Bayu Utomo Radjikin

Director of HOM Art Trans

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“For me, I want to nurture young artists so that 10 years from now, we will have many more good artists to showcase impressive art works”

With a long list of solo and group exhibitions, locally and internationally, in his belt and multiple awards, Bayu Utomo Radjikin is no stranger in the art industry. The Sabahan, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, is particularly well known for his solo exhibition featuring mainly skulls in his paintings two years ago called “Ada Apa Dengan Tengkorak”.

“There is a future yet for the art industry here and I am sure that one day, our artists will be able to bring this industry up to finally catch up with our neighbouring countries.”

After a break of two years, when he worked on his latest masterpieces, Bayu Utomo launched a solo of his abstract works in “Gejolak” this year at G13 Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. “It is more of an abstract form that is fluid and different from my more figurative works like Tengkorak,” he said about his latest work. He also plans to work on more abstract forms in his future pieces.

“I want to do something that’s different from my previous styles and I enjoyed doing this so I am looking forward to creating more abstract pieces like in Gejolak,” he shared. Gejolak is Bayu’s interpretation of the feelings and emotions that swirled endlessly within humans. He said the strokes represented the strength and weakness along with the imbalances of feelings inside humans. Gejolak is his 10th solo exhibition since he launched his very first solo in 1996 at the National Art Gallery.

Other than his own work, the 46-year-old is intent on helping budding artists to succeed in an industry that is wrought with challenges. Bayu is the director of HOM Art Trans, an independent art space dedicated towards cultivating young and new artists. The organisation has three main programmes, The Residency, The Art Fund and The Art Award, to nurture, help and promote young talented Malaysian artists.

“There is a future yet for the art industry here and I am sure that one day, our artists will be able to bring this industry up to finally catch up with our neighbouring countries.”

“It is important to nurture these young artists by providing them with the means and space, otherwise it is difficult for them to flourish,” he said. He said these young artists are really talented, including those who graduated with fine art degrees. However, there were no avenue for them to flourish and succeed so many would easily give up. He recently organised group exhibitions for the young artists in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

“Of course, all these exhibitions mean that we also needed a supportive audience to keep them motivated but unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of people who understands,” he said. The art industry in Malaysia is still growing and it will take time for the audience to really appreciate fine art like paintings and sculptures.

Bayu has been in the art industry for over 25 years and he believed that though the art industry is still growing, it is heading in the right direction. “We are still lagging behind compared to Indonesia and Manila,” he said. Art is still considered unimportant and not a priority for most people. It is not something corporations will support and many still assumed that exhibitions can only be held by those who have the money to do so.

“For me, I wanted to nurture young artists so that 10 years from now, we will have many more good artists to showcase impressive art works,” he said. With great masterpieces, he believed it will lead to progress for the art industry in Malaysia. He is also nurturing one of his children who has shown an interest in drawing.

“There is a future yet for the art industry here and I am sure that one day, our artists will be able to bring this industry up to finally catch up with our neighbouring countries,” he said. Bayu is now working on his next project, more abstract art works, and has plans to hold another solo exhibition in the near future.

在成功举办了国内外一系列个人和集体展览会，创造无数艺术话题和荣获许多奖项，Bayu Utomo Radjikin 绝对是艺术行业并不陌生的名字。这名拥有美术学士学位的沙巴人，两年前以别具一格的骷髅颅骨主题 ：“Ada Apa Dengan Tengkorak”的个人展览而知名。

而历经两年休息后重整旗鼓，Bayu Utomo推出了最新杰作，拥有抽象意识的“波动（Gejolak）”，今年在吉隆坡的G13 Gallery 正式展出。“这是抽象的表述形式，相当流动性，不同于我象征性质的作品，如Tengkorak。”他谈到最新工作，计划在未来的创作中以更抽象形式展现。

“对我来说，培育年轻艺术家，10年后我们将有更多优秀艺术家呈现印象深刻的艺术作品。”

“我想做一些跳脱以往的风格，我喜欢这种感觉，所以期待着创作更多抽象作品如Gejolak。”他分享。Gejolak是他对人类内在无休止的思绪和情感的诠释。他说，笔画线条代表了力量和虚弱，也显示人类潜在不平衡的情感。“Gejolak”是他的第十次个人展览，1996年他在国家艺术画廊推出首次个人展览会。

除了本身的创作工作外，这名46岁的艺术工作者还打算协助新人闯荡这个挑战性的领域。他也是 HOM Art Trans 的总监，这是一个独立的艺术空间，致力于培养年轻和新兴艺术家。该组织具备三大主要构成：住宿、艺术基金和奖项，并以培育，帮助和推动年轻的马来西亚才能艺术家。

“重点是培养这些年轻艺术家，为他们提供举措和空间，否则他们很难蓬勃发展。”他说，这些年轻艺术家才华和悟性都很强，包括美术科系毕业生。然而，由于历经毫无成就的艰难局面，许多人半途放弃。他最近也为槟城和吉隆坡的年轻艺术家们举办了集体展览。

“当然，开设展览会意味着需要观众的支持，以保持他们的积极性，但遗憾的是，没有得到太多了解与回响。”他说，马来西亚的艺术产业仍在增长，让观众可以真正鉴赏美术画作和雕塑需要一点时间。

踏入艺术领域25年，他觉得纵然艺术产业在朝着正确的方向前进增长。“我们仍然落后于印尼和马尼拉。”他说。艺术依旧被认为是附属品，并非多数人的主要选项。企业机构不轻易支持，很多人还是认定举办展览会是有钱人的玩意儿。

“对我来说，培育年轻艺术家，10年后我们将有更多优秀艺术家呈现印象深刻的艺术作品。”而有了出色的创作，他相信这将引领马来西亚艺术产业的步伐，目前他家里有一个对绘画有浓厚兴趣的孩子，他正积极培养。

他说，艺术行业拥有灿烂的未来，有一天我国的艺术家的发展将最终赶上邻国。Bayu进行下一个计划：创作更抽象性质的作品，并在不久举办另外个人展览会。