Astuti is one of the master artist modern batik and oil paintings. The modern batik with his own individual style, the beautiful natural landscapes of java and bali. Also paints Javanese performance characters in surrealistic style and modern abstract in batik painting.
He was the one of the master art paintings to Activator of Ubud Village to become Arts Areas of Ballinese Artist at 1980.
He continues to work in Oils as well as batik and enjoy experimenting in techniques such as Trompe and Impressionism, Expressionism and Surealism in oil painting. He exquisite use of fine detail and delicate blending of color and make his work entirely distinctive his work freshness and originality. The moment he made original of oil paintings by him Imagination, about the situation around his lives.
His paintings been influence by European Technical Oils Paintings and specializes in Abstracting the Human Figure, endeavoring to show the multi sides characteristic of human condition.
For ASTUTI batik painting have special value compare with any kind of painting metod, event with oil painting.
Batik metod is not just about the media for painting but also have a value in history of batik from INDONESIA. Event at that’s moment several artis already start to change batik fuction from linen become paintings,they presant the patren such like wayang, floral, fauna. ASTUTI make his own style of batik painting with his idealisem. He created a new style of batik painting in SURIALISME GEOMETRIS. He make a market NOT following the market, its make his differend with others artis in jogja.
He always make new innovation on his design and more like to describe about condition connected with political, human life,and landscaping.
He make the imajination on the future about some thing he saw and fell,presented on his painting. We can call it a teacher of idea.
ASTUTI style of surialisme geometris more present a free mind or fantasy. He describe a human face like mask and proportion line for the body.
The special things in here is , ASTUTI mix a gradation of colours and not only use canting ( traditional tool for batik ) for painting , but he also use brush stroke to make the combination of art painting efect.He love to make gradation artistic colours based on classic colours tone, such like purperls, grey brown, black, white,etc. His surialisme geometris style base on abstrak geomatris art from Holland artis by Piat Mondorian combination with east spiritualism.(specialist javanest spiritualism)
He try to describe human body in proportion of geometris line and gradation colours not in realis form.
We will highlight the live of some of the Master Batik Artist in our upcoming issues. This time its Astuti, our good friend and teacher. Astuti was born the 27 th of March 1935 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He studied at the Academy of fine Arts of Indonesia in 1955. From 1963 to 1970 he studied oil painting under the tutelage of several great masters including Affandi, Indonesia’s most esteemed artist. In 1970, he began specializing in batik and put on his first exhibition in 1973 in Jakarta.
From 1958 to 1970, Astuti worked as an executive on a coffee plantation Of dutch England Company , They were “lost yeas” as he drew and sketched every night wishing only to do his art work. In 1975, he opened his studio gallery and became a full time artist which had always been his dream.
Astuti specializer in abstracting the human figure, endeavouring to show the multi sided characteristic of the human condition. He also creates the most intricate and delicate landscape of any of the batik masters.
He continues to work in oils as well as batik, and enjoy experimenting in techniques such as trompe and surrealism. He has been influenced by European surrealists and abstractionist and by the beautiful natural surroundings of Java and Bali. His keen artist’s eye and curiousity give his work freshness and originality.
Reading any book on Batik paintings, you will soon realize that Astuti is one of the few artists referred to as a master. What they don't say is that he is a much more rounded artist than that. And what they don't know is that he is a remarkable man.
His frail appearance hides a defiant spirit. Artistically, a continuous search for "that" unique style has characterized his career. Even now at 67, he claims to be in a new phase: "I am in yet another developing period, after 53 paintings I feel my abstract period has come to an end." The fact that he is learning to paint with his left hand, as a consequence of a stroke suffered last year, is (to him) only a small detail: "It is my strong hand, I have always played the guitar and the fingers on my left hand are the ones doing all the hard work."
His house oozes with art. Canvases are everywhere: Some are finished, some have only just been started and others are waiting in a corner for their time.
While Astuti made his name with batiks, oil painting has always been his passion and that is what he concentrates on today. Yet it is difficult to completely separate the two: "Back in the 1970s, I had an inspiration to use traditional batik techniques in my painting and in doing so -- together with a few others -- it helped transform batik from applied art (clothes decoration) to fine art (painting).
Unfortunately, batik has fallen victim to its own success. An increase in the demand has provoked a downturn in its artistic quality: "It's not what it used to be. During the 1970s it was real art with lots of pride behind it. Now -- at its best -- it can be defined as a handicraft, while generally it is only cheaply mass-produced souvenirs, merely 'Coca-cola batiks'".
Yet Astuti doesn't repudiate his roots: "Batik was an important and prolific period of my life. Even today I sometimes borrow from its technique by protecting a part of the canvas with wax and paint freely on top. Then, after scraping it off, I can work on the blank parts".
His individual artistic aspirations and the need for "immediacy" are the main reasons for his oil-painting preference: "What I do in painting is the honest and unfiltered projection of my soul. You can never imprint your imagination straightaway onto a batik the same way you can with oil paintings. Batik is collective and slow work, while oil painting is individualistic and immediate".
His subjects and style have changed with time. A definite influence comes from the Javanese and Balinese landscapes, with very intricate and delicate examples present, especially in his batik production. Surrealistic and abstract human figures instead dominate his oil paintings. He claims that surrealism in Indonesia is impregnated in everyday life and it is much more than just an artistic trend: "Indonesia has a very ancient tradition in surrealism, much before Dali and the like.
ASTUTI batik painting have special value compare with any kind of painting metod, event with oil painting.
Batik metod is not just about the media for painting but also have a value in history of batik from INDONESIA. Event at that’s moment several artis already start to change batik fuction from linen become paintings,they presant the patren such like wayang, floral, fauna. ASTUTI make his own style of batik painting with his idealisem. He created a new style of batik painting in SURIALISME GEOMETRIS. He make a market NOT following the market, its make his differend with others artis in jogja.
The thinking behind the wayang (shadow puppet), for example, is a search inside the individual. Their distorted features and unproportioned bodies are other examples. The concept can be amplified: the ambience and the energy emanating from places such as Borobudur and Prambanan are somehow surreal."
His artistic production is very much a reflection of the world he lives in, and his style is an attempt to go deeper. "I live here and now and social problems are what I want to highlight. The distorted human figure is to me a means to show the multiple-sided conditions of Indonesians." Current issues are his main source of inspiration. Among his most recent creations, Corruption, Reformasi I and II and September 11th merit a special mention. In all of them the surreal context and the clever use of strong colors bring these problems home with impact.
But even within oil painting Astuti diversifies his production. Portraits are another of his interests where -- in stark contrast with his abstract production -- he almost exclusively uses pastels. The portrait of Afandi, an Indonesian painter, is considered his finest to date. Painted exclusively from the palette, it is deemed technically so perfect to be mistaken for a picture. "The eyes," he says "follow you around like in a male version of the Mona Lisa".
But after 40 creative years, with his work exhibited countless times all over Indonesia and in other parts of the world, such as Australia, the U.S.A., Belgium, England, Italy, Holland, France, Germany and Austria, you would expect Astuti to at least slow his drive, but this is not the case. If anything, he has slightly changed his angle and now aims to educate the masses through workshops with the importance of art: "I want all the people to understand and appreciate art -- not only those studying it. Art is about creation, recreation, happiness, sadness. Art is life, its real essence and the best medium to understand a country, its people and its cultures." Knowing his determination, the outcome can only be a positive one.