JP/19/TONY
Tonny Holsbergen uses real gold in paintings
Sri Wahyuni The Jakarta Post Yogyakarta
It's hard to believe that some artists paint with real gold, even if their work is as beautiful as Tonny Holsbergen's.
The 51-year-old Dutch artist will exhibit some of her works with the "Midas touch" at the Affandi Museum from Feb. 17 until Feb. 25, 2004.
Thirty four paintings -- some especially prepared for the exhibition -- are displayed in the museum sponsored by painter Kartika Affandi, daughter of maestro Affandi.
Of the works, four are paintings of subjects in Oman, 10 of subjects in Indonesia and the remaining, subjects in the Netherlands.
As Tahiti was Gauguin's paradise, and Bali was Antonio Blanco's, Holsgergen found her paradise in Oman. She has visited the country three times -- in consecutive years from 2001.
The chance to live with the native Bedouin tribe was not wasted on Holsgergen. She said that the tribe had inspired the use of gold in her paintings.
"I found that the masks colored with real gold were so impressive. They glowed from a distance while the sun illuminated them," she said.
Some 250 paintings of the Bedouin people were produced after her weeks with the tribe. She displayed the works at the Omani Society of Fine Arts in Salahah, Oman.
In Oman she also had the opportunity to paint Sultan Qaboos bin Al Said of Oman. She did not only use gold leaf for the Sultan's costume, but silver leaf for his dagger.
"Later on I also used glass and coins in my painting," Holsbergen said.
Four of the Oman paintings are of people living in the desert of Oman, including women wearing traditional masks.
Born in Amsterdam in 1952, Holsbergen is an established artist back home, specializing in portraiture. After finishing her seven years of fine arts study at Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 1978 and at the Government Academy for Fine Arts in Amsterdam in 1983, Holsbergen went though various career shifts, from painting teacher to freelance portrait painter.
She has also worked on illustrations for books and newspapers and plans to publish a book of her works this year.
Holsbergen uses different techniques and mediums for her paintings, ranging from pastel drawings, pencil sketches and acrylic, oil and watercolor paintings. For the exhibition in the Affandi Museum, Holsbergen also displays some 75 printed copies of her paintings, most of them of people.
Among the exhibited paintings are Bedu Woman from Oman (2003), Bali Dancers (2004), Bali Orchestra (2004), Hindu Ceremony (2004), Selling Sarong (2004), and Cock Fighting (2004).
In the painting of an Oman woman wearing a traditional mask, gold leaf is used for the mask. While in the Bali paintings, gold leaf highlights the costumes.
"I like to paint people in movement. I like to paint them working. Actually, I don't like painting landscapes. I painted landscapes for this particular exhibition as I thought the Indonesian people would like them," she said
While traveling across Bali, Central Java, and Yogyakarta to find subjects for her paintings, Holsbergen was charmed by the colorful Balinese costumes and accessories, such as umbrellas and sarongs.
"But, to be honest, I like Java more. For one reason: it's pure. It's free from tourists. That's why I use more earth colors in my Java paintings," Holsbergen said.
Among the paintings of Javanese subjects exhibited are Pasar Scene Jawa (2004) and Selling Salak Pondoh (2004).
While staying in Yogyakarta, she said, she longed to paint Sultan Hamengkubuwono X in his traditional court attire.
"This is my first visit to Indonesia. I have spent six weeks here and still have some ten days to go. But I'd certainly like to come back and see some other islands," said Tonny, adding that she was preparing for another exhibition, possibly to be held at the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta.
"But because of the political situation, I think it's better to wait a little bit. It may be next year, who knows?"