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ICHA SETIAWAN
Painter
A native of Jakarta, Indonesia, Setiawan work is a blend of realism and surrealism
with traditional influences from well-known historical legends and temples in his homeland. The resulting coming-to-life effect
of his stone relief paintings, produced mostly with a special acrylic paint technique that he has developed, is what gives
Setiawan contemporary artwork its unique character.
Born November 14, 1967, Setiawan better known as Icha has
been a gifted painter since early childhood. By the age of 10 he was already painting portraits. He most appreciates the works
of realist and surrealist artists such as Basuki Abdullah, Salvador Dalí, Dede Eri Supria and John William Waterhouse.
Icha worked as a graphic designer and illustrator and began exhibiting his paintings while still a student at Institut
Kesenian Jakarta (IKJ) (Jakarta Institute of Arts), where he obtained a degree in Fine Arts in 1990. Since graduating, Icha
has spent month-long workshop retreats every year in Kuta, Bali, in order to build further on his natural talent, as well
as to develop professionally as an international artist. He is indebted to fellow IKJ alumni artist Wahyoe Wijaya, owner of
Puri Naga Painting Studio, where these retreats take place.
In 1995, in order to focus his career solely on painting,
Icha left his job of three years as a graphic illustrator at Jaya Ancol/Dunia Fantasi, South East Asias largest amusement
park and cultural arts centre, to live in Montreal, Canada. There he continued to paint and exhibit his work. During his two
years in Canada, he received sponsorship from the Embassy of Indonesia in Ottawa for several events, including exhibiting
his paintings at Montreals International Travel and Tourism Show and ice-sculpting at Ottawas International Ice-Carving Competition,
both popular annual events. He was also commissioned to paint the portrait of the Indonesian Ambassador to Canada.
Icha returned to Indonesia in 1997, where he worked steadily for one year for exhibitions in Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta
while continuing portrait painting for clients and designing for various landscaping projects. His most recent works combine
his unique style with the optical illusion of movement. Icha has also recently begun batik painting, a traditional Javanese
technique of painting on textiles with wax and dyes. He will be holding batik workshops in the coming year.
Icha lives
with his son, Adam Yassin and his wife, Viviane, a registered nurse and performer of traditional Balinese dance. He invites
you to contact him at:
ichasetiawan@yahoo.com
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