ROH is pleased to announce its participation at the 2022 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, exhibiting the latest artistic explorations of a number of the gallery’s represented artists Aditya Novali, Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo, Davy Linggar, and Tromarama.
This year’s presentation includes Aditya Novali’s work entitled 1/2 | 1/3 | 2/3 (2022). Deploying his methodical process, Novali places emphasis on a thin horizontal line separating two aesthetic planes to evoke a subtle imagination and interpretation of what this line may represent. If one is to look closely at the sides of the work, one may observe that two separate components have actually been delicately pasted together, resulting in the collision of two separate structures where shadows collide and pervade into each other. This interplay of light and shadow represents a further exploration of the artist’s long-standing interest in how his works respond to the dynamic changes of the environments his works are situated in. Novali is known for addressing a number of primary themes such as identity, boundary, materialism, and life in an urban environment, but in this case is speaking in a more strongly abstract language. Working with a variety of mediums—installation, performance, painting, and sculpture—often first conceiving an idea before finding the appropriate methodologies to realize his vision, Novali’s multifaceted works often contain permutations of ideas that contain elements of transformation and an intersection between rationality and intuition.
Also on view is Davy Linggar, an artist who works in a manner that interweaves the practice of painting, photography, video, and installation. Blurring the boundaries between mediums, as well as investigating confluences in the culture around him, Linggar depicts both the intimacy and vibrancy of the human condition. In Fixed (2021), Linggar paints several hands that stack upon each other, forming a certain unified form and persistence in connecting with and through each other in dream-like shades of indigo. The connections seem to correspond to the growth of a seedling upon the lower component of the composition.
Recognized for his process of developing new pigments out of unconventional materials conjoined to resin, Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo’s Elaeis #5 (2021) is a continuation of his exploration into the charred remnants of palm oil. Palm oil itself is unique as a material, it is ubiquitous especially within the context of Southeast Asia in terms of the role it plays economically, socially, as well as politically on countless strata, as well as in the almost invisible ways it is reconstituted in a wide array of possibilities for human consumption that can be in many ways forgotten. This pigment, the charred palm oil, is then articulated into a number of complex gestural forms consolidated in resin. Sunaryo punctures the surface of the paintings, as well as develops layers of textural nuance on the surface, to both lighten the composition as well establish newfound layers of depth. There seems to be ecological considerations in the painting that are communicated by Sunaryo that allows more ambiguous interpretations by the viewer.
Often exploring the notion of hyperreality and interrelationship between the virtual and the physical worlds, Jakarta and Bandung-based collective Tromarama presents the latest iteration of the series Consonant (2021). Distorted imagery of graduation certificates, student report cards, textbooks, and uniforms unearthed from their personal archives are interspersed in between two polar sides of lenticular plates. The series is an attempt to question values and customs instilled in society that measures and molds its people through the educational system. From a young age, students must compulsorily take courses on ethics and social ideals that play a major role in shaping the way they see the world and in relation to what is right and wrong. These systems of thought then become cemented in the psyche of the next generation and thereafter plant the seeds towards political and moral viewpoints that continue upon adulthood.
Artists
Born 1978, Surakarta, Indonesia
Lives and works in Surakarta, Indonesia
Aditya Novali works with a variety of materials, often first conceiving an idea and then finding the right medium to transcribe his vision. His background in architecture influences his sensitivity to structure, space, and knowledge of construction – key elements of his approach and aesthetic. Addressing themes such as boundaries, identities, materialism, and urban life, Novali’s work interacts with the viewer and transforms with each viewing.
Novali received his Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture from Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, Indonesia, in 2002; and an IM Master of Conceptual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in 2008. Novali’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and institutions both locally and internationally. Selected solo exhibitions include Ends at Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand (2024); New Obsolescence: ADITYAVOVALI at ROH, Jakarta, Indonesia (2023); WHY at Tumurun Museum, Solo, Indonesia (2022); ME:DI:UM with ROH Projects at Liste Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland (2019); Significant Other at ShanghArt Gallery, Singapore (2019); Caprice with ROH Projects at Art Basel Hong Kong: Discoveries, Hong Kong (2018); and ACRYLIC at ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia (2016). Notable group exhibitions are, among others, Taipei Biennial 2023: Small World at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2023); Dhaka Art Summit: বন্যা/Bonna at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2023); On Muzharul Islam: Surfacing Intention at Dhaka Art Summit: Seismic Movements, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020); The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia (2018); DIASPORA: Exit, Exile, Exodus of Southeast Asia at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2018); The 15th Asia Art Festival: Multiple Spectacle Art from Asia at Ningbo Art Museum, Ningbo, China (2017); Imaginary Synonym at Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan (2016); Aku Diponegoro at National Gallery of Indonesia, Indonesia (2015); Shout! Indonesian Contemporary Art at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (MACRO), Italy (2014); Little Water at Dojima River Biennale, Osaka, Japan (2013); and South East Asia (SEA)+ Triennale at National Gallery of Indonesia, Indonesia (2013). Novali was nominated for Best Emerging Artist Using Installation at the 2016 Prudential Eye Awards in Singapore; Finalist in the 2010 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, and awarded Best Artwork in the Bandung Contemporary Art Awards (BaCAA) in the same year.
View ArtistThe copyright in each artwork belongs to the respective Artist
Photos by The Artists and Kit Min Lee
Courtesy of The Artists and ROH