Indonesia in the eyes of Polish painter Elzbieta

Indonesia in the eyes of Polish painter Elzbieta

By Aendra H. Medita

JAKARTA (JP): A Polish painter has captured on her canvas
subjects on Indonesia expressively but ignored the essence of
forms.

Bali is always a subject which deeply impresses a painter.
Most painters visiting Bali have put on canvas their impression
of this island's charm. Quite a few great painters have
successfully turned this impression, obtained through intense
contact with the Balinese atmosphere, into great works. Wolter
Spies, Arie Smit, Antonio Blanco are some of the great artists
who have made Bali their residence out of a deep love for this
island. They were charmed not with only the exoticism of the
island but also with its aura.

It is in this tradition that a Polish woman painter, Elzbieta
Szolomiak, put on canvas her love for Bali and Indonesian cities
that she had visited. She was in Indonesia between 1993 and 1997
not only to enjoy its beautiful scenery but also to see enough of
the country to love it and put this love on canvas. She was not
content with just this as she also introduced Indonesia to the
Polish in her exhibition at the Asia Pacific Museum in Warsaw,
held in conjunction with Indonesia's Independence Day in 1999.

Since then, the exhibition called My Indonesia, has traveled
to many countries, including Indonesia. There are no fewer than
40 works that are being exhibited at Duta Fine Art Gallery,
Kemang Utara Road N. 55, South Jakarta from Sept. 29 through to
Oct. 15, 2000.

Elzbieta, who has fallen in love with Indonesia, expressively
presented uniquely Indonesian features in My Indonesia. Born in
Jaroslaw, Poland, in 1940, she graduated from the Fine Arts
School of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, in
1968. The painter has traveled extensively, exhibiting her
diverse works over 40 times in 25 cities in Poland and elsewhere
like Japan, Austria, the Republic of Czech and Indonesia.

This ongoing exhibition is one in a series that she had
organized in many places back home, including in the Asia-Pacific
Museum in Warsaw, Poland, a museum that keeps a collection of
artifacts from Indonesia and generally supports Indonesia and its
culture in Poland. Since its establishment in 1973 by Andrzej
Nusantara Wawrzyniak, "the greatest friend and admirer of
Indonesia-Poland relations", this Asia-Pacific Museum has
successfully organized over 500 arts activities in some 80
venues, including painting exhibitions, films, concerts,
festivals and fine arts exhibitions.

The moment you see Szolomiak's paintings you will be reminded
of the painting standards prevailing in Indonesia and also of
expressionist Balinese painting. One thing distinguishes it from
reality, though. Her works concerns more with the understanding
of the atmosphere rather than the essence of forms. She gives
prominence to the atmosphere of the visual objects not the
objects per se. Even if the figure is clearly visible as such, it
would be put on canvas with a sweep of emptiness.

Take for example, Father and Child, which she painted in Bali
in 1997. She presented the central figure, a father carrying his
child in his arm, without bothering to resort to the strength of
the details in the countenance of the father and that of the
child he is carrying. Instead, she has drawn a firm line between
the figure and the background. The strong background, Balinese
style, is of a woman carrying objects on her head.

In two other paintings, Procession In Bali and Fisherman and
Boats, her expressive force is clearly visible. Her consciousness
of the visual aspect of the object is very strong because the
atmosphere recorded is a landscape. The result is great
expressiveness. Regarding figures, her painting titled Dancer,
Balinese Offering lends prominence to the substance of a dancer's
figure although in essence this form has allowed its own freedom.

However, the strong character of her paintings lies in
reinforced lines which allow the precipitation of form to possess
the aura of the atmosphere so recorded. The same goes with some
other works, which are not much of a variation but are the
outcome of a relatively standardized process. In all her works,
Szolomiak almost entirely relies on the power of sharp bright
colors to give the impression of liveliness when they are seen.

Indeed, her paintings are highly expressive but she has
captured only the atmosphere and not the real essence of forms.
Perhaps this is only a small part of her entire work. Or, perhaps
it is her own style to make use of fleeting forms in order to get
away from the realism of Balinese painting, where real forms are
dominant. At least, with these works she has been added to a list
of foreign painters enchanted by Bali.