Kelompok 31 Art Exhibition: Media & Style Exploration

JAKARTA – The exhibition Low, Yellow, Slow marks a powerful point of departure for three contemporary artists who explore new possibilities within an ever-shifting art ecosystem. A picture frame no longer serves merely as a boundary for canvas. Instead, it actively shapes the artist’s visual and aesthetic dialogue. Artist Adril Wak Yong clearly demonstrates this concept at the Kelompok 31 exhibition hosted by Ruang Dalam Art House in Yogyakarta from October 31 to November 9, 2026.

The exhibition title highlights three foundational concepts behind their collective creative process. These three terms provide an essential entryway for visitors to understand the group’s artistic philosophy. The members originally established Kelompok 31 in 2022 to build a shared space for artistic exploration.

Specifically, Low defines an artistic intensity that conveys deep meaning without shouting. Yellow acts as a vital signal for artists to resume their movement after a temporary pause. Meanwhile, Slow offers a deliberate pace that grants ideas sufficient room to grow naturally without force. Ultimately, this exhibition grants all three artists a fresh start to navigate emerging possibilities in the contemporary art world.

Adril Wak Yong: Pushing Canvases Beyond Their Boundaries

Adril Wak Yong tests the flexibility of the human form on shaped canvases across thirty paintings created in 2026, all sharing the title Berbual. Born in Langkat, North Sumatra, in 1989, Adril paints solitary figures with dynamic gestures and covered heads using acrylic paint, charcoal, and ballpoint pen.

“My works function like a visual daily journal of casual conversation, which usually takes shape spontaneously.”

— Adril Wak Yong

One striking piece depicts a distorted figure lying face down while its arms prop up the upper body. Fabric completely covers the figure’s face and head, leaving only the nose and mouth visible to the viewer. Crucially, most of the body extends far beyond the traditional frame, which encloses only the central torso.

Adril’s paintings break away from traditional square frames that simply lock a canvas into a rigid box. Instead, he allows the canvas to break past outer frame boundaries to free itself from standard support structures. Consequently, he invites viewers to experience his two-dimensional paintings as multi-dimensional objects. Viewers can observe the composition from the right, left, top, or bottom rather than solely from a flat front angle. Adril, who earned his master’s degree in Fine Art Painting at ISI Yogyakarta, aims to bring viewers closer to his work through visual forms that break free from structural limits.

Herikson Icon: A Direct Critique of Socio-Political Realities

In contrast, sculptor Herikson Icon (born 1992) uses single figures to examine urgent political issues through two-dimensional works and installations filled with expressive decorative elements. For example, he directly addresses the Indonesia’s government Makanan Bergizi Grais (MBG) program, which resulted in food poisoning for 50,000 students. Herikson, who trained in sculpture at ISI Yogyakarta, depicts a young student holding a food tray filled with worms against a bright yellow background surrounded by warning labels.

Furthermore, he highlights severe forest fires across Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, and Papua from early 2026. In Bencana Bukan Alam, he portrays an orangutan holding a wooden stick amidst roaring flames, accompanied by bold red text stating that these fires represent planned deaths rather than natural disasters.

Herikson also examines military involvement in national food security programs by painting a farmer walking through rice fields against a military camouflage background. He deepens his critique of militarism in Print Presiden, which portrays a figure in a six-starred green uniform whose open mouth releases two red rats symbolizing corruption. Text across the uniform reads Presiden Boneka; Republik Imperialis.

Finally, Herikson anchors his narrative with an installation featuring a nude male statue standing atop a concrete pillar. The statue rises above scattered tree trunks, stones, sand, cement, trash, and small rat paintings tagged ALERTA INDONESIA. The figure sticks out its tongue while raising three fingers, echoing student demonstrations in Jakarta on October 20, 2026, which marked two years of the presidential administration. Two long rifles and a handgun hanging on the wall symbolize law enforcement violence against protesters. The statue carries a poster questioning resistance against authority. Herikson emphasizes that this single figure speaks for a collective voice engaged in active resistance.

Hanung B. Yuniawan: Transforming Abstraction into Spatial Form

While Adril Wak Yong and Herikson Icon explore figurative and realistic motifs, Hanung B. Yuniawan delivers abstract paintings featuring bold, interconnected line strokes in vibrant contrasting colors. Hanung, who earned his master’s degree in Art Education from Yogyakarta State University, builds cardboard into abstract sculptures coated with acrylic paint


Through his abstract canvas works and cardboard sculptures, Hanung visually transforms flat two-dimensional structures into three-dimensional objects. His spatial techniques reveal hidden angles and hidden sides that viewers could not previously see.

_{Photo doc. seni.co.id}