Save the Land 1998

Nyoman Masriadi’s “Save the Land” is a painting of our time; of layered concern, drawn, erased, and painted out again. The painting's surface reveals Masriadi's process, the push and pull of intention. The palette is grounded, mostly in grays and browns, but punctuated with jolts of red and white. There’s so much going on here—it’s like he’s trying to capture the complexity of the world in one go. Look at how he renders text, scrawled and urgent, like a plea. The textures vary wildly, from smooth, washy passages to areas where the paint is built up and scratched into. The eye travels across the painting, trying to connect the dots, searching for clues. Take the drips, for instance, just left of centre: they add an element of chance, of letting go, within the careful construction of the piece. Masriadi reminds me a bit of Twombly, in that he lets the painting remain unresolved. “Save the Land” isn’t about easy answers, it’s about the messy process of questioning.