Imba; Dari Abstrak ke Abstrakisme

Reality can never be replicated precisely when depicted on a canvas or any other medium. The process that occurs within it discards many elements, while simultaneously birthing new and unexpected ones. What we agree as realistic, surrealistic, hyperrealistic, or any other label, is in truth something distanced from the object being pictured. This all stems from the actuality that before an image appears on canvas or a sculpture takes shape in stone, a distinct image and perhaps an idea has already formed within the artist’s mind. In abstract works that depart from the representation of an object, this condition is even more extreme. Forms perceived by the sense of sight as objective truths are deliberately distorted through exaggerated forms, even straying completely from their origin. Forms undergo abstractions, a kind of attempt to capture the essence of an object on one side. On the other hand, the attempt to rebel against reality, which is confirmed as some kind of universal truth, becomes a unique and completely new personal experience. This leads to the thesis that the distinction between a “representation of an object” and a purely “abstract form” has become blurred. This exhibition features more than 80 works created from the 1950s to 2025 from different generations of artists. Most are two-dimensional, few are three-dimensional, showcasing a tendency towards abstraction. Because it was studied and followed by many people, it became a phenomenon of abstractism. Simon Admiraal—along with Ries Mulder, introduced these abstract works through formal art education in Bandung, Indonesia. In its development, abstraction intertwined with cubist and geometric patterns. In the 1950s, people perceived it as a renewal amid the dominance of representational painting, which sought to copy objects as authentically as possible based on the visual perception. It cannot be denied that this style influenced and shaped the academic environment of visual arts at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), as seen in the works of A.D. Pirous, G. Sidharta Soegijo, Mochtar Apin, Umi Dachlan, Kaboel Suadi, Amrizal Salayan, and even newer generations: Gabriel Aries, Galih Adika Paripurna, Mujahidin Nurrahman, whose works are exhibited alongside those of Simon Admiraal in this exhibition. But abstraction and abstractism did not only develop at ITB or Bandung. It continued to grow in various places, as seen in the works of Aming Prayitno, Lian Sahar, and Fadjar Sidik with their distinctive styles. In fact, it also appears in the new generation based on the exploration of ideas and in-depth studies of materials, as seen in the works of Henryette Louise and Endang Lestari. In this current age, abstraction and abstractism have become more fluid, no longer fully reflecting their origins in a narrow educational environment, but rather a broad horizon.