Berber's prophetic visions of Bosnia
By Jason Tedjasukmana
JAKARTA (JP): From beneath the rubble of a war-torn Sarajevo comes Bosnian Mersad Berber, a painter who has long been active in the art movement of Yugoslavia and is now exhibiting in Jakarta.
The exhibition opens tomorrow for a brief showing at the Shangri-la Hotel until Oct. 11, before moving on to Germany and Turkey.
The majority of paintings on display represent more recent activity but some works do date back as far as the early 1970's. Though not a true retrospective, 20 years of constant activity afford the viewer a relatively thorough understanding of the traditions, movements and events that have shaped Berber's oeuvre.
A debt to classical Western tradition is apparent in most of his earlier paintings, the stylistic influences ranging from the Italian Renaissance to Spanish Baroque.
Berber steps right into the 17th century with his series of paintings interpreting Velasquez's Las Meninas. Part homage, part study, the work is dominated by the uniform expressions of the subjects, each semi-inanimate and staring at something mysterious and possibly disquieting.
Berber's introduction of horses into this work seems a playful jab at the high esteem in which we hold the original masterpiece hanging in Madrid's Museo del Prado. The canvas is crammed with incongruous elements and the carousel effect of the horses adds an ironic presence to the atmosphere of antiquity and regalia.
Horses are a recurring theme throughout the exhibition. His most recent works employ his equestrian subjects as harbingers of unfolding events.
In this equestrian portraiture Berber separates himself from classical influences and roots himself much more in the realm of the contemporary. The rendering of the horses recalls elements of American painter Susan Rothenberg and the superimposition of found materials and weathered photographs stands out clearly as contemporary technique.
White Horse, done in 1992, is modest in scale (60x80cm) and the light use of color marks a shift from the past. What from a distance appears to be an anatomical study is, upon closer inspection, a horse with more of an anthropomorphic, almost grinning expression on his face.
Berber creates a balanced arrangement as the horse steadies a photograph of old Sarajevo on his back. Where the two are headed is not quite clear, yet one given to optimism would hope for Sarajevo's swift deliverance from chaos.
Current events suggest otherwise and Berber and his family have been forced to leave the former Yugoslavia. Premonitions of war in the Balkans dominate one series of drawings that Berber did over five years ago, pre-dating the bloody battles that continue to ravage the nation. The series now exists as a record of the ethnic hatred and tensions that have been felt for centuries in his homeland, adding an ominous quality to their presence.
Pride and Patria
Despite the cruelty and bloodletting, Berber is a man who clearly loves his country. Through much of his art he creates historical records of his country's problems, yet does not lose sight of its vast beauty and sense of tradition.
A native of Petrovac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mersad Berber has taught for many years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. His work in local theater has brought him great acclaim as a set designer. His stature as a painter is recognized internationally and his works can be found in a number of collections and museums around the world, including the Tate Gallery in London.
The exhibition at the Shangri-la Hotel is Berber's first show in Jakarta and brings together 85 paintings, prints and many mixed-media works on paper.
One of his larger works is also one of his earliest paintings in the exhibition. It is a portrait from 1975 entitled Florentinska Dama (120x160cm). Here Berber captures the grace of this Florentine beauty as if he were commissioned by the Lady herself. The subject actually has a very Flemish feel to it and her rigid profile instantly brings Vermeer to mind.
Bogumil is another painting from the same period and illustrates his interest in horses as early as 20 years ago. In this painting, however, Berber depicts the head of a horse together with the bust of a woman, an image typically chosen for the tombstones of the Bosnian deceased. The title refers to the name of the Catholic/Christian Orthodox religion that was displaced by the advent of Islam in Bosnia around the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Pompeiin red and scratched-off gold leaf on paper are treated to bring about a Byzantine quality. Bogumil is an homage to such medieval Florentine masters as Cimabue, yet it has a distinctly Eastern European flavor, recalling the rich heritage of his Bosnian people. Berber reminds us not only of their possession of wealth and traditions but of the rapid burial of ancient culture and historical monuments in less than a century -- the tragic shelling of Dubrovnik a perfect case in point.
Berber's technique and subject matter reveal an artist interested in relating a story to both today's and tomorrow's generations, while at the same time striving to preserve memories that belong not only to him but the rest of the "civilized" world.