Januri is a fast-rising Indonesian painter with diverse proficiency in styles and media. Januri grew up in a remote farming village which has deeply influenced his themes. Over the years, his work evolved both in terms of the visual language and themes represented. Since the beginning of his career, human figures have been the focal point of his work. In his early practice, he depicted them with transparent color, reflecting on the political condition of his country, while the scenery in the background only had a function of supplementing the figures. Over time, Januri began using darker colors, placing more emphasis on the background. In his recent works, the landscape takes more central role, being rendered with the same strength as his subjects.

Many of his works could be considered as conceptual artworks with a social narrative. Januri feels his work continues the art tradition of artists such as Beckman, Chagall, Francisco de Goya, Gustave Courbet, Diego Rivera, Affandi, Hendra Gunawan, Sudjojoo, Sudjono Kerton and Djoko Pekik, among others.

In his latest works, he has explored Cubism where he has successfully depicted three-dimensional abstract figures on a flat canvas to create intimate narratives.

Fun Fact:

Januri is a sculptor as well and models statues inspired by the characters in his paintings. When he was younger, he was trained by the famous late painter Harjiman who worked on decorative forms of traditional Javanese batik.