Karling klub Vukovi

On the occasion of the Indonesian Independence Day, August 17, a renowned Indonesian artist Yoes Rizal donated 12 of his paintings and graphics dedicated to Belgrade to the Adligat Society which, in cooperation with the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara”, organized the exhibition of these works. While the original works of art can be seen in the Adligat’s Book and Travel Museum, the wider public can visit a virtual exhibition on the websites: http://www.adligat.rs and http://www.nusantara.rs .

Mr Yoes Rizal has been engaged in art for thirty years. He has participated in a number of prestigious world exhibitions and art festivals in Indonesia and worldwide. He staged exhibitions in Malaysia, USA, Turkey, Latvia including the prestigious National Gallery in Jakarta. A year ago, the Adligat Society organized an exhibition of his works in the Association of Writers of Serbia.

“Yoes Rizal has received the best art criticism in one of the largest countries in the world. While staying in Belgrade, sitting in our parks and visiting our sights, he tirelessly painted and drew. That is how this famous Indonesian artist created a series of interesting works reflecting his vision of Belgrade. Wishing to support Serbian people in this difficult time, Mr Rizal sent his original works to our museum as a gift. His student, Teufik Hadžalić, Serbian by origin, followed his example and did the same. This fifteen-year-old promising painter will soon have an exhibition at the National Gallery in Jakarta,” says Viktor Lazić, president of the Adligat Society.

Rizal believes that art cannot be explained in relation to a single message or story and that generalized, added interpretations and explanations cannot be authentic. He says that people at his exhibitions are very quiet and that the audience does not want to ask him questions, because he has already given them the answers.

Rizal believes that art is art and should not be used for propaganda purposes of any kind, especially not for political or social. Rizal also believes that the visual art as a medium is primarily an expression of the artists’ emotions and their appreciation for colours and shapes as dictated by their eyes and motivated by internal feelings.

“I think the best art comes from your heart. It is very direct, there is no handicap to express yourself by the abstractionist style, especially the expressionism style”, says Rizal.

Viktor Lazić says: “The exhibition was organized as a friendly meeting between the cultures of Indonesia and Serbia, as another bridge between our peoples and artists.”

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with more than 260 million people and the largest archipelago in the world comprising more than seventeen and a half thousand islands. It is second in the world in terms of diversity of flora and fauna, just after Brazil, and belongs to the largest developing countries in the world. Indonesia’s motto is: “unity in diversity” bearing in mind that more than three hundred people and national minorities live in this country.