Minggu, 06 Februari 2011

Pupuk Daru Purnomo, Classical Style in Contemporary Painter

ARTIST DETAILS
Pupuk Daru Purnomo (1964)
Pupuk Daru Purnomo or widely known as Pupuk DP was born in Yogyakarta, June 16, 1964. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Design, the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta. During his study in college, his artwork had gain a prize as the Best Painting in the college 7th anniversary celebration (Dies Natalis VII) and Pratisara Affandi Adhi Karya, from the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta.

During his professional career, he has produced a lot of excellent quality paintings. He has also held a number exhibitions such as solo exhibition at Bentara Budaya, Yogyakarta (1995), and actively participated in several group exhibitions at Gajah Gallery, Singapore (1997, 2002), Santi Gallery, Jakarta (1998), H. Widayat Museum, Magelang (2001, 2002) and a Group Exhibition in Yogyakarta (2002). He received award as the finalist of Phillip Morris Art Award in 1997.

Pupuk’s style expresses a different genre from other painters in his generation that are mostly grappling with contemporary paintings. His paintings depict and accentuate objects that are captured from daily life, from surroundings, community; many of them are even elapsed from the “modern discourses” like becak rider, herbal medicine seller, etc. Unlike the wave of what so called as a contemporary art, Pupuk mostly explores the objects in simplicity. He doesn’t play with the theme; his strength lies on his scratches and etches that are so impressive and powerful. Many art lovers say that he is largely influenced by the great painter S. Sudjojono but many also argue that he comes with fresher or even distinguished style. During a warm chat between the author and him, Pupuk just simply explained that he is mostly inspired by the style of Javanese letters in his paintings. That’s also simply because he is a Javanese…

Regardless those debates about Pupuk’s style, nobody would however disagree that his paintings have brought a different position in the world of “contemporary art”. The author would opine that he is indeed apart of the entrapment of “contemporaeinity”; he goes forward by bringing back the modern touch but with “post-modern” presentation. Perhaps this is one of “ethnicity now” as shouted by Jim Supangkat, or even cannot be categorized in any slot of categorization. But it’s there, and just simply there.

Discussing about a painter’s contribution to art world would inevitably lead to the collectors’ perspective and exactly at this point, the prices historical record would be counted as one determinant indicator. Dissimilar to other young generation artists who enjoy dramatic skyrocketing prices recently, the prices historical record of Pupuk’s artworks doesn’t show a steep curve of trend or tends to be stable. This is of course not because of inadequate appreciation from market; instead, it indicates a real or natural movement of prices in concomitant with the maturity of the artist creation. The price of Pupuk’s paintings has been constantly increasing since the beginning; and now has been being the expensive one as booked in several prominent auction houses. His paintings are hunted by collectors due to rarity; he is indeed not quite productive especially in oil on canvas painting. And the price will still go forward to seek the new equilibrium.  

Above all, it is not exaggerating that art lovers may devote their expectation for the next maestro in Pupuk DP figure.

Lot: 


ARTWORK DETAILS:
Painter                          : Pupuk Daru Purnomo
Subject/ Title                 : Wajah-wajah
Dimension                     : 145 X 115 cm
Media                           : oil on canvas
Signature & remarks      : dated 2000, signed upper: “Pupuk DP, Yogyakarta, 2000”
History/ provenance
of painting                    : authentic with no COA or provenance provided, only limited warranty letter from the present owner/ gallery*. The present owner acquired the painting from a reputable auction house.
Condition                      : The overall is good & well preserved; ready to hang, no trails of restoration or revision are found.