Roby Dwi Antono: TUK @ Almine Rech Gallery, Grosvenor Hill
Almine Rech Gallery presents TUK, Roby Dwi Antono’s recent body of works, created following the birth of his firstborn daughter, Laut in July of 2023. The collection of recently completed works is heavily influenced by the nuances and challenges of fatherhood. Encouraged by a shift in his life, the artist has developed a new expression, emphasizing a rougher approach to painting. The artist's hyper-realistic method of portrayal has evolved into a mere and emotional gesture of colour on the canvas. The exhibition captures the new works, highlighting the ever-changing lived tensions across dynamic gestures and vivid colours scattered by the articulation of Antono’s raw emotions.
Roby Dwi Antono, MENARI;MENTARI, 2023. Oil and spray paint on canvas, 200 x 180 cm. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
Roby Dwi Antono’s approach to drawing from personal recollection has changed stylistically throughout this new series, although it is still deeply founded on personal idioms of his own lived experiences. The artist is often recognised for his meticulous surreal depictions of children and anthropomorphic figures with a key signature trait of melancholic wide-eyes. The subjects of the paintings have shifted from naturalistic and detailed subjects – with accentuated realistic eyes – to more abstract anthropomorphic figures. The stylistic trademark of the artist still remains very present. However, from realistic eyes transmitting emotion across their naturalistic features, the eyes transform into a summarised cartoon-like depiction, transmitting emotion across the colour syntax of the work.
The artist is most recognised by his stylised portraits of wide-eyed children, mythological figures and fantastical animals. Inspired by the works of Pop surrealists Yoshitomo Nara, Mark Ryden, and Javier Calleja, Antono has developed his unique and distinguishable style. By combining fantasy images with the aesthetics of the Renaissance, Antono explores themes of pop culture, macabre humour, and heroism to highlight the paradoxes inherent in the human experience. As a self-taught painter, illustrator and sculptor, Antono has a background in graphic design. The artists’ studies have influenced his artistic style, merging the naturalistic qualities of sculpting with the playful attributes of illustration.
Roby Dwi Antono, TUK, 2023. Installation view. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
The title of the exhibition is intrinsically connected to the artists’ childhood hometown and city where he currently sustains his creative practice, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The aforementioned city is renowned for its rich cultural heritage. For many years, the town on the island of Java has been referred to as the “cultural heart of Indonesia'', drawing visitors to experience the culturally rich Javanese art agendas. The location of Antono’s studio is in a remote area of the city, connecting the artist's background to his current practice.
Antono’s method of drawing creative inspiration from personal memories remains a consistent thread across his practice. Drawn from his early memories from the town of Ambarawa, in Central Java, where as a small child he was involved in the construction of both a “Belik'' and a “Tuk”; an artificially build traditional well and water spring that emerges from this construction, supplying fresh water to the local population. The Javanese word Belik, which itself means “water source” is usually found in the middle of fields, in the cracks in boulders, on river cliffs or in minor valley curves. The artist defines the “Tuk '' as an essential source of life, spawning a similarity between children and their biological need of breastfeeding. From this similarity the title of the exhibition, TUK, which draws on the nuanced experiences of raising children and fatherhood. Roby Dwi Antono finds great resonance in the “Tuk'' analogy, viewing his artwork as a source of inspiration and sustenance. His artworks draw on his own memories and experiences, which act as a source of development, much like a Tuk supplies pure water to support life. Antono’s paintings take on a symbolic significance in this way, providing a novel and genuine window into his world and encouraging viewers to consider their own experiences.
Roby Dwi Antono, TUK, 2023. Installation view. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
The novel composition of the works draws a connection between the title of the exhibition, inspired by the artist’s current life challenges and the stylistic approach to the theme. The use of bold colours, the thick contours of the figures, unrealistic depictions, crowded compositions and fast dynamic brushstrokes, resemble dream-like drawings by small children. The birth of Antono’s daughter – Laut – and the shift in his creative approach start to emerge as a symbiosis between the artist's childhood and the current one he is experiencing across his daughter.
