Gajah Gallery Yogyakarta is proud to present Flourishing Within The Void: a retrospective showcase of the oeuvre of Indonesian abstract expressionist painter, Ibrahim which runs from 22 November to 10 December 2018
Like a living organism, nurtured and fed, Ibrahim’s career as an artist has steadily grown over the course of the last twenty years. This extensive collection, spanning from the early 2000s to today, highlights his enthusiasm and drive to flourish in the art world, despite all odds.
Flourishing Within The Void investigates the life of Ibrahim over the course of his shift from Java back to West Sumatra, leaving behind the community that birthed his career and Yogyakarta’s boisterous art scene to pursue a position as lecturer at the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Padang Panjang.
Following his move to Yogyakarta for further education and training in 1996, Ibrahim continued to live and work in the country’s art capital after. In 2006, the artist decided to return home to pursue a new challenge: teaching. Yet even with this drastic change in climate, the loss of support from institutional structures within the city, and the pressures of academia, Ibrahim was able to continue to advance his practice, growing as an artist whilst cultivating new talents.
Ibrahim first found success in 2001, when the artist received the Asean Art Award (AAA), along with being selected as a top five finalist for the Philip Morris Indonesia Art Award that same year. Today, with several solo exhibitions under his belt, and featured in multiple group shows, Ibrahim has made a name for himself within Indonesia.
Rooted in abstract expressionism, Ibrahim’s practice is founded on an acute awareness of feelings and emotions; his method of painting being an exploration of inner turbulence – where soul meets desire. This exhibition seeks to investigate Ibrahim’s mark making process as he directs us through these “dark narratives” (i.e. works made during and after his move), in pursuit of not only filling a void, but flourishing within it.
