Hanafi Muhamad
b. 1960, Purworejo (Central Java), Indonesia
Hanafi’s works draw inspiration from the physical relationships between man and his surroundings. Born and raised in Purworejo, central Java, Hanafi Muhamad had his ‘coming-of-age’ experiences when he ventured out into the big-cities of Yogyakarta and Jakarta. That immersion has guided the way Hanafi has imbued his luminous, abstract paintings with an meditative world, reflecting his vision of the Indonesian earth. During his later travels to Spain, which deeply inspired his creations back home for ‘Stone Village of Costa Brava’ and ‘Dive Into’.
Hanafi’s abstract ‘mindscapes’ have a minimalist aesthetic, which bears similarities to the Japanese Mono-ha tradition. But the artist also embeds a quality of realism in his landscape to convey the physical presence of the natural world.
Hanafi has held solo exhibitions in Canada, Singapore, Spain and in Jakarta at the Gallery Nasional. Aside from his solo works, he often lands his hand to multimedia collaborations with national and international choreographs, poets and architects.