Considering the curatorial approach to the exhibition, this could have been intrigued by the raw emotions conveyed in the paintings, aiming to create an immersive experience for the audience that goes beyond traditional hyper-realistic representation of Antono’s past shows. Whilst the works are displayed with the standards of the white wall gallery, their stylistic approach depicts complex emotions across simplistic outlined figures, resembling doodles on paper by children depicting their family. However, unlike children’s creative drawings they show their parents, Antono’s paintings assume a position of power within the space. The stark white backdrop enhances the emotional depth and across the vivid colours, dynamic gestures, and thematic richness in response to fatherhood, allowing the raw emotions and innovative elements to command attention and create a compelling visual narrative within the exhibition.
The characteristics mentioned above are present in the majority of the works in the exhibition. In particular concerns to three paintings – AIR TERJUN, ROMANSA ROKET DAN ALIEN DI PLANET DIJON and DIALOG POHON, AIR DAN KERIKIL –which summarise the key frameworks of the exhibition, across the symbiosis between lives experience and the title of the display, the subjects of Antono’s paintings and the stylistic shift whilst maintaining his wide-eye trademark.
Roby Dwi Antono, AIR TERJUN, 2023. Oil and spray paint on canvas, 150 x 140 cm. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
The first painting, AIR TERJUN illustrates the symbolism Antono associates with the title of the exhibition. TUK is depicted in this work as a simplified female breast feeding the mouths of three figures, ordered from smallest to largest. The source of nourishment from the “Tuk” shifts from water to breast milk, referencing the first source of sustenance his daughter received from her mother, connecting to the artist's lived experience. Across the exhibition there are consistent references to the interpretation of “Tuk” and the memories of the artist contributing to the building of one as a child.
Roby Dwi Antono, ROMANSA ROKET DAN ALIEN DI PLANET DIJON, 2023. Oil and spray paint on canvas, 155 x 200 cm. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
Secondly, this series of works shifts the subjects of the artists’ works from recognisable figures to abstract anthropomorphic portrayals. ROMANSA ROKET DAN ALIEN DI PLANET DIJON, demonstrates this shift seamlessly, depicting two creative figures with similarities to children’s books illustrations. The balloon, held by one of the figures additionally communicates the “childish” playfulness of the piece. Moreover, the simplicity, derived from the two-dimensional portrayal of the depicted subjects and the minimalistic environment they are placed in, brings to life the dreamlike scene Antono attributes to the artwork across its title.
Roby Dwi Antono, DIALOG POHON, AIR DAN KERIKIL, 2023. Oil and spray paint on canvas, 200 x 180 cm. Photo Courtesy: Almine Rech Gallery.
The third painting, DIALOG POHON, AIR DAN KERIKIL, was a perfect example of the artist’s shift in style whilst maintaining in a present manner his trademark stamp. As mentioned briefly above, the eyes in his portraits, in this series, have shifted from a natural to a cartoon-like depiction. The eyes are portrayed similarly to how children draw them – a linear outline with a large black pupil with a small white reflection – subconsciously synthesising them into simple shapes and easily distinguishable. Antono stated “I enjoy challenging myself to create works that can trigger an emotional response from people”, this communication of emotions between the viewer and the painting is often accentuated by feelings eyes are able to communicate.
TUK by Roby Dwi Antono presents a transforming artistic journey impacted by parenthood following the birth of his daughter in July 2023. With an emphasis on the artist's trademark wide-eyes, Antono’s style transitions from meticulous naturalism to abstract anthropomorphic creatures. The exhibition, which takes its name from the wells pertaining to his childhood town, emphasises the synergy between childhood memories and attributed meanings – breastfeeding as source of life for new-borns, as water is for all humans – connecting personal recollections to creative inspiration. Vibrant hues, energetic brushstrokes, and densely packed compositions showcase the artist’s novel creative output, signifying the convergence of his academic background and contemporary influences.
TUK by Roby Dwi Antono is on display at Almine Rech Gallery in Grosvenor Hill, London, until 17 February 2024.
Grace Jamieson Bianciardi
Reviews Co-Editor, MADE IN BED