Yunizar

The painting is in good condition, as is the canvas, which is clear and taut. Minor indications of wear and handling around the edges, corners and margins are evident but are unobtrusive. The paint layers are well-preserved and are in stable condition. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals no indication of retouching. Unframed, on stretcher.
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Tentang Pohon (About A Tree) features a majestic and immense tree. Its nine roots anchor it to the earth while nine boughs hold dense and lush foliage that shelter and nurture blooming red flowers. Nine golden clouds float in the sky, its glow permeating the scene with a sense of warmth and goodness. The imagery evokes various legends such as the African "Tree of Life", the biblical "Fig Tree", the Norse "Yggrasil" with its nine boughs leading to nine worlds, and last but not least, the mythical Indonesian "Banyan Tree". In his article, "In the House of Yunizar" (2010), Tony Godfrey wrote: "[The tree] can represent community and nature simultaneously... Again the floor below the tree is filled, animated with endless creatures. This is not a case of horror vacui or a compulsive desire to fill in: it is about the richness of life. On the one hand it is very contemporary: he represents the world as flux where everything is in constant motion, where things are not composed with a stable, static foreground, middle ground and backgrounds: he is happy with this world of constant movement and activity."

One of Yunizar's earliest inspirations is doodles and graffiti on abandoned walls in Yogyakarta. The juxtaposition of aged brick and cement with the most basic form of artistry express an accidental kind of beauty – a little textured, a little archaic - which is largely driven by feeling instead of purpose. This best summarizes the essence of Yunizar, whose paintings are often described as intuitive, raw and childlike. Aminudin Siregar linked Yunizar to an essay written in 1954 by notable art historian Trisno Sumardjo, who stated "Only art which has gone through such a process will possess a certain freshness because it is pure, not contrived. Art that is processed within the walls of schools and laboratories alone, is not a natural process of growth, but one that is kunstmatig (artificial)." (Aminudin Siregar, Jogja Pyschedelia, exh. cat., Bandung, 2010, p. 30).

As Yunizar often remarks, his most important philosophy is "rasa" (feeling or sensation). Indeed, he approaches painting with the freshness and innocence of children, who may not have developed perspective, composition, and technique yet, but paints simply from the heart. The world that Yunizar dreams about and hopes for is a beautiful one. Through his eyes, only whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is joyful is depicted.