As the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is not always the case for magazines, we always try to feature a special image on the cover that gives our readers an idea of what’s inside. For this special edition we asked Arin Sunaryo, known for his resin-based paintings, to contribute the cover art.
In our past editions, we have featured Arin Sunaryo, a young artist with a bright future. He’s the first Indonesian artist whose work is displayed in the permanent collection at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. Arin has had exhibitions around the world, including Sydney, Singapore and Berlin.
At the iD Awards for our 14th anniversary last year, Arin was our Best Emerging Artist. Though he’s the son of one of the legacy names in the Indonesian art scene, Sunaryo, Arin does not live in his father’s shadow. Aside from growing up in an art-practicing family, Arin studied Fine Arts at the Bandung Institute of Technology and then earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, in 2005.
Arin outgrew paintbrush methods and gradually moved on to industrial ways. In 2008, he started to experiment with resin. He was challenged because resin is an unconventional material and requires an approach that’s different from the usual painting techniques. To him, material is the most important thing in the whole artistic experience.
Needless to say, Indonesia Design is excited to have Arin’s work on the cover of this edition. The catchy artwork is titled “Enlightenment Has Many Faces #3”.
“The 3D object on the cover is a utilisation of leftover materials from the 2D ‘Cyan Magenta Yellow Black’ series (2009-2016). The effort of utilizing these resin residues is a cycle-recycle process; reusing the material that basically cannot be recycled, which is the polyester resin. The shape is created spontaneously, responding to feelings, balance and unexpectedness, which is then realised in abstract forms,” is his explanation on the piece.
Welcoming 2019, Arin has some art events lined up for him. A solo show at Simon Lee Gallery, London, in April is one of many art fairs. Arin’s words to Indonesia Design on our 15th anniversary and approaching the New Year is, “Don’t ever stop looking for something new.” It is quite fitting, seeing how experimenting with materials and getting surprising results are part of Arin’s artistic process.