HOM Art Trans: CINTA KASIH by Bayu Utomo Radjikin ft. Marvin Chan & Kow Leong Kiang

CINTA KASIH by Bayu Utomo Radjikin ft. Marvin Chan & Kow Leong Kiang

Bayu Utomo Radjikin showcases a different form in his upcoming solo exhibition Cintakasih at House of MATAHATI, the female figure.

It’s the artist’s first serious attempt at representing the fairer sex and Bayu’s new works that center on a classical Odissi dancer leads audiences across ten charcoal drawings and four paintings that feature the artist’s vibrant signature style.

Whilst Bayu is widely known as one of Malaysia’s leading figurative artists, his artworks have thus far centered on the male figure. Self-portraits and evocations of the Malay warrior fill the artist’s body of work, and until recent times, Bayu has only ever produced a handful of artworks featuring female subjects, including one portrait of his wife.

The concentration on a female classical Indian dancer in Cintakasih thus represents an interesting juncture in the artist’s career.

The core of this series can be traced back to 2008, when Bayu participated in Stirring Odissi. The Sutra Gallery exhibition revolved around the classical Indian dance, and Bayu’s participation not only launched his exploration of the female form, but also formed a milestone in his history with the Sutra Dance Theatre, which began when he designed sets for Ramli Ibrahim’s performances.

From those early days, Bayu has developed an impressive understanding of the dance, setting out in Cintakasih to capture the nine different rasas (sentiments) of Odissi instead of conveying the obvious facets of the dance itself.

Bayu does so by omitting bodily gestures and focusing on nuances of the dancer’s face alone and this is seen especially in Bayu’s charcoal portraits, where the medium is blended to create highly realistic facial definitions, depth, and shadows.

“I’m not portraying a dance,” says the artist, adding that his focus was on the physiognomy and mood of his female subject.

The title of the exhibition combines signature elements from Bayu’s practice, as the artist names all his drawings cinta and all his paintings on canvas kasih. And as a solo exhibition, Cintakasih takes on an unorthodox format as it also features two other artists, Kow Leong Kiang and Marvin Chan.

Both Kow and Chan are well known for their figurative works, and together with Bayu, are members of The “F” Klub, a group of local artists that are bound by a shared interest in figurative art.

Cintakasih’s unique exhibition format is akin to the music scene, where concerts feature a headliner and several guest acts, and Bayu hopes that this will encourage networking and more interaction between artists.

For Cintakasih, Kow and Chan had a pick at the same photographs that Bayu used for his artworks. They may or may not pick identical images, observes Bayu, but the point of interest for audiences will be in the different ways the duo portray their subjects.

Kow and Chan each contribute one artwork to Cintakasih, framing the solo exhibition and giving viewers a chance to examine different approaches within the genre of figurative art in Malaysia.

Another figurative artist, Anurendra Jegadeva, also takes part in the exhibition, but on a different note – a critical one. He shares his views in an essay for the exhibition catalogue, which also contains full-colour images of all the artworks in the exhibition, as well as a selection of Bayu’s previous Odissi works.

Artwork

Cinta VIII

2011 / Charcoal on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Collection of Puah Chin Kok

Cinta IX

2011 / Charcoal & pastel on canvas / 150 x 114 cm

Collection of Bingley Sim

Cinta X

2011 / Charcoal on canvas / 150 x 114 cm

Private collection

Cinta XI

2011 / Charcoal & pastel on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Collection of Kendra Gallery

Cinta XII

2011 / Charcoal on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Private collection

Cinta XIII

2011 / Charcoal on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Private collection

Cinta XIV

2011 / Charcoal & pastel on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Private collection

