LIFE

born in Padang, 1993. Ipan Lasuang’s recent works reveal a distinct inclination towards expanding the language of landscape painting within Indonesia’s contemporary art scene. For him, the landscape is no longer confined to straightforward depictions of natural scenery; instead, it becomes a space of invention, often born out of the most unassuming sources, such as the traces left on folded paper. These folds, once seemingly trivial, are transformed by Ipan into trees, rocks, winding roads, and other visual fragments that form a world of his own. This approach echoes his earlier explorations, whether portraying natural objects or the human figure. By doing so, he constructs landscapes that are at once familiar and imagined, inviting people to enter a realm where obscurity itself becomes part of the experience. It is as though he extends a quiet invitation: to wander into another world of landscape, where echoes of tradition linger yet the outcome feels fresh and newly made. His works stand as a branch of the growing tendency towards fictional landscapes in contemporary art, thus broadening how one might perceive the genre. Born in Padang, West Sumatra, in 1993, Ipan Lasuang pursued fine arts at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta. His journey of solo exhibitions began in 2016, with Mash Paper, his final project on campus, and has since developed into significant showcases such as Squeezeland at "Pendhapa Art Space", Yogyakarta (2017), After Mooie Indie at Finale Art File, Makati City, Philippines (2017), Reframing Gambuh at CG Art Space, Jakarta (2019), and most recently, Meta Realism: Fictional Landscape at Jagad Gallery, Jakarta (2024).