was made after Hendra was released from prison as a
AING
DASAMUKA
political prisoner. “Aing Dasamuka” can be interpreted as, “10 faces”
or “10 mouths”. The strong bond between Hendra and the cultural
tradition of wayang shows in this painting, associated with the
character Rahwana from the play Rama and Shinta, also known by the
name Dasamuka. In this story, Rahwana is portrayed as being
manipulative and tattling to get what he wants. The moral of the story
Dasamuka can be understand as having the ability to having the
1979
204 x 185 cm
Oil on canvas
capacity for mental dexterity and using role-play to accomplish a goal.
HENDRA GUNAWAN
Hendra Gunawan’s panting is characterized by at least two strong
COMBING
& BREAST
FEEDING
aspects: warm colors that enhance the tropical atmosphere and figures
that tend to have exaggerated features. In particular, women with
exaggerated features and bodies were Hendra Gunawan’s choice in
constructing his compositions. A few experts observe that the women
playing the role of mother in Hendra’s paintings are heavily influenced
by memories of his mother, who was a significant influence in his life.
The women figures are always depicted as having a multiplicity of roles
1980
133 x 205 cm
Oil on canvas
that illustrate strength and bravery, but also grace and nurturing. In
Combing & Breastfeeding the female characters exist in their daily
activities, in their most relaxed moments in the role of mother.
HENDRA GUNAWAN
This painting depicts Hendra Gunawan hugging his wife Nuraeni
MY WIFE & I
ON THE
SECOND
BELL
tightly with a glimpse of jail bars in the background. This scene was
created during Hendra’s period as a political prisoner. Referring to
Agus Dermawan T, this painting represents the intimacy of husband
and wife cut short by visiting hours at the jail. During visiting hours,
the first bell signaled 10 minutes left, the second bell 5 more
minutes, and the third bell was the end of visiting hours.
1973
70 x 147 cm
Oil on canvas
HENDRA GUNAWAN
This Painting evokes Hendra’s precedent-setting painting,
MOTHERS’S
SACRIFICE
“Penjual Ayam”, which received good reviews from art critics in the
1950s. A group of women bent with loads of chicken on their backs
are moving through heavy rain. A dexterous daughter takes banana
leaf tree while holding her siblings with the other hand. The
composition captures a moment in the life of the common people as
they struggle through hardship, with the color blue forming an
ambient atmosphere and mood.
1973
144,5 x 289,5 cm
Oil on canvas
HENDRA GUNAWAN
Hendra loved to paint landscapes. Influenced by his hobby of roaming
FLOWER
OF ESTUARY
in the wilderness from his youth, and his training with Wahdi, a
landscape painter. In this painting, his figures are drawn based on daily
life at the seashore. The daily life of working-class Indonesians is a
theme that is consistently explored in his work. In the year this work
was made, Hendra reaffirmed his position in being one of Indonesia’s
noted Artists. After the years of captivity, his work became bolder
following his first solo exhibition in 1979.
1979
205 x 170 cm
Oil on canvas
HENDRA GUNAWAN
The panorama of a lake and hills offers us a peaceful, exotic and
LAKE
SCENERY
soothing ambience. In the distance, we catch a glimpse of fishing
village. Through this painting Hendra expresses his fascination with
Indonesia’s beautiful landscapes. He is sending a message to the
viewer, “I am just a village boy, who has grown up surrounded by
splendid nature and an agrarian life. This land is a community of
stunning vistas of undulating green foothills covered with rice paddies,
all of which is crystalized in the beauty of my painting: the beauty of
1974
85 x 195 cm
Oil on canvas
the agrarian life”, as Hendra once confessed.
HENDRA GUNAWAN
The painting, “Going Fishing”, also known as “ Fish catching,” depicts
GOING
FISHING
modest family life in Indonesia, an increasingly rare scene in modern
life. We see a father with two happy children going fishing in the river.
Far in the distance, people are busy with their catches. Hendra also
presents a wasted land , dried tress build an air of desolation. This
painting participated in a group exhibition called, “Pelukis Rakyat,” in
1955, that enhanced Hendra’s talent for seizing daily life using a
distinctive aesthetic approach
1955
155.5 x 109 cm
Oil on canvas
HENDRA GUNAWAN
This colossal painting depicts a scene from the hostile Java War
DIPONEGORO
WOUNDED
(1825-1830), one of the most well-known battles of the colonial
period. This war cost 20 million gulden, with hundreds of thousands of
victims on both sides, in which half of Jog ja’s population died. The
unfinished Diponegoro figure in this painting inspires multiple
interpretations. Some have said the unfinished painting refers to the
unfinished struggle of Diponegoro that is passed to the next
generation. The Dutch won the war and arrested the oldest son of
1982
204 x 495 cm
Oil on canvas
Sultan Hamengkubuwono III, yet the painting still inspires strong
patriot feelings.
HENDRA GUNAWAN