Dede Eri Supria (b. 1956)Balada Badut (Ballads of the Clowns) 1997

signed and dated 1997
oil on canvas

140 by 100 cm.
55 1/8 by 39 3/8 in.注脚Provenance
Private Collection Singapore

"Nothing is funnier than unhappiness."

― Samuel Beckett, Endgame, 1957

Super hyper-realist Dede Eri Supria (b. 1956) is one of Indonesia's pioneers in contemporary art. His paintings are social commentaries on politics and the great divide between the rich and poor in Indonesia.

Clowns as street entertainers are a part of the Jakarta cityscape. Displaced and homeless, they live and work on the streets, and their colourful costumes hide their sorrow.

Through his mastery of the hyperrealist technique, Dede has created an illusion frozen in a narrative painting as if it was a photo—one charged with pathos and an abundance of dramatic tension.