Indradodi

Indra Dodi

Indra Dodi (born 1980) is a painter, belonging to a generation of emerging artists in the Indonesian contemporary art scene. His style is marked by objects which appear often as funny or sometimes very strange looking figures, a child-like sketching/painting, combined with written texts –consisting of mostly incomprehensible sentences and words -, for evoking the character of story-telling, but in a visualized form.

indra dodi artwork

Biography

Indra Dodi (born 1980 in Padang, West Sumatra) grew up in West Sumatra, until he moved to Yogyakarta in Central Java, where he studied at first at the Academy of Leather Technology. In 2004 he continued his studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts (Painting) at the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI – Institut Seni Indonesia) in Yogyakarta, where he graduated in 2010. Indra Dodi already exhibited his works from 2004 on. Recently he has participated in several exhibitions outside of Indonesia, among others in South Korea (Solo Show), Singapore, Belgium and Germany.

Indra Dodi participated 2010 in an Indonesian-German artist exchange program with exhibitions in Yogyakarta and Dresden, Germany, under the title “U(dys)topia”.

In 2011 he contributed to the Indonesian-German artist program “Crossing Signs” which was presented to the public in the cities of Yogyakarta, Lampung. Ubud (Bali), Bandung, and in the National Gallery in Jakarta. Now he is living with his family in Yogyakarta, continuing his artistic career. Indra Dodi is also a member of Sakato Art Community, a group of artists from West Sumatra based in Yogyakarta.

Work

In the beginning of his career as a professional painter Indra Dodi explored abstract objects, most of them in soft colors. For an extended period he tried to ignore artistic limitations, always giving the priority to a free expression. Finally he shifted to a semi-abstract style, combining figurative elements with objects of pure form.

“But even his most abstract paintings revealed a tendency for narrating, or telling stories through the colors showing his moods, or dreams. Sometimes the lines are shaped like a kind of boat, floating away with the waves of imagination and allusions.” (Anton Larenz, art writer).

Indra Dodi has created his own vocabulary and universe of forms, a visual language that is composed of different elements, objects and styles, a kind of visual grammar that allows him to build his lines or sequences of stories in a figurative way. The stories can be taken from an event in the daily life or reality, they could also be imagined. It could be a chain of accidental and unpredictable events. The experience of abstract painting taught him to trust himself and to follow his inner voice.

The narrative structure is open to interpretation, there is still much left to the imagination of the viewer. Written words or letters turn upon the canvas, connecting objects with text. Most of the texts consist of words that cannot be understood. The words or letters itself are written in flowing lines, like hand-written sentences. They are not supposed to mean, they are just visual elements, but at the same time they speak about the relationship between text and image. Lines of letters flowing like a river and colorful letters blossoming like flowers in a garden. The epic and narrative structures appear to have transformed into fantasies.

Scribbling, texture, and drawing as elements of Indra Dodi’s painted stories refer to a grammar of visual imagination, providing the configuration of the work. Another part of his workshows faces/portraits with a funny or strange expression, in a manner that looks similar to child-like painting. Sometimes he chooses to paint animals, even a bit monster-like.

The playfulness of Indra Dodi together with his unpredictability produces colorful and poetic results. These paintings are a mirror of his inner life and emotions, the articulation of the artist’s perspective of the world, how he sees and perceives it.

Artist statement by Indra Dodi:

“I look at things from a different side of view or perspective. Each of my paintings is a message of a rebellion deep inside of myself. Why the color red? Why this must in blue? Why we do have always to agree? Why not oppose? Why just quiet, etc. My painting is a different way of speaking about reality or to tell things from my own perspective. Such as: environment, village, stone, mountain, river, rain, cloud, party, love, drunk, women, child, land, spoken words, alphabet etc. We need to learn to close our eyes and to return to our child-like mentality to find the source of our artistic creativity, which is an expression ofour self.

The essence of art is life and philosophy. I felt moved, since I began to understand the darkness of life and mind.

I find that art is like a play. Art really touches me. Human beings should take their time to play around. Responding to a playful impulse means following a truth from inside. Art is just copying that. Beauty is a truth that has to trusted as a true expression of the soul.”

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2015 ’’Indra Dodi Solo Show’’, LVS Gallery, Seoul, South Korea. 2010 “Ekspresi Sesaat”, Galeri Katamsi, ISI Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Selected group exhibitions

2016 "Affordable Art Fair", Brussels, Belgium "Sunny-side up", LVS Gallery, Seoul, South Korea

       “Bakaba #5”. Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2015 "ROOM 2015" at Gallery HUUE, Singapore

         "Affordable Art Fair", Singapore           
         "(AAF ) Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam”, Amsterdam, Netherlands
         "Affordable Art Fair Seoul” Seoul Korea

"Soaf ArtFair”, Seoul, South Korea "Asyaaf”, LVS Gallery, Seoul, South Korea “Randang & Rendang”, Bakaba #4, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia “A Frozen Moment”, Space Cottonseed, Gillman Barracks, Singapore. "New Wave: the road of memories", And N Gallery, Seoul, South Korea. “Writing an Image”, Space Cottonseed, Gillman Barracks, Singapore

2014 “YOS”, Yogyakarta, Indonesia “Affordable Art Fair”, Space Cottonseed, Singapore. "Asyaaf”, LVS Gallery, Seoul, Korea. “BAKABA #3”, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. “Isi ISI” Talenta Organizer, Jakarta Indonesia.

2013 “Art Bazaar”, Alam Sutra Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia

2011 "Crossing Sign”, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta - Indonesian National Gallery, Jakarta - Sika Gallery, Ubud - TBY Lampung, Indonesia.

    "Asyaaf”, LVS Gallery, Seoul, Korea. 

2010 "Art For Our Life", Indonesian Visual Art at the gallery of the Raday Konyvehaz, Budapest, Hungary.

    "U(dys)topia”, Hochschule fuer Bildende Kuenste (HfBk), Dresden, Germany 
    "U(dys)topia”, Freies Museum Berlin, Berlin, Germany
    "U(dys)topia”, Stadt Museum Cologne, Germany 
    "Beijing Biennale 2010”, Beijing Museum. Beijing, China.
    "Jogja Art Share”, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 

2009 "Man Talk About Love", Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

2008 “JAF”, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Indonesia

    “Narration Of Nation”, Mondecor Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 
    ”Free Style”, Affandi Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 

Publications

Crossing Signs. 14 artists from Germany and Indonesia experiencing the ‘liminal zone’. Curated by Sujud Dartanto and Noor Veiga. Yogyakarta 2011

U(DYS)TOPIA – A German-Indonesian Arts Project. Dresden, Berlin, 2010

Irianto Ibrahim, Buton, Ibu dan Sekantong luka. 2010

Selected press

Mereka Banyak Dapat Pelajaran Dari Beijing International Art Biennale 2010, Oktober 18th, 2010 Jogjanews.com

Kuss Indarto: Menapak Citra di China. 22 August, 2010. Indonesia Art News. www.indonesiaartnews.or.id

Pameran Bersama Perupa dari Tiga Kota, Senin, 18 October 2010 – www.tempointeraktif.com

Katrin Figge: An Artistic Middle Ground. in: Jakarta Globe, 2011

Andreas D. Arditya: A celebration of camaraderie. Wed, March 5 2014, The Jakarta Post