Indonesia from two different perspectives

Indonesia from two different perspectives

By Parvathi Nayar Narayan

JAKARTA (JP): Two friends from the Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) Yogyakarta are exhibiting together at Koi Gallery Restaurant in South Jakarta. They are Lazlo Balogh from Hungary and Ida Bagus Kriyana from Bali.

The overall theme of the exhibition is Indonesia, no doubt. The interesting angle is that it is Indonesia as seen from two very different perspectives, the Indonesian and the foreign eye. Balogh tends to concentrate on the depiction of the visual variety and beauty he has seen around him. Whether it was the lush rice fields, the colorful costumes or intriguing artifacts like the decorative masks, they were all so different from his hitherto European experience. Kriyana on the other hand seems to be moving towards exploring the customs of Indonesia, with special reference to the symbolism, meaning and mood behind the rituals in his place of birth, Bali.

Born in Szeged, Hungary, Balogh started drawing under the guidance of his father who was an architect. He graduated from the School of Fine Arts from the Teacher Training College of Szeged and took part in exhibitions in his hometown. In 1992 he won a scholarship from the Indonesian government to study art in an Indonesian art school.

Lazlo enjoyed being in Indonesia. Wanting to prolong his stay here, he applied and won, for a second time, a comprehensive year-long scholarship from the Dharmasiswa Program, offered by the Republic of Indonesia. He plans to stay on and finish his diploma from ISI Yogyakarta, which takes a little over four years.

Ida Bagus Kriyana and Balogh studied together at ISI, but currently Kriyana has taken a year's sabbatical to travel and paint in Bali. He has been painting since he was a child, both as a hobby and as a way to finance his studies. He has taken part in exhibitions in Bali and Yogyakarta, and in 1993 he participated in an exhibition in Fukuoka, Japan.

Balogh has on exhibit 17 paintings ranging in price from Rp 250,000 to Rp 2.4 million (US$111.11 to $1,066), mostly in watercolors and oils. A representational painter who is currently exploring an Indonesian theme, he says that he likes to paint everything around him: people, objects, landscapes. He paints images that affect him strongly or those that he sees every day. Balogh paints his oils almost exclusively with a palette knife and has abandoned his earlier style using brushes. Interestingly, the use of a palette knife is a technique that he started only after coming to Indonesia, and is used well in paintings like On The Beach: The Coconut. His watercolors have a more pleasing, earthy palette, as evidenced by studies like Man With The Keris.

One of Balogh's really successful paintings on display is Women In The Rain, which is an impressionistic rendering of three women walking on a blue, misty, rain drenched day, one carrying a yellow street umbrella.

Balogh finds the work of the Impressionists and Post Impressionists very inspiring. In particular he has drawn from the work of Monet, one of his favorite artists. This is quite apparent in two of his oils, Water-Lilies I & II; Balogh's colors here are a little harsh, especially in the use of viridian and ultramarine. However, it would be most unfair to compare these to the works of Monet, whose masterful series of paintings based on water-lilies is probably unparalleled in terms of composition, subtleties of color and emotive content.

Kriyana's work is in a variety of media that includes pastels, oils, watercolors and acrylics. He now intends to focus increasingly on oils alone. There are 11 paintings on show, ranging in price from Rp 300,000 to Rp 1.4 million. The pastel portraits of Balinese women and dancers rank among his earlier work and are amateurish; in his later oils and acrylics he shows more interpretative skills. The Expression of Cremation is an evocative watercolor, based on the cremation ceremony of a relative in his home in Gianyar, Bali. The experience left a lasting impression on him. The painting manages to convey both the details of the specific ceremony, as well as the powerful emotions that accompany it.

Cultural exchange

This watercolor also points to his slowly emerging personal style, seen in work like The Galungan Ceremony in acrylics and The Ceremony of Full Moon in oils, both of which are very energetic and vibrant. The paintings continue to be figurative, but incorporate strong lines and heavy daubs of paint in brilliant colors. The influence of Nyoman Gunarsa can be seen in these later pieces. Indeed, Kriyana cites Gunarsa as one of his favorite artists; his museum in Bali is very close to Kriyana's home and Kriyana has had the opportunity to meet and talk with him several times there.

The paintings on show at Koi are pieces developed by the two artists on their own. They are not school work, though the sketches done at school have provided a good starting point for many of the paintings. The two artists have learned a lot about each other's language, country and culture that has been very rewarding. Their art has been influenced by each other in many ways, obvious and subtle. For instance, Balogh learned the use of a new bright palette of colors from Kriyana, who in turn learned the intricacies of the pastel technique from Balogh.

The exhibition was opened by the Spanish Ambassador, Mr. Antonio Sanchez Jara. This potpourri of cultures, which elicited some curiosity, was the apparent result of a cultural exchange program concentrating on painting that was inaugurated between Indonesia and Spain last year. The program has been so successful that it has inspired the Embassy of Spain to promote other young artists in Indonesia. In the words of the ambassador, he hopes that, "...this first step that the Embassy of Spain has taken to promote young Indonesian and non-Indonesian artists in this country, will turn in due time into a full program of spotting and monitoring talent in the fine arts field."

At first glance, the paintings reveal the artists' knowledge of a range of techniques and sound technical ability. In experimenting with a variety of forms and means of expression, however, there is also the beginnings of the search for a form of personal expression. There is no doubt that Balogh and Kryana are talented young artists with a lot of potential. They are also friends who hope to help each other in terms of painting and exhibiting in this and other venues. Though they have just embarked on the path and process of artistic exploration, they look to the future with hope and enthusiasm. Each hopes to finish his education, pursue the life of an artist, and be in a position where he can support himself with his art alone.

The works of Lazlo Balogh and Ida Bagus Kriyana will remain on view at Koi Gallery Restaurant, Jalan Mahakam I No. 2, South Jakarta, until April 7. Admission is free.