Angels

Masriadi is not a typical Balinese artist, in that his works have little or no connection with the traditional life and mythology of Bali. Instead, he paints cultural contradictions and inconsistencies taken from his daily life and the world around him. His paintings are full of wit as seen in the use of caricature and in the way he represents the figures in shocking new ways. Masriadi often chooses unrelated figures to group together to give rise to ideas and depictions, turning logic and understanding upside down.

In his works, Masriadi tends to radically exaggerate figures and shape them into whatever suits him. He caricatures their anatomy, facial expressions, gestures, and relations between each other and their surroundings. In the present lot, the artist paints an angel of great magnitude, occupying his entire canvas. The angel lunges forward on his left foot, with his elbow resting gallantly on his knee and a letter in his mouth. His feet are turned in an unnatural position, and his right arm is held awkwardly at a 90 degree angle. Typical of Masriadi's figures, the hands and feet are disproportionately bloated, and the angel's head seems disconnected from the rest of the body; it is unclear which way he is staring. All these interesting concoctions put together make up Masriadi's visual feast.