THE EVERLASTING IDEAS

BEHOLD, COLLABORATIONS IN ARTS THAT OFFER FRESH PERSPECTIVES FOR INDONESIAN CONTEMPORARY ART AND FURNITURE

Text SALSABILA ANDIKA PUTRI Photos courtesy of MURAI ART PROJECTS

The world of art is evolving as it is. In Indonesia, the field of contemporary art is growing more vibrant and reaching a wider audience of art enthusiasts. There is unbounded creativity hidden within art. The presence of invention, which significantly affects the audience, causes people to always expect new feelings and experiences in the context of art that not only tickles the senses of sight and sound but also touches one’s taste, soul, and mind.

Amid quirks and the new era of arts, Murai Art Projects introduce works produced due to Laurence Howell’s collaboration with Naufal Abshar and Bunga Yuridespita as two inspiring artists of the country. The “canvas” for Naufal and Bunga’s paintings is transformed into furniture designs that go through a creative process with a three-dimensional product shape. Murai Art Projects showcased seven collaborative works in the exhibition “Timeless Creativity-A Different

Kind of Canvas,” which was held at Senayan City Mall GF-10 and open to the public from October 28, 2022, to November 20, 2022. This exhibition will give the visitors a fresh perspective on how to appreciate works of art.

“Indonesia has never seen a collaboration like this before. This project creates utilitarian items with high creative value by fusing material technology and suitable production techniques. This gives us a platform to help highly talented artists and other creative people in Indonesia so they may create works that will undoubtedly add to the body of work in Indonesia’s contemporary art repertoire through Murai Art Projects,” explained Yudi Wanandi, Co-Founder of Murai Art Projects, CEO of The Jakarta Post, Co-Founder of Larasati Auction Hall, and also the Board of Young Art Collectors at Art Jakarta.

Enin Supriyanto, Artistic Director of Art Jakarta, who is also the curator for this exhibition, believes that this project brings together designers, artists, and a variety of other departments to offer design works that are not only functional but also demonstrate creative accomplishments. All in terms of concepts, ideas, materials, forms, processes, and technology. For Indonesian design to advance, there is a critical need for this kind of cooperation and synergy.

Naufal creates a round and rectangular dining table and a watch cabinet for this exhibition. The background is that, as humans, we still have dreams and aspirations for wealth and prosperity, which we eventually reach. Then, suddenly, we realize how much significant time and moments we have missed. Naufal Abshar exhibits this way of thinking in his design for a watch casing.

For his work on the dining table, Naufal takes the mixed media he typically employs (paper collages and photography), digitally prints them onto the ceramic surface using technology from QUADRA, and then adds scratches with silicabased dyes. Naufal also put a picture of a building to the front of the watch storage cabinet to emphasize symmetry and create a focal point.

Meanwhile, Bunga Yuridespita worked on two drink storage cabinets and one cabinet for women’s watches. Bunga’s exploration of her previous installations, sculptures, and paintings continues in this project. The ITB graduate artist uses the cabinet’s exterior and its three-dimensional qualities to create an interactive experience between the audience and the finished product.

As a furniture designer and designer for Ku Casa, Laurence Howell believes that in the process of creative interaction, now is the moment to figure out a formula to create a piece that is everlasting and has more upscale materials and embellishments. He claims that one area Ku Casa always wishes to investigate is the fusion of art and design so that our products can attain a more distinctive quality, luxury, and high artistic value from the creative hands of outstanding artists. Also, pieces of furniture that are both durable and valuable.