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.

Historically, resin is a natural element, a transparent secretion from plants, especially coniferous trees. This transparent, viscous hydrocarbon secretion often traps insects as these alight on the trees. Because the resin becomes hard and transparent when it dries, mummies in Ancient Egypt were often coated by this natural resin to preserve them. Since the Neolithic era, hundreds-year-old fossilized resins, which had hardened and appeared shiny, were often used as decorative gemstones. In many parts of the world, these natural plant resins are frequently used as materials to make perfumes.

Subsequently, resins were synthetically produced, creating “synthetic resins”. In the world of the modern interior design, such synthetic resins are often used to produce furniture, kitchen tables, or flooring materials (epoxy resins). But I think this is the first time that an Indonesian artist explores such resins as the medium of artistic expressions in paintings. The view saying that this material is environmentally unfriendly is… indeed correct. I think, however, we should consider this in the context of the scale of use. Unlike the design industry that produces objects massively, the use of resins as the media for artistic explorations, within the limited context of paintings, is interesting and it will serve us well to observe this development closely.

Arin explores the fluid or flowing nature of the resin, which forms the forte of his works. I think this is one of the greatest contributions that an artist can give: to express his art through the explorations of an uncommon and unpopular material.

In his paintings, Arin experiments with two or more colors and plays with different levels of fluidity to convey his messages. He presents his artistic statements impressively, so much so that parts of his art expressions seem to come about from the surprising fluid nature. As the canvases are shifted, turned around, and made to stand erect, they form new methods of painting using the quickly-hardened material. In other words, the unforeseeable fluid nature of the material forces Arin to make innovations in his method of painting. Sometimes this resin material even seems to perform as artist.

A distinct sensation invariably arises as we observe Arin’s works. The fluid concept and the final features of his artwork, whose surface is smooth, neat, and sometimes shiny, give rise to physical sensations that seem to encourage the brain to automatically order the hand to touch and feel his canvases.

But perhaps this is precisely the strength of an artwork. It is a medium for us humans to question values of life. It is a medium that helps us in our philosophical contemplations. It often serves as a provocative break in the routines in our lives, and are simultaneously able to penetrate all of our senses, encouraging them to be involved in the process. Surprises are the most fitting expression explaining the sensations that arise as we enjoy Arin Dwihartanto’s artwork.

  

M. Ridwan Kamil

Architect