“How I am forced to make compromises with the ‘uncontrolled’ conditions and deal with it by taking a variety of decisions, all depends on the situations at hand.”
– Arin Dwihartanto
“My canvas is like a pedestal,” Arin says. The painting that we see created on the canvas is envisioned as having the status as an object, resting on a pedestal. That is how Arin uses his imaginations, and even metaphors, of how he wants his works stir our emotions. Arin shrewdly defines the modes of being and the approaches he takes toward the two-dimensional planes through allusions of objects or three-dimensional allusions.
We are used to imagining (modern) sculptures on pedestals—and, naturally, paintings in frames—as aliens from outer space. Our understanding about a variety of works of art happens in such a way that it gives rise to the view that the presence of the observer vis-à-vis the observed object constitutes the margin between two different worlds. Arin, however, does not intend to signify such conflict of understandings as he tries to transform the canvas into a pedestal; rather, he wishes to convey the discord in the creative arena or chronicle. This is understandable, as all artists in the contemporary era always seem impatient to be included in the long line of artists who advertise a kind of “de-differentiation politics”. They surreptitiously keep in their pockets a special agenda to disassemble and re-assemble the differentiating layers and identities: the self, the medium, the subject matter, meanings or messages, and signs.
Arin’s Friction: Materiality as Painter
The experience of observing Arin Dwihartanto’s paintings is the experience of coming across two different provocations. The first one is his art expression that has a fluid nature. The flowing movement appears strong as there are colors that have the “task” to remain still as the background, and there are colors that strongly flow and move here and there. The flowing colors appear sublime and natural. Such natural quality, I think, is part of the artistic concept that the painter wishes to convey. The harmony and the role-sharing among the painting elements are the fortes that are evident in his paintings.
The second provocation is found in the final forms of his paintings. The painting texture on his canvas feels neat, smooth, and often appears shiny. This is different from paintings that use the conventional materials of oil paints that often appear textured, easily mixed, and are sometimes rough. Such smooth and neat characters that we see in Arin’s works are due to the use of unconventional materials, i.e. resin liquid. The resin liquid is able to flow but will dry quickly after a certain length of time. This viscous nature enables us to control the resin’s level of thickness according to our desire.
