Naturalist art a glorious ode to the beauty of nature
By Pavan Kapoor
JAKARTA (JP): If you think you have stood long enough in front of abstract/surrealist artworks, been perplexed and challenged enough in desperately trying to decipher and fathom the evasive meaning, read on.
After the recent splurge of abstract art exhibitions in the capital, Voice of Nature, Voice of Beauty at Crowne Plaza Jakarta comes as a simplistic, unchallenging yet captivating slice of real life.
The exhibition features about 40 realist-naturalist works from The Taste Gallery. The six participating artists are D. Suhendar, Elly Zeno, S Sudiro Broto, Sandy Septian, Taufan and Yuli Zeno.
The painters seem to be familiar with the animal and bird life of their country as each painting is in intensely vivid detail -- as if they almost wanted to create a documentation of these species. The anatomy, the bright or mute colors, are painted in realistic perfection.
D. Suhender was introduced into the world of painting as he socialized with artist friends in Cipanas. He does not harbor glossy ambitions to explore any other kind of art medium or style and is content to perfect his perceptions of composition and correctness of the wildlife figures. In Dara Mahkota (Royal pigeon - 71 cm x 91 cm) the ink blue feathers of the pigeon seem almost as realistic as in a photograph, with each feather standing in contrast to the vivid turquoise feathers on the delicately proportioned head and beak.
Elly Zeno and his daughter Yuli Zeno both display their artworks together. While Yuli prefers to paint the mystic beauty of the koi fish, Elly mainly sticks to the splendor of the peacock.
Elly worked as a trader for 15 years before coming across some old and forgotten paints in an obscure part of his home. He felt his soul connect and was inspired enough to start painting and get in touch with other painters in Cipanas. Perhaps the splendor of the peacock is a revelation of the uplifting of his own spirit. When the monsoon creates a cool magic over the green landscape, the peacock cannot but help opening and releasing his exquisite fan-like tail and celebrate along with the elements.
S. Sudiro Broto studied painting at the Indonesian School of Fine Arts and went on to obtain a higher degree in arts from Yogyakarta. His paintings are his personal vision of animals and objects of nature, painted in a special technique that he developed in 1980 to prevent forgery of his works.
Sandy Septian claims to have been introduced to the love of his life, painting, by his mother while he was quite young. He studied architecture and gave up his job as an interior architect consultant to pursue painting wildlife.
Rusa Tutul (Spotted Deer - 91 cm x 121 cm) depicts a lone spotted deer poised on rocks on the banks of a glimmering stream. In the background one feels the coolness of the early morning haze and mist that settles on the mountain forest. The effect of the sun throwing long shadows of the deer's antlers on his body adds a touch of authentic adaptation of the process of imitation of the real and actual.
Taufan studied painting from his childhood, but unlike peers who hoard all of their artwork as a journey of their artistic self, he burned it all in 1970 due to an overwhelming sense of frustration and emptiness. After that he worked as a graphic designer for an architectural consultant office, before painting again with renewed fervor. He claims to have "refound the world I once lost".
Realist painting is a story of the reflection of the personal enrichment the artist experiences in life. It's a love story of giving back to nature what they receive from it -- it's an ode to life's creations by snipping a slice of life and immortalizing it on a canvas.
Voice of Nature, Voice of Beauty continues until April 20.