Jumaldi Alfi

(b. 1973, Lintau, Indonesia) 

Jumaldi Alfi is a painter whose practice unfolds through sequential explorations of ideas and themes. A graduate of the Institut Seni Indonesia (The Indonesia Institute of the Arts) in Yogyakarta, he is a founding member of the Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela (Jendela Art Group), one of Indonesia’s most influential contemporary art collectives. As a key figure in the progressive movement of Indonesian contemporary art, Alfi’s work critically engages with the impact of Western contemporary art on Indonesia’s artistic landscape and broader cultural sphere.

A defining characteristic of Alfi’s practice is his pursuit of immediacy, manifested through gestural mark-making—drawing, scribbling, and inscribing—layered over abstracted landscapes and fragmented scenes. His compositions are anchored by elemental spatial cues such as foregrounds, horizons, and suggestions of depth, yet his feverish, ever-shifting markings create a striking contrast against the stillness and quiet monumentality of his tableaux. This tension is further heightened in his drawings, where a proliferation of figures in varying psychological and physical states populate his surfaces.

Playfulness is another recurring element in Alfi’s work, often disrupting definitive meaning through whimsical and chaotic arrangements. His canvases become a free-flowing space where forms, objects, faces, landscapes, self-portraits, text, and doodles coexist in an unstructured, intuitive manner. While these elements may be recognisable in isolation, they resist clear interpretation, appearing as detached fragments roaming freely across the surface. This deliberate ambiguity invites viewers to engage with his works on a more instinctual level, unbound by rigid narratives or fixed symbolism.

Jumaldi Alfi currently lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.