This catalogue is published in conjunction with Ephemeral Eternity, a solo exhibition by Condro Priyoaji, held at A+ WORKS of ART, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 14 September to 5 October 2024.
Presented by A+ WORKS of ART in collaboration with Ace House Collective
Ephemeral Eternity is Condro Priyoaji’s third solo exhibition that sees the continuation of the artist’s long-term obsession with the interplay and fleeting nature between light, shadow, and landscape. In this new series of paintings, Condro has taken a more context-specific point of reference, where the changing landscape of the kbu in Northern Bandung became his departure point.
1. (S 6°52’18.9012” E 107°38’39.2424”) 06/14/2024, 9:29 AM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 150 × 195 cm
For the past few years, Condro has regularly referred to the Japanese concept of Komorebi to frame his interest. Komorebi is a Japanese term that refers to sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees, evoking a sense of tranquility and connection with the natural world. In his painting practice, capturing komorebi involves depicting a scene where sunlight filters through the leaves of trees, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground below. Time and again in his paintings, komorebi is used to reflect the relationship between objects, sunlight and their shadows. At times, he captures the shadows of brise-soleil, the architectural elements used in the facade of buildings while other times, the shadows of foliage. Instead of manipulating light and objects to correspond with his painting’s mood, Condro has based his paintings on photographs of the shadows of foliage taken during different times of day throughout various areas of Bandung, resulting in different shades, intensity and patterns. The colour scheme of his choice for this series, a hue of blue and grey, reveals his emotions to the gradual but drastic change of landscape: a mix of melancholy and calmness.
Condro lives and works in Bandung, a city in Indonesia where nature and urban life blend harmoniously. In his research for this new series of paintings, the artist took several trips to Kawasan Bandung Utara (kbu) in search of natural shadow plays. For the ecosystem of Bandung, kbu plays an important role in groundwater supply, water catchment, flood mitigation and climate regulation of the area. Because of its environmental significance, the West Java Provincial Government issued the ‘West Java Province Regional Regulation Number 2 of 2016’ to govern land use in the area, aiming to protect and preserve KBU’s natural functions. However, from the early 2010s, satellite data and field reports indicate a substantial reduction in forest cover, which has been attributed to activities such as illegal logging, land conversion for agriculture, and urban expansion. Meanwhile, increased conversion of forested areas into agricultural land and real estate developments has accelerated the rate of deforestation. Recently, when Condro returned to Tahura Forest in the kbu, where he took reference photographs of shadows, the artist was shocked by the rapid pace of deforestation in the kbu. The area, once known for its green landscape, now sees trees being cut down and replaced by hotels and shopping malls.
In this context of extreme exploitation of nature, Condro’s paintings have become even more poignant evidence of specific trees that used to populate the area but are no longer present. This small act of Condro’s attention to shadows emphasizes nature’s fragile existence which, at its core, is also ephemeral and fleeting. Condro Priyoaji’s Ephemeral Eternity begs us to take time to appreciate natural beauty which is currently under extreme threat. Light has been a Western symbol for enlightenment and scientific knowledge. Yet here in Condro’s cosmology, shadow reflects a more complex, nuanced sense of truth: in the name of development, gain has always come at the cost of things significant, and at times, such loss can never be returned.
2. (S 6°52’47.406” E 107°38’16.4004”) 06/14/2024, 9:56 AM 2024,
3.
07/01/2024, 8:33 AM
4. (S 6°51’20.5524” E 107°38’09.5316”) 07/01/2024, 8:48 AM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 75 × 85 cm
5. (S 6°51’34.812” E 107°38’13.7148”) 07/09/2024, 9:15 AM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 95 × 95 cm
6.
7. (S 6°52’47.7372” E 107°38’16.7964”) 07/09/2024, 12:13 PM 2024,
07/21/2024,
PM
9. (S 6°51’36.7848” E 107°36’56.862”) 07/21/2024, 11:39 AM 2024,
10. (S 6°51’27.2052” E 107°37’30.1332”) 07/22/2024, 2:14 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 150 × 195 cm
11. (S 6°51’13.3344” E 107°37’5.4696”) 07/21/2024, 12:19 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 105 × 135 cm
12. (S 6°52’3.8748” E 107°37’14.6676”) 08/18/2024, 3:18 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 105 × 135 cm
13. (S 6°52’12.6228” E 107°37’13.1052”) 08/18/2024, 3:30 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 105 × 115 cm
14. (S 6°52’13.3167” E 107°37’12.6696”) 08/18/2024, 3:41 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 105 × 135 cm
15. (S 6°52’31.764” E 107°38’26.6604”) 08/18/2024, 4:39 PM 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 105 × 135 cm
CONDRO PRIYOAJI
Condro Priyoaji (b. 1993, Indonesia) is an artist based in Bandung, Indonesia, and a 2016 graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), where he earned his Bachelor of Visual Arts. His work primarily explores the interplay between pigments and light, reflecting his background in street art and his fascination with spatial themes. Condro’s artistic practice is deeply influenced by his evolving relationship with color, a passion that is closely tied to his preferred medium of painting. Recently, he has developed a keen interest in the concept of shadows, which he views as the most subtle form of color. For Condro, shadows represent a darker pigment on surrounding surfaces, offering new perspectives on time, color intensity, and more. His exploration of shadows has led him to create innovative works that delve into these concepts, revealing the nuanced and transient nature of color in his art.