Cinta XV

2011 / Charcoal on paper/ 150 x 114 cm

Collection of Kendra Gallery

Cinta XVI

2011 / Charcoal & pastel on paper / 150 x 114 cm

Private collection

Kasih II

2011 / Acrylic on canvas / 152.4 x 121.8 cm

Private collection

Kasih III

2011 / Acrylic on canvas / 151.5 x 121 cm

Private collection

Kasih IV

2011 / Acrylic on canvas / 151 x 121 cm

Private collection

Kasih V

2011 / Acrylic on canvas / 152.5 x 121.5 cm

Private collection

Marvin Chan

Bayu Chinta

2011 / Oil on canvas / 152.4 x 122 cm

Private collection

Kow Leong Kiang

Indian Dancer

2011 / Oil on linen / 228.6 x 101.6 cm

Collection of Archana Marshal

Cinta III

2008 / Charcoal & pastel on paper / 150 x 115cm

Collection of Mohd Suhaimi Ahmad

Cinta V

2008 / Charcoal on paper / 150 x 115cm

Collection of Roland Santoso

Cinta VII

2009 / Charcoal & acrylic on paper / 150 x 114cm

Private collection

Cinta VI

2008 / Charcoal on paper / 150 x 115cm

Private collection

Cinta IV

2008 / Charcoal & acrylic on paper / 150 x 115cm

Collection of Camille & Anwar Jumabhoy

Cinta I

2008 / Charcoal & acrylic on paper / 138 x 161cm

Collection of Hoo See Kheng

Cinta II

2008 / charcoal & acrylic on paper / 240 x 145cm

Private collection

Kekasih Tiba

2008 / Acrylic on polifax / 246 x 136cm

Collection of Datuk Ir. Rosaline Ganendra

Menanti Kekasih

2008 / Acrylic on polifax / 246 x 136cm

Collection of Datuk Ir. Rosaline Ganendra

Kasih

2008 / Acrylic on polifax / 202 x 158cm

Artists collection

Adopted Residency (A-RES) is a six-month residency programme designed for young and emerging local artists to start creating their name and building their own career in the local art scene.

The programme emphasizes on committed studio practice that serves as guidance in art direction and technique for the resident artists, fully supervised by HOM Art Trans and guest artists. They will also be exposed to the reality of being a full time artists.

Towards the end of the programme, all the artworks that are produced during the residency will be exhibited for public viewing.

Southeast Asia Art Group Exchanged Residency (SAGER) is a regional residency programme organized by HOM Art Trans (Malaysia), SageJogja (Indonesia) and Projectspace Pilipinas (Philippines).

The exchanged residency takes in artists with at least five years of experience and SAGER enables Malaysian, Indonesian, and Filipino artists to foster and strengthen regional ties, as well as to network and establish a better understanding of their neighbours.

The residency entails 30-days each in Kuala Lumpur, Jogjakarta and Manila. During this time, artists-in-residences not only produce artworks for exhibitions in each city, but also partake in studio visits, gallery and art institution visits, as well as introductions to significant art collectors and art communities.

Aside from these physical dialogues, SAGER also fosters a visual dialogue, as artists from these three countries are encouraged to engage in cross-cultural meditations and to broach new visual languages in their works.

ARTRIANGLE is an exhibition showcasing the latest artworks from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. With the purpose of increasing the appreciation of art in this region through a more open network of exchange and to further inculcate closer working ties amongst our artists, it aspires to energies a 4-way art dialogue between these countries and inadvertently, adds more excitement to the art scene in Southeast Asia.

ARTIANGLE is also a fund-raising event. Benefits from the sales of the exhibition will be channelled to the MATAHATI Art Fund (MAF).

MAF is an effort that provides funds to support visual artists and help the art scene in general. It will go towards assisting in the welfare of those artists in need, which includes incidences involving natural disasters, accidents and health issues. MAF is also used as a grant for artists to initiate art projects and art activities.

Artaidartist is a social media platform that’s purpose and intention is to introduce and market fine artworks in a series of virtual exhibitions. This platform was initiated in efforts to support artists who have been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic, and who have struggled to make ends meet during the continuous implementation of MCO.

Artists whose works are sold will be entitled to fifty percent of the sale of their works, while the remaining fifty percent will be donated to participating artists whose works were not purchased during the showcase. The distribution of profit will not only represent a community of artists coming together in solidarity towards those in financial need, but will also provide support to as many artists as possible..

Artaidartist is an open call that involves all Malaysian visual artists, comprising of young, emerging, and established. Featuring some of their best work, all artworks will be capped between RM500 to RM5000. This special offer which is below the market price, will allow the sale to be more accessible and affordable to a larger pool of art enthusiasts and young collectors.

MEA Award is a biennial competition that honours the most promising young artists in Malaysia. Its main goal is to recognize the country's top emerging talents and to give them the opportunity to break into the local and international art scenes.

The 5 artists with the highest number of votes from a panel of respected juries will receive cash prize, coucher for art materials, 10-day travel grant to a city in Southeast Asia and a showcase of their works.

MEA Award is joint-organized by HOM Art Trans and Galeri Chandan.