a short biography of

© imamtamaim

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The Adventure of a Painter

For Dirot Kadirah, which is usu-ally called ‘Dirot’, painting is like a breath. Man can’t be alive without breath. So do with him, painting is his life-breath. Painting can’t be separated from his daily life. The man which was born in Indramayu, West Java, on February 21th 1972, even explained that activity of painting is natural process which runs within him.

Dirot does the process with total-ity. “Painting, in my opinion, is like water that flows. And, when I was painting, I have to do it totally, have to ‘be crazy’,” he said with a

little of metaphor.

Always appears as an unpreten-tious person, Dirot is known as a calm person by many people who knew him. But behind it, actually, Dirot is a hard person in case of idea. He is never satisfied to digs a creative innovation on his work of art. Artistic form, deepness of theme, visual style always become Dirot’s focus to produces a work. He doesn’t care although must goes to far place or comtemplates for days to achieves the ripeness of an idea.

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The Beginning is Completely CourageousFrom early, Dirot was born as a painter with capital of diligence and totality only. He was persis-tent to developed his ability and to sharpened his art talent although didn’t have artist family back-ground.

Everything was begun from Dirot’s step that courageously went for a journey to Bali on 1992 ago. Not capital too much except ability and strong desire to learn. Dirot went to Island of Deity as soon as grad-uated from Senior High School (SMU) in his birthplace. During in Bali, he learned and sharpened his art talent to a famous realist paint-

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er, Sudarso, or which he usually call him ‘Mbah Darso’. Sudarso is a famous painter same generation with a legend-ary painter, Af-fandi.

Because of his dilligence, then Dirot was capa-ble to life inde-pendently dur-ing stayed in the settlement abroad. He sold his works to galleries were there in Bali. At that time, he sold paintings

to the galleries cheaply, and they resold the paintings to other party with multiple price.

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Indeed, successfulness is always come from sacrifice, both mate-rial or non-material sacrifice. After learned from Mbah Darso success-fully, finally, Dirot might be proud when his works can be shown in various national and international exhibitions. Some of Dirot’s works were ever exhibited on interna-tional level such as America and Singapore.

Dirot ever felt unsatisfied to gal-

lery’s “rule of game” because, in his opinion, it can repress creativ-ity. On 1996, Dirot also ever decid-ed to painting and painting as well as his desire, he didn’t care with “order” about painting theme from gallery. Some years later it had been proven that he could produced works independently.

One time, Dirot, by force, didn’t permit his painting to be given, al-though, at that time, a collector

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persuaded him with enticement that it would be changed by the newest product of Toyota car. He refused that fortune because he thought that it must be exchibited before in order to got appre-ciation from public.

“If I change the painting with car then it is saved in house and never be exchibited, morally, I am lost because public never know that I

ever paint it. However, it’s very im-portant for me to know how pub-lic appreciation about my works,” Dirot said.

Dirot’s journey to Bali and Jakarta, with experiment that he has done for years, now begin to get yield. Paintings which are produced by this au-todidact painter has been collected by many national and international public figures. Dirot’s paintings are also ever exchibited both in domestic or abroad for several times.

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Fish and fisherman’s livehood now seem have been central object of Dirot’s works. Some of collec-tors even explained that a fish as Dirot’s painting objects was a sym-bol of fortune.

Certainly, it isn’t about magi-cal practices, superstition and so on, but is about symbol. “Fish. The fish is symbol of fortune,” Dirot said one day when he was asked about his passion for a fish as painting object.

Mostly true. For coast inhab-itant who depend their fate

Fish and The Symbol of Fortune

on sea that contain a number of mysteries, fish is their soul. There is fish, able to eat. There isn’t fish, livelihood is blocked.

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The logic is simple. Even though, Dirot who was grown up in coast inhabitant’s environment contem-plated deeply that simple logic. Fi-nally, fish that he presented on his canvas emerged a nuance of spirit, wish, and luckiness.

As a painter, Dirot’s way to under-stand fish is unusual. Therefore, although a number of his painting present same object, fish, but still can be found the different mean-ing in each the painting.

That is similar with Dirot’s hard ef-fort to understands objects of his works. Although in front of can-

vas, he paints expressively and relatively fast, but actually he has dug the idea for long time. He isn’t doubtful to go to sea, ride on ‘klotok’ ship (traditional wooden ship) together with traditional fish-erman to hunt fish. Not just look for inspiration, but really want to be part of their struggle spirit in the sea. Sometimes he builds an idea according to dream which he has comtemplated for days. That is Dirot.

Therefore, on the spread of Dirot’s canvas, the fish become very amazing. A giant fish seemingly

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was dancing together with fish-ermen who had hefty body, among bright colors and full of wishes. They actually sang the song of wish, ballad of pray for waiting fortune. As expression that is often expressed by Dirot after finished a “unexpected” work. All right, fortune often comes unexpectedly.

