Fuck Beuys (Hardcore sucks). 2005. acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 cm

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Corat Coret di Tembok Tetangga. 2007. acrylic on canvas. 150 x 220 cm

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Dead fuckin Beuys & the Gang. 2009. Acrylic on canvas. 135 x 200 cm

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Untitled. 2004. acrylic on canvas. 100 x 140 cm

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Untitled. 2008. acrylic on canvas. 150 x 150 cm

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During my weekend, I discovered on Sunday the work EDDIE HARA – an Indonesian artist who lives and works in Basel (Switzerland) – through a window-shop.

I fell directly in love with his art which features bold and colorful beasts, cartoon-like figures and animals. The beasts depicted in EDDIE’s paintings are angry, humorous, cynical, diabolic and optimistic. His topics are political, environmental and are reflective of the practices of day-to-day living.

And after few researchs, I can tell you that EDDIE HARA is one of the pioneers of a new minimalistic and symbolistic art movement in Indonesia. He was inspired when he was living on the street on Malioboro, while studying at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta. His art was against all those mainstreams at the ISI in the mid of 80s. His mixture of Outsider Art (Art Brut), comic and childlike naive painting, was seen as a rebellion, a breakout, against the fixed conventions. In those days HARA decided to make himself appear like a punk. “

EDDIE HARA has been heavily influential to the next generation of artists, especially in terms of using comics as a new reference of artistic language. Amongst them are EKO NUGROHO and WEDHAR RIYADI, who were students from the same art school in Yogyakarta.