Vani Hidayatur Rahman

Share

Share

Add fave View in room

About the artwork

In celebration of the renowned musician and composer, Beethoven, Vani creates a unique portraiture, once again bringing his multicoloured, minuscule figures to life in a celebratory painting. An honorary bust is being chiseled in Beethoven's image, expression solemn as if deep in thought, symbolically crafted by the hardworking beings building scaffolds and scaling each nook and cranny, aiming to create a regal masterpiece. The artist's eye for detail and intricacy adds yet another layer of depth to the painting, as we see his rainbow figures stand out from the cool grey monochrome of the rest of the work. The colourful figures presented are symbolic of diversity in social structures, and are Vani's way of underscoring the fact that no matter who you are or where one comes from, the ability to understand and appreciate music as a universal language is congruent, hence the reason why such prominent figures in the music scene are well loved by all.

About the artist

Born in 1981 in Semarang, Indonesia, artist Vani Hidayatur Rahman is currently based in Jogjakarta. He has shown his works in various group exhibitions including ArtJog 2013: Maritime Culture, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta; Return to Home, International Union of Unified Ummah Cartoon Contest, Iran (2012); Manifesto, Indonesian National Gallery, Jakarta (2010). Vani has received a number of art awards including the Best Painting accolade at the 2012 Jakarta Art Awards and was a finalist at the 2008 Jakarta Art Awards.

Vani Hidayatur Rahman has made a name for himself with his distinctive and realistic style. With his highly complex paintings that are adorned with detailed embellishments, Vani imbues a strong concept and story into each piece and addresses pertinent political, social and environmental issues that span war to pollution. In his artwork entitled "Unity," Vani depicts a large ark - a motif that has been reiterated by other Indonesian painters such as Widayat and Amrus Natalya. However, Vani presents his own interpretation of the timber vessel by painting it in an unfinished stage of construction and glory - a group of workers on deck are still sawing, carrying wooden beams and measuring for dimensions. The flurry of activity is painted from a birds-eye view and aerial perspective, with the entire structure and frame visible - allowing the viewer to feel as if he or she is an omniscient being looking down from above.