15/05/2026
Bonyong Munny Ardhie (1946–2026), perupa kelahiran Malang, Jawa Timur, dikenal sebagai salah satu eksponen Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru 1975 yang berani menghadirkan idiom-idiom visual bermuatan kritik sosiopolitik di era awal Orde Baru. Pada Pameran Kepribadian Apa (P**A) di Seni Sono Yogyakarta (1977), ia menampilkan performance art “Hotel Asean Tower” sebagai pengemis di bawah bedeng yang bertuliskan “Akan dibangun ASEAN Tower dengan kontraktor CV. Suhartono”, menyindir ketimpangan pemerintah Soeharto dalam pembangunan dan pengentasan kemiskinan.
Mengawali karier kesenimanannya dengan tergabung dalam Kelompok Lima Pelukis Muda bersama F.X. Harsono, Hardi, Siti Adiyati, dan Nanik Mirna di awal 1970-an, Bonyong aktif mengikuti pameran di tingkat nasional dan juga pernah mengajar di Fakultas Seni Rupa di STSI Surakarta. Karyanya, “The Flag of Red and White” (1975), menjadi koleksi Galeri Nasional Indonesia (koleksi negara) dan kini tengah dipamerkan dalam Pameran Tetap Galeri Nasional Indonesia.
Selamat jalan, Bonyong.
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Bonyong Munny Ardhie (1946–2026), an artist born in Malang, East Java, was recognized as one of the prominent figures of the 1975 New Art Movement, boldly carrying visual idioms charged with sociopolitical criticism during the early New Order era. At the “Kepribadian Apa (P**A)” exhibition at Seni Sono, Yogyakarta (1977), where he staged the performance art “Hotel Asean Tower,” portraying a beggar seated beneath a construction barrier reading, “ASEAN Tower will be built by contractor CV. Suhartono,” a pointed critique of the Soeharto government’s inequality in development and poverty alleviation.
Beginning his career in the early 1970s with Kelompok Lima Pelukis Muda alongside F.X. Harsono, Hardi, Siti Adiyati, and Nanik Mirna, Bonyong remained active in exhibitions nationwide and also taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts at STSI Surakarta. His work “The Flag of Red and White” (1975) is part of the National Gallery of Indonesia's collection (state collection) and is currently exhibited in the museum’s Permanent Exhibition.
Farewell, Bonyong.
