Putu Wirantawan - The Structure Revealed
Putu Wirantawan is a visionary artist who uses drawing to reveal invisible structures that operate in universes. In this geometric cosmology by Wirantawan, the shapes are linked to each other, with complex elements of figurative construction. It has been said that this refers to the Bhuana Agung – Macrocosm – and its infinite microcosmic duplicates, a recurring theme in Balinese mythological cosmology.
However, Putu’s artistic practice is voluntarily oriented towards a unique and unrepeatable search, the search for vision manifested in creative activities and the spiritual power of everyday things: light, wind, ether, burning incense, ripples in water. To work, he prefers calm and quiet atmospheres to achieve deep concentration. When drawing, he describes ecstasy as a combination of pleasure and disinterest, a state of mind that takes pleasure in the noble qualities of the practice of life, trusting in the existence of the divine powers that govern it.
This intense and sustained experience over many hours a day modifies the experience of time in its course: a day is as long as a week, each week can represent months. Wirantawan works constantly but in large-format pieces and complex installations he can spend several years to complete. This contributes to the sense of timelessness in his drawings: each scene happens where all times congregate and resonate harmoniously, his style does not seem to respond to a particular period of history. It is contemporary and ancestral at the same time.
His drawing technique is marked by simplicity: purely hand-made, without rubbing, without the use of any other white than the surface of the paper, no erasing, no mistakes, he cultivates spontaneity but plans his structures at length. Everything is done dry.
Arte Marakame presents Putu Wirantawan's work in Mexico with the purpose of offering a glimpse into the visionary searches of artists in other places on the planet.
Profile
Putu Wirantawan (Negara, West Bali, Indonesia. 1972) learned to draw and paint from his youth, participating in exhibitions since 1993. In 2005 he graduated from the ISI Yogakarta School of Fine Arts of the Indonesian Institute of Arts. Until then, his pictorial work in oil, acrylic and watercolor oscillated between figuration (of the city, objects and landscape) and abstraction, showing his own artistic temperament but still attached to formal and academic tendencies, tempered.
He experienced a strong creative crisis around 2009 that did not allow him to work or enjoy. What emerged from that experience and the transformation he made of himself feeds his current production, frequently considered as “visionary art”, with qualities of “other worlds”.
He embraces his Balinese identity, which is recognized worldwide for its unique, highly expressive and ritual cultural customs.
In 2010 he won First Prize at the Jakarta Art Award, finalist at the Second Print and Drawing Triennial in Bangkok, 2008. He received an honorable mention at the 12th International Print and Drawing Biennial (2006) in Taiwan. Between 1985 and 1998 he received numerous awards at ISI Yogyakarta, Jambrana and Denpasar competitions.
