Java Artist ~ Heri Dono at Walsh Gallery

Tuesday, 25 July 2006 15:23

Chicago, IL - Heri Dono, one of the most famous Indonesian artists, shows his latest installations and paintings at Walsh Gallery.  His works are inspired by the world of cartoons and the ancient tradition of Javanese shadow puppets.  The show is entitled "Civilization Oddness" and will run through September 2.  This is the artist's first solo gallery show in the United States.

Heri Dono's art, no matter what form it takes, reflects an internalization of the study of the illogical.  One of his strengths is in creating complicit laughter to realize art as a vehicle of social critique.  As the curator points out "cartoon characters, although crushed to smithereens, never die."  In the 80s, Heri Dono's art explored the world of cartoons, while the rest of the Indonesian art world was caught up in a social commentary of a more gory sort.  After studying with an eccentric puppet maker in Java, Heri Dono began to reinvent "wayang", or "shadow puppets," which is the traditional Javanese form of puppet-making.  Javanese leather puppetry is an ancient art form that is still practiced on the island of Java and dates back to the 1st century. The actual forms and symbols used in this practice are filled with mystical meanings and some forms are even seen as sacred.

The roots of this ancient art form are keenly felt in Heri Dono's contemporary fusion.  He has merged the world of cartoons with puppets, creating a social engine that challenges viewers' understanding of the relationship between art and culture.  This exhibit consists of many separate installations that all celebrate oddness as a conceptual platform from which to view the world.  As Heri Dono says “observing odd realities with clear and true logic will certainly make all of those realities seem odd, unreal or untrue.  But if reality is observed with an upside-down mind, all realities will seem logical and clear.”