Name
Rudy Ardianto (grakk)

Birthplace
Salatiga, Java, Indonesia

Lives
Sydney, Australia

Your organisation/community Australian Indonesian Artist

Profile

I have been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I first started painting about 1993 when I was living with several other artists in Salatiga, Central Java. We all began a studio space called “Gallery Butuh” and this space had a really inspirational and free environment and a strong artistic community spirit.

In October 1996 I moved to Sydney with my wife, Vanessa. Here, I continued to paint and was greatly influenced by the new environment, both socially and culturally. In 1998 I began a diploma of Graphic Design at the Enmore Design Centre. Enmore influenced both my fine art as well as my graphic skills. It also helped me in forming a strong community and group of friends. I really began to feel at home and enjoy my life in Sydney. I was living in this fantastic studio space in Broadway and I produced heaps of paintings and drawings, in-between the graphic design homework. A lot of these works have been exhibited in cafes and galleries in the inner city.

In February 2000, after graduating from TAFE and partying in Sydney for the Millennium, I went back to Salatiga to paint for 6 months. I set up another studio space called “The Raw Art Studio” with several other local artists. This space was also a great work environment and I produced more than 30 large canvases during this time. Before I left I had a joint exhibition with a sculptor in Yogyakarta, which was a great experience and I think that these were some of the best works I have done so far.

I am now working as a Graphic Designer full-time and have been finding it quite hard to balance my time between painting and full-time work. My wife is having a baby in June, which I’m sure will have a huge impact on my life and my work. I am very excited and can’t wait for this time to come. I am taking part in an exhibition at the Liverpool Museum in September, which is based on the East Timorese community in Sydney. It should be great, so come along if you have the chance.

Below is part of an article that was published advertising my work for the exhibition in Yogyakarta. It gives you an idea of the type of work I do.

“GrAkk’s work is RAW, with vibrant colours and strong lines. Possibly classified as naive, tribal or childlike, his work is a joy to look at, full of personal and quirky details, collage and text. As an artwork they are eye-catching and always the focus of attention, alive with simple and colourful characters, strong black lines and collaged pieces of text and multimedia.”