The Hidden Wild Triangle

 

View @ Artmoments Jakarta Online

 

Like a Balinese dancer (Wianta himself being one), his feet set foot on one axis: the earth of the island of the Gods. However, his shoulders, hands, and fingers continue to move to express themselves rhythmically and dynamically (Wianta also studies the traditional music of his home). His eyes darted around everywhere, to all corners of the world, in amazement: up and down east-west, while chanting the depths of poetry (Wianta is also a poet). However, what is unique and main, Wianta manages to fuse and integrate all of his abilities into his paintings. This is his specialty as a painter.

His craftsmanship is high, but without getting in the way of his emotional expressiveness it can go wild. By exploring Balinese traditions, the Karangasem Wianta period can contribute something to the art world, “surrealism” which is very “signature of him”, after the surrealism of Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Andre Breton, Paul Delvaux, Rene Margritte, Yves Tanguy, or even Salvador Dali. However, not just sitting there, Wianta continues to wander, continuing his creativity. His eyes looked everywhere. His fingers can produce fine details, delicate features, but also wide, searing strokes.

From dots to calligraphy, from triangles to quadrilaterals, from cubes to measurable and cerebral prisms and pyramids, Wianta can mix it up with expressiveness that relies on intuition.Wiantais very good at creating mixes of traditional-modern, west-east, local-global. He inherited the Balinese tradition of being open to new things.Walter Spies plays Tuan Tepis, the creator of the traditional Balinese Kecak Dance with modern theater performances today. For Wianta, the important thing is to produce new creativity in accordance with current demands.

Just look at this series of “trangles”. Some are measurable, mathematical, sometimes amplified, with consciously arrange compositions, which show the aspect of their craftmanship. Some are stirred with expressionistic strokes. Or stay with dominant wild strokes, drowning triangles or prisms.

 

Eddy Soetriyono
Curator of Fine Arts, Art-market Observer, and poet, lives in Jakarta