Art Porters Gallery

Volcano

Artist Profile

Iwayan Agus Novianto
Born 1989 in Angsri (Bali)
Based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Jogjakarta-based Balinese artist Wayan Novi has developed a distinctive personal vision of the importance of everyday objects and their beauty in the simple village life he grew up in. Novi’s paintings depict vivid memories of himself – growing up in the mountainous Angseri village in Bali with its pivotally cold weather, and the kitchen. The best place for his family members and friends to hang out was always near the warmth of the fireplace; in the kitchen. His intricate pictures reveal the details his eye captures in and around this living space, and through this visual depiction, narrates a series of stories around family, bonds and relationships. Novi’s dedicated mark-making on a canvas forms an impressionable yet neutral landscape for everyday objects to find their place. Having lived amongst farmers since young, his pointillism embodies the philosophy of agriculture and its spirit of hard work. Determination eventually rewards success and invaluable growth. Every mark inscribed is as if a seed is being planted, and with persistence, a beautiful harvest awaits the artist and the viewer – the finished work of Novi.