Exhibition : ROAD TRIP TO CALIFORNIA 2015 @ Sangkring Art Space
Exhibition : Road Trip To California 2015
Artist : Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Heri Dono, Kow Leong Kiang, Putu Sutawijaya
Opening : Saturday, January 23, 2016, 7PM
Exhibition dates : January 23 – February 20, 2016
ROAD TRIP TO CALIFORNIA 2015
On September 12, 2015, Baik Art sent four Asian artists on a road trip to central and northern California. From September 13 to September 21, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Heri Dono, Kow Leong Kiang and Putu Sutawijaya traveled together visiting many natural sites, including Big Sur and Yosemite National Park. The experience culminated in an open studios event at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica on September 22.
Each of the four artists is distinguished by the ways in which they address various themes through their work. Ahmad Zakii Anwar was born in 1955 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He uses paint and charcoal to develop highly realistic, metaphorical figures and still life compositions informed by his Islamic upbringing in Southeast Asia. Heri Dono, born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1960, is often associated with the new internationalist movement in art. His paintings, sculptures and installations tend to combine humor and sociopolitical commentary. Kow Leong Kiang is known for his photographic portraits, in which a painterly, blurred quality is employed to alter the image’s aura. He was born in Selangor, Malaysia in 1970. Lastly, Putu Sutawijaya, born the same year in Tabanan, Bali, creates expressive paintings and sculptures often focused on the human figure. His figures’ organic forms and sense of movement are also influenced by sacred sites in Bali and Java, as well as the concept of the body as a temple.
Together, Anwar, Dono, Kiang and Sutawijaya visited Hearst Castle, Big Sur, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Yosemite National Park. At Hearst Castle, they explored California’s central coastline, and during their two days spent in Big Sur, the artists looked for sea otters and other sea creatures. They saw redwood trees and stopped to visit various surfing destinations. Their drive near Half-Moon Bay Area brought them close to Crystal Springs Reservoir and Mavericks, where some of the largest surfable waves on earth can be found.
The artists spent two days in San Francisco, visiting historical sites such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Chinatown, and Coit Tower. They also had the opportunity to drive through Golden Gate Park and spent time at Mount Tamalpais State Park. From San Francisco, they visited Sacramento where part of the old city has been left the underground.
Finally, they continued their trip to Yosemite National Park where they spent several days. While traveling south on their return trip to Los Angeles, the artists visited areas of California which none of them had ever seen near Sequoia National Park, Bakersfield, and the Angeles National Forest.
Throughout the eight-day-long road trip, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Heri Dono, Kow Leong Kiang and Putu Sutawijaya considered ways in which these natural and historical places had influenced their art practices
Image Karya Road Trip To California 2015
