Barli hails solace, tranquility of watercolors
By Oei Eng Goan
JAKARTA (JP): Most prolific artists believe that beauty is more than just in the eye of the beholder, it also has an inspiring drive to create artistic works that give solace and tranquility, benefiting all humankind.
Such a perception is embedded in the mind of the Bandung-born painter Barli Sasmitawinata whenever he holds his brush and starts working on a piece of canvas or paper to delineate the subject of his painting, be it a human figure, still life or landscape.
Barli also tries to convey that message whenever he takes part in an exhibition, like the week-long Asian Watercolours '97 Singapore held in the city-state which ended Friday.
"Indeed, peace and tranquility are badly needed in the world, which has been witnessing the tragedies of societal disintegration and protracted civil wars and armed conflicts. It's our hope that the (artists') gathering could be taken as an example of unity and harmony among different peace-loving people," he told The Jakarta Post Wednesday after returning from Singapore, referring to the exhibition which hosted around 40 water-colorists from seven Asian nations, including the host country.
Besides promoting cooperation among Asian painters, the annual Asian Watercolours exhibition is also meant to arouse public interest in watercolor painting, showing that it is misguided to regard watercolor painting as less significant or less impressive than oil painting, added 76-year-old Barli, whose oil paintings have been exhibited in many European and Asian countries and praised by international connoisseurs.
One of his watercolors attests to his statement.
The painting (accompanying photo), done with masterful brush strokes, reflecting both transparency and opacity and with subtle use of dark and light colors, gives a comprehensive delineation of the dancer's beauty and seriousness while the dominant red color of her dress and yellow hues of her headgear provide a festive atmosphere.
Barli makes his point with this painting, since watercolor painting, largely developed in England in the 18th and early 19th centuries by great artists such as William Blake, David Cox and JMW Turner, has enriched the world with artistic works as sublime as those done in fresco, pastel or oil colors.
"In Europe, the price of a watercolor painting, can be even more expensive than an oil color one," Barli said, adding that appreciation of watercolors in Indonesia is growing now.
He said watercolorists could produce better results if they worked on rough-surfaced paper, specially designed for watercolor painting, so as to obtain the finest effect of watercolor paints.
Obviously, the watercolorists who have just displayed their 167 paintings in Singapore affirm the sublimity of this particular medium of painting, their reproductions can be seen in the book published by the Singapore Watercolour Society.
Five Indonesian painters, including Barli who led the dele gation in his capacity as chairman of the Indonesian Watercolour Society, took part in the exhibition. The four other Indonesian painters were Marah Djibal, Rudolf G. Usman, Lie Tjoen Tjoen Tjay and Sandy Leonardo.
Other participating countries were Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and China, which was represented by Hong Kong.
This year's Asian Watercolours, officially opened by Singapore's President Ong Teng Cheong on Oct. 25, is the 12th exhibition. The 13th is scheduled to take place in South Korea next year, the 14th in Taiwan, while the following one will be in Indonesia in 2000.