Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure 2011

Nyoman Masriadi painted this work, called Blekik Jones and Soekarno's Treasure, with acrylic on canvas. The whole painting is rendered in this hyper-smooth, almost airbrushed style. Look at the way the light catches on the figure’s forehead. It’s so even. There is an interesting tension in this piece between the very serious business of ‘art’ and the pulpy genre-movie scenario of treasure hunting. The smoothness is what gives it that ‘serious art’ vibe, but then you’ve got this almost cartoonish figure. It reminds me a little of Philip Guston, who was another painter who wasn’t afraid to mix high and low elements, but Masriadi takes that tension even further. The super-smooth surface almost feels like he’s trying to hide his brushstrokes, to remove the trace of the hand. But, like, who is he kidding? All of this points to the endless potential for play and conversation that art offers us.