Husner presents his view of Bali in exhibition
By Putu Wirata
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A comprehensive look at an anthropologic journey to Bali is the main topic of Dutch painter Paul Husner's works, displayed at Ganesha Gallery in Jimbaran.
The exhibition, running from March 6 to March 31, portrays the exotic life of the Balinese from the West's point of view. During his stay in Bali, Husner and his wife Tine, an anthropologist, traveled to all parts of the island, as well as to other islands in Indonesia.
The Husners were impressed by the natural beauty of Bali and its friendly residents. Husner recorded his time in Bali through hundreds of sketches, which he transferred to colorful canvases.
Husner portrays the myriad aspects of the Balinese and their lives. The sketches depict the beautiful panorama of Gunung Agung (Agung Mountain), the lives of everyday people and farmers working in their ricefields.
"We've found and seen so many interesting things during our trips to Balinese villages," explained Husner.
Born in Basel, Switzerland, in l942, Husner moved to Amsterdam in l964 where he studied fine arts and graphic arts at the National Academy of Arts and at Gerrit Rietveld Academy.
He has received numerous art awards, including the D'Criot Art Award (l969), the Willink van Collen Award and other art prizes. Besides Indonesia, Husner has traveled to several other countries, including Spain, Mexico, Egypt, Greece, Tunisia, Italy, Morocco, Singapore and Malaysia.
About three years ago, Husner decided to move to Ubud and build a small art studio in the middle of the mountain landscape and green and layered ricefields.
In the majority of his paintings, Husner uses bright colors to capture the jovial mood of the Balinese, who seem to lead simple yet fulfilling lives. Of course, this may simply be Husner's impression as a foreign painter depicting native subjects.
In a painting titled Berkunjung ke Kampung (A trip to the village), Husner shows a young couple sitting on the terrace of their modest house. Each holds a child on their lap and in the backyard a woman hangs clothes on a rope.
In another painting, a young man wears traditional dress for a ceremony in that particular Balinese setting -- Gunung Agung as the backdrop, a candi bentar (Balinese gate) and a large tree wrapped in poleng cloth.
The painting is somewhat ambiguous. The man could be preparing for a ritual, or he could be a waiter in a hotel serving a guest a glass of wine.
Many hotels in Bali require the staff to wear traditional Balinese clothes. The scene in the painting could be taking place in one of the many hotels which employ traditional Balinese architectural styles.
The setting and subject of the painting may not seem important -- be it a man in a temple or in a hotel. But viewers may notice Husner's curiosity, or mockery. The wine glass -- which represents Western culture -- does not fit in with the Balinese traditional costume, which embodies Eastern culture.
Husner's works also include several landscape paintings.
In one such painting, Husner shows a poor farmer carrying his baby and a shovel. Husner paints a beautiful, yellowish ricefields around an ornamental Hindu temple.
The painting is dominated by yellow and green, with brown as an accent. In this landscape, Husner successfully captures the delight on the farmer's face during harvest time.
The harvest is the happiest moment for most Balinese farmers. It means money, which they can use to buy new clothes, repair their houses and save for their futures.
Other striking works are Husner's paintings of a Balinese drummer and traditional musicians, and his depiction of a young man with a turtledove. Almost all of Husner's paintings show the joviality of the warm-hearted Balinese and the island's wonderful landscape.
His paintings rarely look at the despair of the poor Balinese. During his journeys to Balinese villages, Husner may never have come across the beggars roaming the narrow streets of Ubud, or the poor construction workers in Bali's urban areas. Maybe the artist is just not interested in portraying the dark side of Bali.