Rahmat Subani Irfani was the first participant of CP Open Biennale 2003 who submitted his work to CP Foundation. Along with the submission of this work - in April 2003 - he completed all requirements of participating the CP Open Biennale 2003. He did seem to be in a hurry. A month later, in mid May 2003, he died in a car accident. In the journey home from Solo, Central Java, to Jakarta, the car he was riding on was hit by a container truck. Even though the CP Open Biennale 2003 was designated to present living artists, the curators decided to keep including Rahmat Subani's works.

In early 2002, the paintings of Rahmat Subani - who was renowned as a photo-realism painter - showed a new surprising development. His paintings appeared to begin exploring the black colour. At first Rahmat Subani tried to apply the black on paintings of landscapes with night scenes. In a painting entitled "Keindahan Yang Sering Terlupakan" (The Much-Forgotten Beauty, 2002), for instance, he presents a picture of a paddy field after harvest. But the black in this painting does not thoroughly describe a night atmosphere. The black which covers around three quarter of the canvas is the black which presents an illusive space. This flat black becomes a background of a Javanese woman in a blue kebaya (traditional Javanese female clothing).

In the next development Rahmat Subani left the theme of landscape and illustrations of night atmosphere. The liberation of the black colour made the black in his paintings becomes grounds which own a spatial image. In a number of his paintings he constructed three illusive spaces which appear to be a foreground, an in-between space and a background. Starting from the decision to ‘blacken' his canvas, he put the source of lighting not on the foreground, but in the in-between space. A part of the foreground becomes a silhouette which blends with the black veil. Beneath the black image Rahmat Subani presents vague images on the background.

Such inversion - blackening the main part and lightening the secondary parts - raises up a question: which part actually counts? This question is related to Rahmat Subani's contemplation on the tension between tradition and modernity which is often discussed and debated. This contemplation is the base of the latest development of his paintings which shows an exploration of the black colour.

The contemplation on the tension between tradition and modernity in the paintings is shown by Rahmat Subani in a form of reflections on the "Javanese Women". In this latest development there is a tendency to repeat the narrations in his paintings. There is also a tendency to present a single subject. About Javanese Women, he said, "In the Javanese society the female figure has many controversial values, such as honesty, conformism, goodness, balance and indifferent image. Based on my imaginations on the mystical Javanese women, I try to understand the ethical values in our life".

Jim Supangkat

Born on February 11, 1949 in Solo.
Studied at Indonesia Fine Art Academy (ASRI), Yogyakarta (1968-1971).

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2003 "Darkless Black", Edwin Gallery, Jakarta.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1998 Ex-ASRI, WTC Building Lobby, Jakarta; "5 sides Phenomenon", Crown Plaza, Jakarta.
1999 "Artists Care", Yuda Citra Promo, Arya Duta Hotel, Jakarta; "5 sides Phenomenon", Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta.
2000 "Indonesia Realism Portrayal", Edwin Gallery, Bali; AUSI Foundation, WTC Building Lobby, Jakarta; "5 sides Phenomenon", 678 Gallery, Jakarta.
2001 "Reading Meaning from Symbols", Embun Gallery, Yogyakarta; "On Problem of Square Form", Santi Gallery, Jakarta.
2002 "Indofood Art Awards", National Museum, Jakarta; Ex-ASRI, WTC Building Lobby, Jakarta.

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