Art and industry unified in Shan Fan's exhibition

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): Two latest model Mercedes cars gleam on the shiny marble floor of a stately building. Nearby, about 30 paintings are displayed on white panels in the foyer.

The cars and the paintings are arranged so thoughtfully that they form a harmonious entity, each emitting its own spirit and values. The cars exude the spirit of industry and from the paintings the spirit of culture glows.

The atmosphere was created by Shan Fan, a Chinese-born German painter, currently holding an exhibition at the German Center in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, until Feb. 20.

There is nothing funny about bringing these two symbols of civilization into the show. The two human products form a blend of art and industry.

As the headquarters for Germany's industry and trade affairs in Indonesia, the German Center is where business people from the two countries meet and make deals in an atmosphere of friendship.

But before any deal is reached, they should know each other's culture, says Landriati, the center's art and exhibition consultant. The ongoing exhibition is the first cultural event to take place at the center.

Shan is a heavyweight in painting. Born in Hangzhou, he is well known for his distinctive work bridging the gap between the traditional Chinese and more emotional Western art. His works remind one of Zao Wou Ki, a Chinese French painter.

Like Zao Wou Ki, Shan seems to be well versed in Western art forms, and he uses the skills he has learned in Europe to be innovative with traditional Chinese art.

As a result, one can notice a contemplative feeling in his works, evident in his ability to fill the void on the canvas, and his subtle and sensible brush strokes.

He preserves the sense of fluidity of ink, and the flexibility of his wrist movements accents the strokes.

The qualities are obvious in Water Pitcher and Its Packaging, Upright 8, Morning Impression of Tropical Landscape and Railway. In these works, like the classic Chinese painters, Shan is highly proficient in drawing nature. He seems to recognize his own heritage and can relate it to the spirit of Western modernity.

Nature has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for traditional Chinese artists. They see nature as greater than humankind. Shan is one of those artists. There is no human being in his works, as if the world is not inhabited.

It is true that when an artist so admires nature, he or she often doesn't care to draw a human being. The Impressionist painters were generally enchanted by natural beauty, and expressed this in their works.

But perhaps unlike Western artists, Shan tries to uncover the bare essentials, thus eliminating other elements which seem more superficial. What happens then is abstraction, with a little stroke which suggests something from nature, as seen in Railway, Expectation, Untitled I and Untitled II.

In Railway, one can see how Shan makes efficient use of only a few spontaneous, intuitive lines and brush strokes. The railway tracks are made with minimal sketches, just to show that there are tracks in that place.

A German citizen and graduate of the Academy of Fine Art in Hamburg, Shan is active in promoting the works of Chinese-born artists living in Europe. He writes for prominent art journals in both China and Germany.