Biography
Masriadi was born 1973, in Gianyar, Bali. Masriadi received his training in art at the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta. The visual imagery and narratives in his paintings are derived from keen and intelligent observations of social life and behavioural traits. His visual vocabulary is striking, continuously refreshing and contemporaneously relevant.Work
In Bali, where he was born, there were two traditions of painting - a
sacred one and one of words for a Western audience - but his
relationship to these is indirect. Masriadi received his training in art
at the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta. From the time he was
an art student, he had already been recognized by peers as one of the
very first contemporary Balinese artists who eased himself away from an
encompassing concern with Balinese life, culture and traditions in his
works. He is reputed to have stood in front of the canvas on a cardboard
box to restrict himself from any distractions and fidgety behavior; to
learn the skill of painting.
The visual imagery and narratives in his paintings are derived from
keen and intelligent observations of social life and behavioural traits.
His visual vocabulary is striking, continuously refreshing and
contemporaneously relevant.Early works show him sparring with Western
modernism in the guise of cubism but meshing it with caricature, the
language of street advertising and graffiti. The way he has overdrawn
his finished paintings with a marker can best be seen as a means of
inscribing himself in or against that tradition.
"Masriadi: Black Is My Last Weapon," was the artist's maiden solo show at the Singapore Art Museum which was co organised by Gajah Gallery
in 2008. The exhibit spanned Masriadi's 10-year career and explored the
evolution of his signature black-skinned figures, a motif now widely
copied by other Indonesian painters.
Masriadi's works are marked by consistent high quality — thoughtful
in the messages that transmit from scenes and figures in his pictorial
world, and painstakingly detailed in execution and finish. These
qualities have led him to receive positive reception from the art
collecting world at large. He is presently Southeast Asia's most
well-received contemporary artist at auctions; the appreciation of his
works is a testimony to his forte and talent as a painter as well as a
barometer of the ascendency of Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Awards & Accolades
He was awarded the prize for Best Painting at the Dies Natalis ISI Yogyakarta in 1997. He has participated in group exhibitions in Australia and the Netherlands, and in Indonesia: In Bali,Singapore,Jakarta, Mungkid (Mageland), Solo, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.
Masriadi is one of Southeast Asia's most well-received contemporary artists at auction
Source
21 more pictures
