Artist Profiles > A > Jumaldi Alfi
Born in 1972 in Lintau, West Sumatra, Jumaldi Alfi is one of the most influential artists in the Indonesian contemporary art scene. A practicing painter and sculptor, Jumaldi burst upon the art scene of Yogyakarta with artworks that quickly developed into a complex and highly diverse style; marked by innovation, sophistication, skill, and a stirring emotional depth.
Jumaldi admires the artistic verve and technical virtuosity of post-war German artists, such as Anselm Kiefer, Martin Kippenberger, and Georg Baselitz – whose meditations on German militarism haunt him as deeply as West Sumatra’s sanguine past. The artist completed his fine arts education in 1999 at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta, where he currently lives and works.
Jumaldi is a co-founder and member of Jendela Art Group, Indonesia’s most prominent contemporary art collective. The group shied away from the omnipresent and socio-political themes usually found in the local arts scene, and were not falling into the trap of technical sophistication of realist painting either. They gained recognition through works of unique stylistics, showing inclination towards naivism, swaying between meaningless ‘doodles’ and the contrast of formalism, as well as drawing exclusively on minimal visual elements of line, colour, and texture.
The artist has participated in several art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Art Fair, and Shanghai Art Fair. His past solo exhibitions include Jumaldi Alfi, Sanata Dharma University Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2016); Jumaldi Alfi: Melting Memories, STPI Gallery, Singapore (2011); Nightswimmer, Metis Gallery, Amsterdam (2011); and Life/Art # 101: Never Ending Lesson, Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2010). Selected group exhibitions include Mooi Indie – Beautiful Indies, Indonesian Art Now, Gordon & Susan Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide, Australia (2014); The Window of Jendela, OHD Museum, Magelang, Indonesia (2013); Jendela-A Play of the Ordinary, NUS Museum, Singapore (2009); and COMMON GROUNDS, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia (2007).