There has been an immense change in Herli Gaya's latest works. His paintings look more decorative and colorful. In some of them, depictions of objects and subject matters appear clearly. This is different from his previous paintings that showed more of the abstract tendencies, with brush strokes that were at times awkward, at times wild, and yet other times soft.

In his later works, objects are composed punctiliously. Generally he depicts objects with decorative stylization, sometimes even with advanced stylization so that what appears at the end is merely ornamental. Naturally, the change happens not without reasons. If previously Herli was busy searching for the essence of painting and the essence of life, looking inward rather than outward, today he seems to start showing interests in the outside world. Many problems thus become interesting for him, from the trivial things such as nostalgia, imaginations, funny things from the daily life, to the graver problems such as those of the social and political spheres. Therefore his canvases are now more alive, colorful, and cheerful. Sometimes such nuances seem paradoxical with the social 'matters' that he wants to portray. This forms a dualism of sorts; on the one hand the paintings look cheerful, on the other, they reveal the darker parts of the social realities. This is evident, for example, in his work titled "Perempuan dan Penjaga" ("Woman and the Guard") that is being displayed in this open biennale.

In fact, the dualism was born from Herli Gaya's own awareness. He says that his works in the last two years have been triggered by the awareness he calls 'the pragmatic goal'. Perhaps by this he means a condition where paintings make their audience 'aware' of the various matters that the artist reveals. Herli Gaya considers this as a contribution towards the effort to make people aware of the existing problems, in order to make changes in the society. Yet, Herli Gaya also believes that his paintings should be easy to enjoy. Apparently, Herli realizes that to be able to captivate his audience, the paintings must first be interesting and enjoyable. Only then can he ask the audience to understand the real problem at hand. That is why Herli Gaya calls his painting as a 'comforting therapy'. Naturally, the audience do not invariably arrive to a better understanding of the matters he presents, but still such possibility exists and provides the trigger for Herli to go on painting.

The change of style and painting concepts of Herli Gaya has been interesting. We seem to watch how paintings that used to look essentialist, inward-looking, and philosophical, turn into paintings that seem superficial, cheerful, but at the same time depicting social problems. It must be admitted that the change has been interesting and advantageous for the painter, because now Herli Gaya appears to be more flexible as he creates his works, without the burden to search for the essential meaning of paintings - a problem that perhaps has no solution, or whose solution has perhaps been unnecessary.

Asmudjo Jono Irianto

Born on April 12, 1967 in Blitar.
Studied at Indonesia Institute of The Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta (BFA; 1991).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2001 "Vegetarian", Dirix Gallery, Yogyakarta.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 "Slot In The Box", Cemeti Gallery, Yogyakarta.
1999 "ARCHETYPES", Tramhuis Gallery, Den Haag; "HERLY GAYA and KOMRODEN HARO", Paintings and Sculptures Dirix Gallery, Yogyakarta & Java Gallery, Jakarta; Java Gallery, Jakarta.
2000 Group Exhibitions, 678 Gallery, Jakarta.
2001 Group Exhibitions, Embun Gallery, Jakarta.
2002 Group Exhibitions, Padma Hotel, Denpasar, Bali; Group Exhibitions, NIK Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

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