'For me, I feel I’ve found the visual language that expresses what I need to say. It takes time to understand what kind of work truly speaks for you,' says Bayu. Photo: The Star/Glenn Guan
Last year, the Malaysian art scene was jolted by a blast from the past as Bayu Utomo Radjikin’s Warbox (1994) installation roared back into view at Ilham Gallery’s Boom Boom Bang: Play & Parody In 1990s KL exhibition – offering a new audience a rare glimpse of retro Bayu in full force.
That wooden box – an anti-war statement – rekindled memories of a young Bayu, then creating urgent, hard-hitting art in the 1990s as a co-founder of the Matahati Art Group.
At the National Art Gallery, Bayu’s Bujang Berani – a sculpture of a Dayak warrior – is a favourite among local art lovers. Made from steel and plaster, the piece won the prestigious Bakat Muda Sezaman (Young Contemporaries Award) in 1991, and it is part of the ongoing Nusa exhibition, showing the national collection.
In Kuala Lumpur today, there’s no shortage of classic Bayu on display – the Pakaruddin Sulaiman collection at private museum UR-MU @ Toffee, Jalan Raja Chulan, features seven of his works, including a sculpture.
Bayu, a fine arts graduate from UiTM Shah Alam, majored in sculpture — and has the awards to show for it. Yet it's painting, his minor in art school, that continues to absorb him.
A figurative painter at heart, he remains on a quiet quest for answers through the canvas.
Emotional landscapes
Now 56, the Tawau, Sabah-born artist hasn't lost his appetite for impactful work.
At Harta Space in Ampang, Selangor, Bayu is presenting 16 large-scale paintings in Resonance Of Souls, his 15th solo exhibition.
In this abstract series, Bayu’s artworks express deep, often intense emotions through strong body poses, dark colours, and thick, layered brushstrokes. Each painting features a nameless male figure, painted in black and white, standing out against striking red shapes that grab your attention and stir your feelings.
Bayu’s acrylic and charcoal work 'The Battle Between Half Full And Half Empty' draws a visitor’s attention at Harta Space. Photo: The Star/Glenn Guan
These are not portraits in the traditional sense. They are emotional landscapes disguised as bodies. Bent, slumped, twisted, or tensed, each figure seems to wrestle with something invisible yet deeply familiar.
“I’ve always considered myself a figurative artist. But in these recent works, I’ve become more attuned to how abstract forms and patterns can carry the emotional weight just as much as the body does. That interplay, between form and feeling, muscle and motion, defines the exhibition,” says Bayu in a recent interview at Harta Space.
Despite wearing many hats and managing both HOM Art Trans and Chetak 17 galleries, Bayu has made time to return to his own studio practice in Shah Alam.
“Last year, I was very much involved in monthly programming for these collectives, either giving talks or assisting in the curation of gallery shows, which is why I only showcased my works in group exhibitions. This year, I’ve finally managed to find some time to contemplate and create this series,” he says.
In his previous show Kelompok Rasa in 2021, Bayu drew from Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, exploring a world of blooms, resilience, and the quiet poetry of survival in the wild.
A quiet evolution
For those familiar with Bayu’s long career, Resonance Of Souls stays true to his roots in painting and charcoal, but brings a new sense of refinement and focus.
While past exhibitions included sculpture, installation, or mixed media, this series consists solely of paintings, each work echoing the next in tone, gesture, and emotional weight.
"The figures feel solid and real, but the red shapes around them speak in another way – they carry feelings like passion, grief, anger, and memories," says Bayu.
Bayu’s 'Telus' is one of the few works with partially visible facial features. Photo: The Star/Glenn Guan
"Together, they create a kind of quiet tension that invites people to feel the artwork, not just look at it."
Bayu’s paintings often carry a sense of drama – and it’s no surprise. While building his name in the visual art scene, he was also deeply involved in Malaysian theatre.
From the 1990s to the early 2000s, he worked on stage design in KL. That theatrical background continues to shape the way he tells stories through his art.
“For a good decade, I was deeply involved in theatre productions, designing sets, working with lights, even costuming across venues like Istana Budaya, Five Arts Centre, and Sutra Dance (Theatre),” says Bayu.
“Without realising it, that world left an imprint on me. The dramatic pauses, the way bodies move through emotion on stage, the choreography of tension and release, it all found its way into how I approach my figures now,” he adds.
Anatomy and atmosphere
In Resonance Of Souls, there is a sense of staging in how each canvas is composed. But these aren’t actors, they are warriors, seekers, men in moments of confrontation or surrender.
A standout piece, Pasrah Serah (The Grace Of Surrender) shows a lone figure half-kneeling, arms partly raised – caught between surrender and resistance. It set the tone for the show and was the first work Bayu made for this 2025 series.
“That was the first painting I completed for this body of work,” says Bayu.
“And as soon as it came together, I knew it had set the emotional tone. Everything that followed grew out of the energy and balance I found in that moment.”
A visitor takes a closer look at 'Pasrah Serah', the first work Bayu completed for the 'Resonance Of Souls' series. Photo: The Star/Glenn Guan
Though thematically united, each work stirs a different emotion, with titles like Lara (Grief), Api Hati (Fire Of The Heart), and Telus (Transparent) hinting at the series’ emotional depth.
These days in Kuala Lumpur, painterly shows, arguably, are becoming a rare find.
Bayu smiles knowingly when asked about painting shows.
“Younger artists often experiment with different mediums as they grow, shifting directions while searching for their voice,” says Bayu.
“For me, I feel I’ve found the visual language that expresses what I need to say. It takes time to understand what kind of work truly speaks for you. Don’t rush the process. Be honest with yourself, keep creating, and your direction will come – with clarity and conviction,” he adds.
Over 30 years on from warboxes and arm-less warriors, Bayu’s latest exhibition quietly champions artistic focus – showing that depth in a single medium can speak louder than constant reinvention.
Resonance Of Souls is showing at Harta Space, Ampang, Selangor through July 6. Open: 10am-5pm. Free admission.
