I AM JUST DOING AESTHETICS

Element Art Space

I AM JUST

DOING

AESTHETICS

I AM JUST

DOING

AESTHETICS

Wisnu Auri

Aniela Rahardja

Director of Element Art Space

I AM JUST DOING

AESTHETICS

It is with great excitement that we share

with you Wisnu Auri’s first solo

exhibi-tion in Singapore.

Titled I am just Doing Aesthetics, this

show explores the ‘power of disturbing

taste,’ which seeks to define judgments

about art and the beauty of nature.

Moving away from his previous series

which focused on found-objects, this

emerging artist returns to paintings

yet continues with his fascination of

nostalgia and the present. The

strug-gle between beautiful and ugly, present

and past and the evolution of art styles.

In this exhibition, he focuses on taste

as an individual’s personal and cultural

patterns of choice, and draws distinction

between things such as styles, manners

and works of art. Auri questions the

viewer’s taste and their ability to judge

what is beautiful, good and proper.

The concept of aesthetics has been the

interest of philosophers such as Plato,

David Hume and Immanuel Kant, who

understood aesthetics as something

pure and searched the essence of

beau-ty. But it was not before the beginning

of the cultural sociology of early 19th

century that the question was

problem-atised in its social context, which took

the differences and changes in historical

view as an important process of

aesthet-ical thought. In his aesthetic philosophy,

which would be the taste the majority

or any social group. For Kant, beauty

is not a property of any object, but an

aesthetic judgment based on a

subjec-tive feeling. He claims that a genuine

good taste does exist, but it could be

identified. Good taste cannot be found

in any standards or generalisations, and

the validity of a judgment is not the

general view of taste or some specific

social group. Taste is both personal and

beyond reasoning, and therefore

disput-ing over matters of taste never reaches

universality.

Every judgment of taste, presumes the

existence of a consensus of taste. A

judgment does not take for granted that

everyone agrees with it, but it proposes

the community to share the experience.

This is what Auri is trying to propose

to the audience–create a discussion

and offer a shared or non-shared

feel-ing among other viewers. In “I am just

Doing Aesthetic No. 8,” for example,

he vandalises a baroque style portrait

with splashes of street-art-like paint and

challenges the viewers to judge whether

something beautiful that has been

visu-ally disturbed can still be aestheticvisu-ally

pleasing. The audience’s preferences,

even on generally liked things, do not

justify our judgments. With this in mind,

we very much hope that Auri’s works

will provide an inquisitive journey to all

of you.

1

acrylic and charcoal on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 7

acrylic and charcoal on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

2015

acrylic, charcoal and spray paint on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 9

acrylic, charcoal and spray paint on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

2015

acrylic, charcoal and spray paint on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

71.5 x 91 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 12

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

71.5 x 91 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 14

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

71.5 x 91 cm

2015

acrylic and spray paint on canvas

91 x 71.5 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 16

acrylic, marker and spray paint on canvas

91 x 131 cm

2015

acrylic, marker and spray paint on canvas

91 x 131 cm

acrylic, marker and spray paint on canvas

91 x 131 cm

I am just Doing Aesthetic No. 19

acrylic, marker and spray paint on canvas

91 x 131 cm

2015

acrylic, marker and spray paint on canvas

91 x 131 cm

Wisnu

Auri

Born 1981, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Education

2001–2008 Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Department of Fine Art (Printmaking)

Solo Exhibitions

2015 I am just Doing Aesthetics, Element Art Space, Singapore 2014 Precious Daily, Artotel, Surabaya, Indonesia

The Other Side of Daily Notes, Artotel, Jakarta, Indonesia 2013 Suka Simpan Suka Pinjam, Ark Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia 2011 Living Harmony & Interior Study, Galerie Canna, Jakarta, Indonesia 2010 The Other Side of Beauty, Galeri Canna, Jakarta, Indonesia

2008 SKETSA-SKETSA KALA INSOMNIA, Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2007 Drawing Exhibition--My Midnight Glory via-via, Café Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Group Exhibitions

