Wayan Novi

b, 1989, Angsri, Bali, Indonesia

Wayan Novi’s work is known for manipulating the eye with highly detailed landscapes composed of vast collections of dots. By merging the conventions of landscape, still-life, abstraction, and pointillist painting, Novi’s naturalistic landscapes echo a distinctly Indonesian painting style. Through the painter’s expert compositions and hallucinatory colours, Novi reinvigorates traditional Balinese artistic values.

The painter’s 2018 solo exhibition at Singapore’s Art Porters Gallery, Wayan Novi’s Landscape of Memories, recalled the lavish rice paddies and small channels of Tabanan, the village of Novi’s childhood. The painter’s work is known to evoke a sense of longing to return home, where friends and family gather in the kitchen for meals and chatter. Novi draws inspiration from everyday Indonesian countryside life, and recurring motifs in his work include tableware like water vessels, kettles, mugs and bottles. Other artifacts from Novi’s youth such as ornaments, everyday scenery and ritual also figure into his paintings. Novi’s portrayals of nostalgic sceneries are simple yet honest stories of contemporary rural existence. Through intuitive and repetitive marks, Novi returns to his cultural heritage and revitalizes humble attitudes towards life and nature. At the age of 28, his practice is highly sophisticated with impeccable technique and a perspective that is both innocent and full of wisdom.

Wayan Novi graduated from the Institute Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 2015 and began participating in reputable events such as Art Stage Jakarta (2016 and 2017), Art Stage Singapore (2017) and Art Expo Plus Malaysia (2017) soon after. Novi’s Singapore solo exhibition at Art Porters Gallery was warmly received by the public and stirred collector interest. The young Balinese painter currently lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Wayan Novi is represented by Art Porters Singapore. Puerta Roja is proud to present his work in the 2018 collaborative exhibition Reflections.