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Root. An artist must has the root. Not the common root, but must be strong. The root is understood as a foundation, belief on produce work of art which determine pur-pose and consistency along career of an artist.

Without the strong root, artist will be easy to lost and oscillated by situation that sometimes doesn’t to side with work which has pro-duced. Whether it is market situ-ation, discourse of mainstream, trend, and so on. An artist is

easy to trapped for join into cer-tain trend which is considered as “booming”, although then as soon as they leave it.

Such phenomenon, for instance, occur to the booming of contem-porary painting. Not little of paint-ers that their works suddenly fly away in auction sale place with fantastic price. Whereas, track re-cord and role of this painter in art of paint’s world is relatively still green. Finally, work of art seem-ingly is only appreciated by artistic

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attainment aspect and height of price in auction sale place. Things about spirit, theme, role of artist, and long struggle of an artist to produce work of art only become latter factor. What is happened af-ter booming have finished? Based on information, value of contem-porary painting has collapsed, and a number of artists who joined the trend circle finally were disap-pointed.

Dirot Kadirah is not apathetic to development of modern and con-temporary painting. Not like that. He really followed and observed this period, even he ever think to join into its circle. But, his deepest

heart has said so that he decide to walk on him self way, the way which has been started since long time ago, and that is “root” that he has.

Root, for Dirot, is also understood as an inferior person, commoners, who although always at the bot-tom and tending to be exploited, but has extraordinary power. The proof of it is that Dirot’s paintings, from previous to the present, still show themes about “root”, that is inferior person who always strug-gle and work hardly, not to defeat life, but to make harmony in life.

Adherence between Dirot’s work

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and his painting objects is as ad-herence as root to its tree. Dirot dive, look, struggle directly to the objects that will be raised as theme of painting. Nothing else, its purpose is to catch amazing spirit from livelihood of people who is usually called by “common-ers.”

To paint an object that is a fish-erman, for example, Dirot is not enough only accumulate informa-tion about whatever are usually done by fisherman. But, he also join in the sea, feel the ferocity of sea, feel the hard struggle, and feel the happiness when succeed to get arrest.

An art critic from France who is

now staying in Bali, Jean Couteau, even described personaliy of Dirot as a painter and also a fisherman or fisherman all at once a painter. It happened because very adher-ence and be rooted between Dirot and his painting objects, that is fish and fisherman world.

A painter, Sudjojono, emphasized that art which has high quality is work that come from daily life, and then be proceed through artist’s life. This is also one of value that want to be reached by Dirot, so that untill now consistent not to remove root of tradition which has born and grow up him, that is com-munity of fisherman.

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Exhibition1994 Group Exhibition, Hotel Nusa Dua, Bali1995 Group Exhibition, Danlin Gallery, Bali1996 Group Exhibition, Puri Bukit Mas, Bali Group Exhibition, Hilton Hotel, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Kuta Center, Bali1997 Group Exhibition, JCC, Jakarta1998 Group Exhibition, Hotel Hilton, Jakarta Group Exhibition, WTC, Jakarta1999 Group Exhibition, WTC, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Hotel Sahid, Jakarta2000 Group Exhibition, Bizzet Gallery, Jakarta2001 Group Exhibition, Kori Bali Gallery, Ja karta Group Exhibition, Negri Lama Gallery, Jakarta2002 Group Exhibition, D Gallery, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Bizzet Gallery, Jakarta Group Exhibition, WTC, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Museum Nasional2003 Kebangkitan Nasional Exhibition Crown Hotel, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Gallery Santi, Jakarta2004 Solo Exhibition, Hotel Mulia, Jakarta Solo Exhibition, Isabrina Gallery, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Hotel Nico, Jakarta

2005 Group Exhibition, Soka Gallry, Jakarta Group Exhibition, Pantai Mutiara House, Jakarta2006 Group Exhibition, Betty H gallery, Jakar ta Group Exhibition, BRI Pusat, Jakarta2008 Solo Exhibition,”Negeri Para Pejuang”, Galeri Nasional Jakarta2011 Solo Exhibition, “Symbolism Of Luck”, Four Seasons Hotel, Jakarta2012 Solo Exhibition, “Symbolism Of Luck” Hotel Sultan Jakarta Solo Exhibition, “Symbolism Of Luck” Indonesian School Malaysia Solo Exhibition, “Symbolism Of Luck” Hotel JW Marriot Malaysia2013 SoloExhibition,“CapGoMeh”Pacific Place Jakarta2014 Solo Exhibition, Gili Fine Art Gallery, Malaysia

Not a Dream, 145 x 200 cm, 2011