AHMAD SADALI | Untitled (Orange With Gold)

Acquired directly from the artist
Private Asian collection

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. There is evidence of wear and losses along the edges of the work. There is some light craquelure on the paint surface, but this is consistent with the age of the work. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals small and minor spots of restoration only along the edges. Framed.
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Untitled (Orange with Gold), is a striking work by the Indonesian maestro Ahmad Sadali. Executed in the same year during which the artist received the National Art Award from the government, this magnificent work is characteristic of the artist’s signature style, expressing the elements of nature and spirituality in a bold yet nuanced manner. Born in West Java, the artist was a pioneering figure of the ‘Banding School’, which had emerged during post-revolutionary Indonesia. In this post-colonial context, many Indonesian artists rose in response to the nation’s call to finding a modern, visual identity distinct from the mooi-indie renditions at the time. While artists from the ‘Yogyakarta school’ chose to develop their own versions of realism to depict the candid life in Indonesia, artists from the ‘Bandung school’ ran counter to this canon. Sadali and the other graduates of the Institut Teknologi Bandung (Bandung Institute of Technology, ITB) such as A.D. Pirous and Sunaryo, found their voice in abstraction instead, laying the path for generations of Indonesian artists who emphasize the intuitive power of color and gesture.  Meanwhile, artists in America – including the likes of Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko – also began to break new ground in the genre, drawing attention to the very act of painting. Although the aesthetic qualities of the current work reference strands of abstract expressionist thinking, Untitled (Orange with Gold), stands as an indelible testament to Sadali’s truly unique visual language, rooted in his personal convictions about Indonesian values and spirituality.

Renowned for his technical bravura, Sadali distills the essence of the world around him through works of meditative yet striking nature. Veritably one of the leading visionaries in Indonesia, the artist developed his personal idiom by incorporating the cutting-edge concepts he witnessed first-hand as a scholar in America. The artist studied at the Department of Fine Arts in the State University of Iowa and the Art Student League in New York, before returning to Indonesia with a fresh approach to his painting.

Untitled (Orange with Gold), belongs to the apogee of Sadali’s mature abstract period, as he started to free color from the restrictions of  patterns and embraced his spiritual identity. Mediating human experience with the natural world, the artist here offers a thrilling visual experience. His singular yet pure expression of color is manifested heroically in the vivid burning orange enveloping the present painting. In its compositional harmony and chromatic vibrancy, Untitled (Orange with Gold), embodies the fervency and boldness of Sadali’s artistic pursuits.

Harnessing the zeal of Indonesia’s socio-political climate, Sadali imbued Untitled (Orange with Gold), with a palpable liveliness and vigor. Steeped in an intense orange hue, the work comprises of three large areas connected by a bold stripe that splits the canvas down its center. The artist achieves a symmetrical effect as he balances the different geometric shapes on top of each other. A rectangular field of dark, reddish orange appears to open like a book; the edges of its pages are suggested by the subtle impastos and incisions that form its outline. Perching above this flat plane are two small circles which echo and lend weight to the circular motif occupying the center of the composition.  Carved out of thick and raw whirls, this oval-like form is at once unwieldy and alluring. Evocative of the cyclical nature of life and the all-encompassing spirit of the artist’s creative process, this central motif perhaps distinguishes Untitled (Orange with Gold), from other works from this period which are dominated by angular shapes. Indeed the harmonious dynamism of the work is heightened by the juxtaposition of sharp edges against the round curves.

This sense of balance is accentuated by the subtle color scheme Sadali employs with meditative skill. Overall, the painting exudes a serene yet intense mood as the monochromatic palette mimics the atmosphere of a tropical sunset. By melding deep reds, brilliant oranges, hints of yellow and swatches of brown, the artist conveys his innermost reflections and experience of natural phenomena. The primacy of the orange in Untitled (Orange with Gold), recalls artist Mark Rothko’s planes of color, which were meant to inspire spiritual encounters and feelings. In addition to these various references, Sadali’s own colorful aesthetic that imbeds elements of his Indonesian heritage, continue to deeply resonate with his audience.

The painting is anchored by the artist’s signature applications of gold pigment or gold leaf. Strips of luminous and lustrous gold line the bottom quarter of the composition, their random arrangement adds to the spontaneity of the work. A motif that marks Sadali’s most iconic works, the illuminated gold is often used to represent the sun and spiritual enlightenment - a belief innate to Javanese culture. Against the hot sunset hue, the ribbons suggest the shimmering effects of reflective water ripples or the quivering undulations of Indonesia’s rural landscape.  This pioneering technique, of which Sadali is renowned for, is beautifully articulated in the present work.

Furthermore, Untitled (Orange with Gold), showcases how the artist came to meld his geometrical style with a highly gestural approach. Pushing the limits of his painting process, Sadali often experimented with various mediums in order to create works that subverted the flatness of his canvas. In Untitled (Orange with Gold), the artist relies on the power of his paint and brush to draw his viewers to the work’s textural complexity and technical prowess. The intentionally composed shapes seem to hover and dig into the surface of the canvas. Sadali’s thickly laid oil pigments form three-dimensional indentions as well as raised surfaces. These robust markings communicate a sense of movement as well as the gestural verve of Sadali’s brushwork.

Evident in Untitled (Orange with Gold), as in many of Sadali’s strongest pieces, is the artist’s profound understanding and articulation of Indonesia’s identity. Many have considered the visionary as a figure akin to a priest or empu, as he was able to reach two disparate domains: the material and the spiritual.¹ Unafraid to explore both mystical and aesthetic boundaries, Sadali’s practice is remarkably honest and deeply moving. Untitled (Orange with Gold), represents the strengths of the artist’s profound journey into abstraction and his truly inimitable legacy.

¹ Helena Spanjaard, Ahmad Sadali, p. 41