Gusmen

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About the artwork

In this painting, Gusmen Heriadi gives his viewers a sea of books and renowned artists' names, leaving them in an initial state of confusion. Viewers have to look further and deeper into the painting to understand what Gusmen is trying to convey through his works - a message that all painters are equally as proficient and prized regardless of how recognized they might be. He uses a combination of both established and emerging artists in his painting, using them as titles of the books depicted. The clever use of books helps him to bring this message across as books represent a level of success the artists have attained by being published and recognized for the product of their artistic endeavors. He understands that sending this message across will be difficult and shows this by using dark tones in the painting to emphasize on the bleak nature of the situation at hand. He highlights that there will be resistance towards accepting this notion of recognizing budding talents in the field. Through the meticulous detail of his paintings, he invites us to celebrate the contribution of artists who have shaped disciplines of the humanities, and piques our interest in their lives as ordinary human beings who have done extraordinary work.

About the artist

Gusmen Heryadi was born in 1974 in Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Having graduated from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in 2005, he now works as an illustrator at Tabloid Altternatif Pualiggoubat Mentawai in his hometown. Gusmen has been actively exhibiting his work over the past two decades. He won an award in Indonesia for Space and Image, that is exhibited at Ciputra World Marketing Gallery. He has also been a finalist of both the Philip Morris and Indofood Art Awards (2000 and 2002), and has been honoured with a Special Appreciation w for the Jakarta Art Award in 2006. The objects featured in his paintings are often metaphors of his feelings and inner debates about the issues of culture and tradition in a modern society. Most of his works are products of his dreams, his responses to life, and his philosophical views. These philosophical and critical thoughts are the result of cultural development and family habits, as well as influences from the breadth of his artistic life and pursuits.