2015 Medium of Living, Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Writing an Image, Space Cottonseed, Singapore Southeast Asia Platform. Art Stage Singapore, Singapore

2014 Aksara/Rupa, Koesmadi Hardjosomantri UGM, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Art for Everyone, Artotel, Jakarta, Indonesia

Bazaar Art Jakarta, Galeri Canna, Jakarta, Indonesia 2013 Lost and Found, Space K, Seoul, South Korea

Market Forces The friction of Opposites / Fetishism of Discourse, Osage Art Foundation, Hong Kong Ark Galerie, G-Seoul Artfair, Seoul, South Korea

IVAA Archive Aid, ArtJog 13, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Print Parade, Grafis Minggiran, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2012 Jogja Agro Pop, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta (Museum), Yogyakarta, Indonesia Unforgettable, Jakarta Art District, Jakarta, Indonesia

Art Dubai 2012, Canna Galeri, Dubai, UAE

Together in Harmony, Jakarta Art District, Jakarta, Indonesia 2011 New Pop New World, Element Art Space, Singapore Crop Cycle, Canna Galeri, Jakarta, Indonesia ArtJog 11, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Speak Of, Jogja National Museum, Indonesia

Bazaar Art Fair: Young Collectors Booth, Artoholic Anonymous, Jakarta, Indonesia 2010 Bazaar Art Jakarta, Galeri Canna, Jakarta, Indonesia

Muka (an uninterrupted countenance), Artesan Gallery, Singapore 2009 Biennale Jogja X, Pisang Seger, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Exposigns, Jogja Expo Centre, Yogyakarta, Indonesia A Tribute to Mooi Indie, CGartspace, Jakarta, Indonesia Ark Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia

Jogja Art Fair #2, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Bohemian Carnival, Galeri Nasional Jakarta, Indonesia

2008 Jogja Deathmatch, Mulya Karya & Pisang Seger, Roommate, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Boom Seni Grafis 2008, Galeri Biasa, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Hello Print, Edwin’s Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia Rumors of Tatang S, IVAA, Yogyakarta, Indonesia “Aha...!”, V-Art Gallery Café, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Jogja Art Fair, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2007 Artmosphere Academic, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Young Error, the gate café, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2006 Membuka Tali Sepatu, via-via café, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2005 CP Biennale Urban Culture, Pisang Seger, Exsjavache Bank, Jakarta, Indonesia 2004 AIDS, Benteng Vredeburg, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The Herpess Exhibition, café kecil, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Daging Tumbuh Awards, kedai kebun, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2003 Hipnotice, Nescafé komplek candi Prambana, Yogyakarta, Indonesia gelar ekspresi seni dan budaya “Hujan-hujanan”, UAJY, Indonesia 2002 Sepiring Indonesia, Gelaran Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Pisang Seger #1, kompilasi printmaking

Unjuk Gusi, Printmaking Exhibition, sanggar suwung, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Ada Apa Degan ISI, gallery ISI, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Workshops

2007 Jogja Printmaking, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2005 Printmaking Cetak Tinggi with Pisang Seger, Open Circuit Commmunity, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Published Comics

2004 Penholder #1 “I’m talking too much” 2007 Penholder #2 “Hello Honey” Penholder #3 “Untitled”

PUBLISHED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION OF

Published by Element Art Space Pte Ltd © 2015

Element Art Space

Raffles Hotel Arcade 328 North Bridge Road #02-13 Singapore 188719 TEL: +65 6883 2001 FAX: +65 6883 2707 info@elementartspace.com www.elementartspace.com ElementArtSpaceSG elementartspace elementartspace

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form of any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright holder. Copyright of artwork images belong to Element Art Space and their respective artist, and essays to the respective authors.

Dimension of works are given in centimeters, height x length Artist Wisnu Auri Director Aniela Rahardja Sales Representative Natasya Mahidi Gallery Administrator

Stephanie Seet Ying

Graphic Designer

Stephanie Seet Ying

WISNU AURI