In 2023, the artist received the Young Artist Award at ARTJOG and has been featured in various exhibitions, including a solo show titled Broken White Project #16: LESAP at Ace House Collective in Yogyakarta. Their work is part of the Tumurun Museum collection in Solo, Indonesia. The artist’s residency programs include the 2018 Micro Galleries Live Kathmandu in Patan, Nepal, and the 3rd Three Musketeers (3M) Project with Ace House Collective in Yogyakarta. Their 2024 group exhibitions include Salon Et Cetera at Ace House Collective in Yogyakarta, NOW at RUCI Art Space in Jakarta, Warta Project KOLOM #2 at Warta Project in Yogyakarta, and Chronic Compulsions: Selected Works from Art Addicts Anonymous at The Private Museum in Singapore. They are also part of Abstraction/Distinction at Semarang Gallery in Semarang and ART Jakarta Garden 2024 at Booth ISA Art in Jakarta. In 2023, their group exhibitions included Pascamasa at Galeri Nasional Indonesia in Jakarta, Vice Versa at a book launch by Indra Leonardi at Art Jakarta, and Swallow & Spit at A+ Works of Art in Kuala Lumpur. Their work was also displayed at Mamalungsa at Cemeti Institute in Yogyakarta, ARTJOG 2023: Motif – Lamaran at Jogja National Museum, and Kinesthesia at ART Jakarta Garden at ISA Art Gallery in Jakarta. In 2022, they participated in exhibitions such as ANTUMBRA at ISA Art Gallery in Jakarta, Common Beauty – Favorite View #2 at Nonfrasa Gallery in Bali, and Broken White Project: Kebun Memori at RUCI Art Space in Jakarta. Additionally, they were featured in Reverberation: From Past to the Present at ISA Art in Wisma 46, Jakarta, and Broken White Project #9: Capture/Release at Ace House Collective in Yogyakarta. Their 2021 exhibitions included Last Words at Galleries Curate: RHE, ROH Project in Jakarta, “Broken White Project: Touch Down Jakarta at RUCI Art Space in Jakarta, and Shifting Spaces at Orbital Dago in Bandung. In 2020, they participated in Manifesto VII PANDEMI at Galeri Nasional Indonesia and Nodes at Galeri Ruang Dini in Bandung.
CONDRO PRIYOAJI
b. 1993, based in Bandung, Indonesia
AWARD
2023
• Young Artist Award ARTJOG
COLLECTION
• Tumurun Museum, Solo, Indonesia
RESIDENCY PROGRAM
2018
• Micro Galleries Live Kathmandu, Patan, Nepal
• 3rd Three Musketeers (3M) Project, Ace House Collective Yogyakarta
SOLO EXHIBITION
2024
• Ephemeral Eternity, A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur
2023
• Broken White Project #16: LESAP, Ace House Collective, Yogyakarta
2021
• Warnantara, Gelanggang Olah Rasa, Bandung
GROUP EXHIBITION
2024
• Salon Et Cetera, Ace House Collective, Yogyakarta
• NOW, RUCI Art Space, Jakarta
• Warta Project KOLOM #2, Warta Project, Yogyakarta
• Chronic Compulsions: Selected Works from Art Addicts Anonymous, The Private Museum, Singapore
• Abstraction/Distinction, Semarang Gallery, Semarang
• Art Jakarta Garden 2024, ISA Art, Jakarta
2023
• Pascamasa, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta
• Vice Versa, Book Launch by Indra Leonardi, Art Jakarta
• Art Jakarta 2023, A+ Works of Art, Ruang Dini, and Ace House Collective, Jakarta
• Swallow & Spit, A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur
• Mamalungsa, Cemeti Institute, Yogyakarta
• ARTJOG 2023: Motif - Lamaran, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta
• Kinesthesia at Art Jakarta Garden, ISA Art Gallery, Jakarta
2022
• ANTUMBRA, ISA Art Gallery, Jakarta
• Common Beauty – Favorite view #2”, Nonfrasa Gallery, Bali
• Art Jakarta 2022, RUCI Art Space & Ace House Collective, Jakarta
• Broken White Project: Kebun Memori, RUCI Art Space, Jakarta
• Reverberation: From Past to the Present, ISA Art, Wisma 46, Jakarta
• Broken White Project #9: Capture/Release, Ace House Collective, Yogyakarta
• WARTA: Exhibition #2, Jogja Gallery, Yogyakarta
2021
• Last Words, Galleries Curate: RHE, ROH Project, Jakarta
• Broken White Project: Touch Down Jakarta, RUCI Art Space, Jakarta
• Broken White Project #4, ACE/CBD, Ace House Collective, Yogyakarta
• Shifting Spaces, Orbital Dago, Bandung
2020
• Manifesto VII PANDEMI, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, galnasonline.id
• Nodes, Galeri Ruang Dini, Bandung
VAN DO
Van Do is a curator and writer whose practice concerns artistic interventions and negotiation of existing sites and seeks to create critically engaged spaces with the local communities. Since 2022, Van has been Artistic Director and currently member of the curatorial board of Á Space, an artist-initiated independent space for experimental art practices in Hanoi, Vietnam. Selected curatorial projects include: Nostalgia for the future (Hanoi Children’s Palace, Hanoi, 2024); Vy Trịnh: Overvoltage (Gia Lâm Train Factory, Hanoi, 2023); White Noise (Nguyen Art Foundation, HCMC, 2023); Tương tương ngộ ngộ cá kho tộ, ngộ ngộ tương tương đậu kho tương (Á Space, Hanoi, 2023); IN:ACT 2022 (Nhà Sàn Collective & Á Space, Hanoi & Kassel, 2022); Hà Ninh Pham: Recursive Fables (A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur, 2022); Within / Between / Beneath / Upon (The Factory, HCMC, 2021); An ode to the microscopic (Dcine, HCMC, 2020).
