Asian watercolor artists paint lives

Asian watercolor artists paint lives

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

The slabs of stone, large and small, are in a row. They are
silent and remain in their own places, basking in the tropical
sunshine. The slabs of stone seem to groan, reminding us of the
hard lot of Indonesian migrant workers now stranded in Nunukan
following their eviction from Malaysia, where they pin their
lives and their future.

This is the picture called The Calling of Stones, 2001 by
Taiwanese water color painter Hsieh Ming-Chang, one of 139
participants in Asia Watercolor 2002, an exhibition held by the
15th Asian Watercolor Confederation at the Indonesian National
Gallery, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Jakarta.

Apart from 28 Taiwanese watercolor painters, the participants
are made up of watercolor painters from Hongkong (8), host
Indonesia (29), and Korea (14), all supported by their respective
watercolor painters association such as the Indonesian Watercolor
Society, Hongkong Modern Art Society of Watercolors, the Korean
Watercolor Development Group and the Chinese Watercolor
Association of Taiwan.

There are 58 invited painters from Indonesia (among others
Abdullah Suriosubroto, Antonio Blanco, Arie Smit, Liem Tjoe Ing,
Huang Fong, Srihadi Sudarsono and Nyoman Gunarsa), Australia,
Austria, Brunei Darussalam, Macau, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the
Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom and USA.

Watching this exhibition, we seem to be invited to savor the
sensitivity of each and every participating artist in reading
life through their spread of various colors, the play of their
strokes and the traces of their paintbrushes with their own
character.

Apart from stones, we can see the vigorous Dragon Boat Race by
Chan Kau-On of Hongkong, the dynamic Legong Dancer by Barli of
Indonesia, the poetic View of Harbor by Sriyanto, the shady Mt.
Bukhan by Kim Cheol Woo of Korea and the expressive sketch lines
in Nude Image Collection by Kim Jin-Doo.

Besides, we can also observe the gripping Mountain and Boat by
Pan Chang Zen (China), the highly harmonious Fishing Boats on the
Bay by Srihadi Soedarsono (Indonesia), the warm Bird Market in
Malang by Tamara De Fretes, the prominent appearance of a machete
in Good Luck for Young Rice by Chang Fee Ming (Malaysia) and the
incense smoke in Chinese Temple Jakarta by Trina Bohan-Tyrie
(USA, a resident of Jakarta).

The exhibition also features some abstract paintings such as
Cosmis Image by Ha Biek-Chuen of Hongkong, in which rocks and
faces are explored, and the works of Korean painters, namely, Joy
of Life by Kim Jong Soo, with the dominant blue color and various
short lines, The Mountain by Kwon Kyung Yoen, with the dominant
colors of orange and light yellow plus a blue triangle, The Chaos
in Mind by Lee Bung-Lyol, which features eyes and a teardrop
toward a hole, as well as In the Nature by Lee Jung-Hoo, which
depicts blue waves on the red horizon with a red circle over it
and a yellow circle underneath.

From the language of paintings in this exhibition, we can
conclude that watercolor painters from various countries continue
to experience their emotional tumult, particularly in maximizing
the use of watercolor as a means of their expression.

Indeed, in general, watercolor painters, particularly those
from Indonesia, are still very much absorbed in conventional
techniques and objects. Korean watercolor painters and some from
Hongkong, for example, have shown their great desire to go out of
this form.

Conventionally, water color is used thinly so that it gives
the impression of gentleness. However, in the works by Korean
painters in this exhibition, particularly in abstract works, we
see how water color is treated as if it were oil paint. That's
why the nuances of the water are no longer visible or felt.

Is this wrong, then? Of course, not. For contemporary
painters, the medium is treated as only a medium of expression.
While before there was a saying that the medium was the message
itself, this saying no longer applies now. This, of course, has
stimulated the creativity of the painters as well as critics,
collectors, art journalists and art buffs in general.

For Indonesian artists, in particular those using water color
as their medium, this exhibition is a valuable opportunity to
learn a good lesson - the plus and the minuses - from the works
exhibited. We know that the curator of this exhibition is a bit
lax. Perhaps, what matters is the opportunity for watercolor
painters from many countries to get together and exchange
experiences.

--The exhibition is held at the Indonesian National Gallery,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Central Jakarta, until September 12)