Parting The Mist: Finding Zaini's Lines Within Dissolved Atmosphere

There is something blurred in Zaini's paintings. An atmosphere that hovers through brushstrokes without clear form. Shape and color dissolve into one another. Art critic Bambang Bujono once identified this phenomenon in the mid-1970s. From this identification, the exhibition Parting the Mist drew its inspiration.

Parting the Mist runs from June 20 to July 11, 2026 at Galeri Cipta I and II, Taman Ismail Marzuki. This exhibition, curated by Ibrahim Soetomo, presents around 50 selected works created over three decades, from 1948 to 1977. The exhibition also marks one hundred years since his birth on March 17, 1926 in Kurai Taji, Pariaman, West Sumatra.

Zaini studied painting under several important artists of his era, from S. Sudjojono, Basuki Abdullah, to Affandi, during the years 1942-1945. He was also a significant figure in art organizations. Since 1946, he joined associations such as Seniman Masyarakat, Seniman Indonesia Muda, and Gabungan Pelukis Indonesia. This organizational experience continued until he became one of the founders of Dewan Kesenian Jakarta in 1968 and taught at Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian Jakarta from 1971 to 1976. He also designed the logo and served as editor of the literary magazine Horison, which first published in 1966.

The exhibition is divided into two galleries that carry different atmospheres. Rather than placing labels on individual works, visitors are allowed to immerse themselves in the rooms to experience the "blur." Ibrahim Soetomo, as stated in his curatorial statement, deliberately presented an exhibition layout that is not anachronistic. Interestingly, the presence of these two gallery spaces complements Zaini's works.

In Galeri Cipta I, Zaini's paintings are organized thematically, whether featuring figures, fauna, landscapes, and paintings of harbors, through solid colors on the walls. We trace Zaini's journey of abstracting representational objects. His palette shifts from soft pastels toward more subtle dark tones. Here, visitors are confronted with the evolution of how Zaini perceived color and form, how he gradually sacrificed detail for a broader atmosphere.

Galeri Cipta II showcases another strength of Zaini: line. In this room, sketches, vignettes, drawings, and his spontaneous monotype experiments demonstrate his skill as a deft and precise draftsman. The subjects he tackled remained relatively consistent—human figures, boats, landscapes, and animals—but each realization was achieved through complete mastery of the medium he employed. These lines are not merely decorative. They are Zaini's way of identifying objects, helping us navigate out from the complexity of the blurred atmosphere.

Walking through both galleries feels like being guided through two different ways of seeing. On one hand, we are allowed to dissolve into the atmosphere presented by Zaini's brushstrokes. But on the other hand, his lines remind us that something concrete exists behind the blur. The two are not entirely separate. Like the line splatter in the painting titled Udang (1975) and the scratches in Glodok (1973) that help guide us toward the referential objects condensed by Zaini's colors.

Zaini was also known as a reliable illustrator. From the 1950s onward, his illustrations filled corners of art and literary magazine pages. Pieces of original vignettes from the 1955 magazine Seni, which he edited together with Amir Pasaribu, HB Jassin, and Trisno Sumardjo, are displayed in this exhibition. Curator Ibrahim Soetomo also inserted stickers of Zaini's vignette illustrations in corners of the exhibition rooms. A simple way to guide visitors through lines, just as Zaini's lines guide our eyes across canvas.

One of the captivating aspects of Zaini's works is his monotypes. Zaini's monotype works such as Fishing Boat (1967) successfully bring together firm black hatching with imperfect layers of solid color. Similar to his artistic decisions in handling color and arranging form in his oil paintings, yet combined with firm and impulsive lines from his sketches and drawings. Then there is the work titled Pohon Hayat (1976), which again combines several solid colors—terra cotta and yellow—stacked upon each other with scratches that form a line composition on the surface.

This exhibition invites us to penetrate the blurred boundaries between the clear and the obscure. What Zaini ultimately left behind is a world that moves between form and atmosphere.