Foreign artists shine in conducive local art scane
Foreign artists shine in conducive local art scane
By Pavan Kapoor
JAKARTA (JP): In a country where art and culture are not only
discernibly appreciated but also revered, international artists
revel in the atmosphere of credence granted to creative art.
The Hilton Executive Club is presently hosting an exhibition
of oil and watercolor paintings by two talented expatriate women,
Barbara Evans and Lauretta Libby Agolli. The exhibition, held
until Monday, includes about 50 paintings, mainly watercolors but
also some works in oil.
Agolli, who is from America, commenced her formal art
education at the School of Visual Art in Rio De Janeiro. Evans
cannot say when she started to paint because she all she
remembers is "painting all my life".
She studied art at the Joseph Wright School of Art in England.
Although she admits to deserting her brushes when she was a
teenager and then again when she had her children, she rekindled
her art when her husband began traveling on business trips.
Agolli has sold her paintings wherever she has lived --
Seattle, Washington, Brazil and now in Indonesia, where she has
resided for the past three years. Upon arriving in Jakarta with
her husband in his new work assignment, she immediately began
participating in workshops and teaching in the International
Cultural Activities Center at Kemang. She is a member of the
Group Sembilan of nine female painters, which has been in
existence for about 26 years. Most of the Indonesian painters in
the group have remained the same, with the international members
changing as they move on to new lands.
The works of the two artists point to the fact that today,
despite sophisticated video technology and other visual stimuli,
there are more people than ever wishing to paint. Perhaps the
reason lies in the inborn urge in people to create, and painting
is the most exciting, easily accessible medium which effectively
fulfills that urge.
Although there are the usual themes of flowers and still life
in the exhibition, it is apparent that each painting has an
unusual center of impact. In Agolli's Chimps At Play, it is the
layered foliage that builds the theme and the opaque red sun on
stark white that carries the impact. Both the artists agree that
unusual themes attract people more than usual ones like still
life, flowers and conventional landscapes.
Another Agolli painting, Two Monks, shows the back of two
boyish figures of monks. The folds of their saffron robes stand
up against a lightly washed background with minimum detail.
The special radiance of watercolor comes from the light being
reflected back from the white paper through the transparent
layers of colors is one of the first lessons for a beginner.
"Although pigments spread out and swirl at their whim, control
is important and the old adage less is more applies here
vehemently," says Agolli.
In oil painting it is easier to correct mistakes because the
paint takes longer to dry and can be wiped off completely, but
the "happy accidents" that characterize watercolors are not easy
to encourage or control for that matter.
The painter plays with the thickness and thinness of the paint
in oils to create the desired effect whereas in watercolors,
layer over layer of tonal pigments is what creates the fresh and
lively effect.
While oil painters and watercolorists usually run a constant
barrage of rivalry against each other on the respective
advantages of the particular medium, these two artists happily
maintain an easy truce.
They realize that a culturally inspired country raises its
people with a high degree of cultural awareness. "There are many
countries where artists are discounted, but Indonesia with it's
traditional batik, beautiful sense of sculptures, modern and
traditional architecture is an extremely culturally aware country
and it is an honor to be a part of it," says Agolli.
Evans does not adhere to one particular style or theme, but
insouciantly indulges in everything from flowers and landscapes
to portraits. She likes to mostly paint scenes from real life but
indulges in photographing her subjects as well. After
photographing her subjects from two or three angles, she gets
down to work often shifting her subjects. This is the case with
the painting of the ISKY Country Club in South Jakarta, where she
has conveniently relocated a tree she thought looked better on
the edge of the lake than about hundred meters inland. She loves
playing with light shades to create the impact of the central
theme.
In one of her paintings there are a group of children
squatting in almost a circle, in the center of which one boy
stands and orates from a book. This is a brilliant work of light
and dark, where a strong shaft of light falling on the standing
boy illuminates the rest of the scene.
Evans has sold her paintings at numerous exhibitions.
Her works can also be found at the biannual charity exhibitions
put up by Gay Warren where paintings are sold at discounted
prices.
Luck
She says luck plays an important part during an exhibition or
sale. But she adds that people will always go for good works.
What does luck have to do with it? "The painting might be an
excellent piece of work but the customer might be wanting
something bigger or longer for a particular wall," Evans says.
"Sometimes it's the coloring that would not suit the customer,
although he or she loves the theme of the frame. So I would put a
lot on lady luck's credit."
According to Agolli, large oils are what really sell well
among Indonesian buyers. Watercolors sell among the expatriate
crowd and also among those Indonesians who frequently travel
abroad.
She believes the market for watercolors is catching up in
Indonesia despite some extenuating hindrances. "The fact that the
climate of Indonesia is not as conducive for watercolor painting
as oils, because in the tropical, moist climate the paper does
tend to pucker up. So the lack of watercolorists in Indonesia is
not due to a lack of culturism but an environmental necessity."