Page 84 - Masters

master

HANSEN THIAM SUN

Lives and works in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

SEARCH THE ARTIST ONLINE www.hansen-art.com

also has a major appeal in the academic context of Fine Art of ITB. First of
all, disregard the term abstract as the main focus of Hansen’s paintings
tendencies in this moment because not all of his paintings are pure abstract,
he also painted some base forms of recognizable daily objects. Analyzed
from his previous artistic paths, Hansen’s attitude tends to be in between
‘abstraction’ and ‘representation’, between tangible and intangible things.
Hansen is neither fully freeing canvas as a two dimensional medium nor
releasing his work from desires to tell stories, like most of the abstract work
in the history of Fine Art. His dualism attitude has its own appeal to disclosure
abstract painting styles in Indonesia. Furthermore, his efforts to tell stories
through paintings are reflected by his ways of naming each painting. His
paintings keep two important matters, real form objects and simplification
of objects that freely compositing themselves into a harmony. we can
also conclude that his paintings not only resulting in a harmony but also
resulting some ‘tensions’ between those two matters which are analyzed
as reflections of impurity, abnormality, paradox or eccentricity; or presumed
as reflections of origins of abstract genre in Indonesia’s context. In summary,
Hansen can be categorized as one of abstract painters who is emerging the
issues of abstract expressionism in Indonesia. As we all know, many of our
art observers and art critics try to comprehend that the accuracy of abstract
paintings practices in Indonesia is not the same as the one in the western
countries. However, the birth of abstract expressionism in Indonesia was not
based on coincidences or accidental practices. Even so, it is undeniable that
the rising of abstract expressionism was caused by the correlation between
our artists and different methods of the west. At this point, fine art academy
is seen as one agent that introduces artists to abstract expressionism.
Ahmad Sadali, a famous abstract painting guru, could be the only person
who tries to contradict the principles stating that abstract paintings in
Indonesia are absolutely influenced by west methods. In early 1980s, in one
of his writings, he issued that abstract expressionism had been practiced
and had been resided within Indonesian culture for long. Ahmad Sadali’s
reasons are very clear that Indonesia’s abstract expressionism tendencies
were original which proven by some motifs or some patterns in its cultural
artifacts all over Indonesia far from representations. In his article, he also
concluded that the basis of antropomorpho- naturrealism similar to the one
in the west was never really identified in different places in the Eastern world.
Immutable Objects: Hansen latest work emerged two contradictory Abstract expressionism was ‘founded’ by the people in the west, but they
problems at the same time, paintings with figurative tendencies which also were not the only party that successfully pioneered this genre. However,
indicated some approaches to abstract. we were faced with some problems we have to look at this matter from proportional perspective (having learnt
related to ‘abstract styles’, particularly when Hansen created many object from the history of the conflicts between Lekra and Cultural Manifesto).
deformations, combinations of the different paint brush width, textures, At this point, at least we can understand the context of Hansen’s abstract
liquefied paints and the balance of compositions. Besides that, viewed from painting as a manifesto hoping to create a sufficient and – as mentioned
his concepts, Hansen tried to establish a link of understandings between before – a proportional abstract painting milieu. In the East, an object can
west and East aesthetics or in other words, between west’s abstract not always be summarized, exchanged or mutated as an essence of the
expressionism and East’s expressionism represented by calligraphy. As far object itself thus eliminating its symbolic traces (index) because there are
as I’m concerned, the abstract expressionism really shows Hansen’s strong times when people in the East still consider the importance of presenting
distinctiveness as an artist. The west-East abstract expressionism is also objects blatantly (immutable objects) intended to remind people of the real
the focus of his solo exhibition in Soemardja gallery at this moment, which forms of these objects.
80 Aminudin TH. Siregar, curator
masters of today