Deny Pribadi

Deny Pribadi is a contemporary painter from Indonesia. Born in 1970, Pribadi compellingly amalgamates abstraction and figurative styles of paintings creating his own unique artworks, depicting human psychological traits resonating with iconoclasm. Predominantly made with acrylic colours on canvas with essence of Graphic Design and Illustration, his multi-layered paintings laden with plethora of elements are testimony to his craftsmanship and dedication towards his art.

Obnoxious imaginary characters that can instill fear are an essential part of Pribadi’s paintings. They frequently look back at the viewer as if waiting for an answer to their question. The paintings create a grotesque atmosphere representative of hatred, anger, greed, agony and loathsome human experiences. They frequently indicate the wondrous, disproportionate, and macabre anatomical specimens associated with the disturbing and playful imagination. The ideas are perfectly executed with human and animal forms conjoining occasionally grinning obscenely, as if caught between an act, it is ridiculous and licentious; a hybrid of things that don’t belong and shouldn’t be; at once funny and free; threatening and void of threat. It is evident with Pribadi's technique that this initial shock factor is carefully planned and deliberate.

Pribadi fuses elements of action paintings such as dribbles, splashes and smears with an extensive use of stencils to add texts and symbolism to his paintings. A chaotic abstract background accentuates the theme later superimposed by a character. The background and the foreground are separated by use of multiple tonal values. This process results in innumerable textures and elements on the canvas celebrating the artist’s vivid interest in portraying human voracity, hunger and physical drive. It tempts the viewer to explore what layers lie beneath the surface. The juxtaposition of elements that do not naturally go together further distorts characters away from reality.

Deny Pribadi lives and works in Semarang, Indonesia.