Painter Antonio Blanco creating a world of his own
Text and photos By Jason Tedjasukmana
JAKARTA (JP): The role of the artist as communicator is a recurring theme that dominates the works currently on exhibit by Antonio Blanco. The exhibition is an invitation for the viewer to take a glimpse of the sensuous world that Blanco has created, populated and inhabited over his many years in Bali.
The majority of the 33 works on display at the Embassy of Spain until Sept. 29 are portraits and most reflect Blanco's obvious passion for the female figure. The show features works of gouache and collage on paper, some oils on canvas and a number of reproductions are also mixed in, at times causing some confusion.
Blanco, like many other artists, such as Le Mayeur, Walter Spies and K'tut Tantri, whom he met in Hollywood while on his honeymoon, not in Bali, is unable to explain his calling to the island. "Like Mohammed, the mountain has come to me. Bali simply came to me," Blanco explained in an interview with The Jakarta Post.
A resident of Bali for many years, Blanco's women are not confined to the studio alone. He married one of his long-time models, the Balinese dancer Ni Rondji, and now he and his wife have three daughters and a son, also a painter.
He finds subjects from all walks of life, capturing quotidian banality in Marketplace, dubious mega-stardom in Portrait of Michael Jackson and nascent promiscuity in a host of female sitters.
In Antonio Blanco's portraiture of young women, intangible aspects of the female psyche are given an erotic shape. Biblical references to Adam and Eve mingle suggestively with stretched black stockings and other assorted accouterments du boudouir.
The voyeuristic quality of his work titillates more than it elucidates or enlightens but Blanco does find balance, grounding his desire and fantasy in the lush territory of Balinese beauty.
He captures the bare breasted beauty of his Balinese dancers as subtly as his models cast glances beyond their framed environs. Ambiguity of expression is trademark among these dancers and Blanco reacts, fully entranced, leaving his mark on virgin territory.
The impression is one of women who are as conscious of their beauty as Blanco, leaving little to the imagination.
Decorative
Women dominate the landscape of his fantasy world and what's left on the canvas is often more decorative than vibrant. Sexuality is spent and pale pastel colors cast a haze over the motions and energy of each dancer. Each female adorns and possibly provokes, yet is withdrawn into a state of Blanco's consciousness, explaining more about the artist than subject.
A look into the mind of Antonio Blanco, through his current works, yields child-like exuberance and obsession, an affirmation of virility over passing years. He longs to communicate his ideas, but the message is muted. His conquest, rather, is a triumph of spirit and belief in self-actualization, a refusal to conform and an indulgence of the senses. Yet this same spirit translates differently on canvas, diluted in one sense, compromising in another.
For the most part though, the women seem at peace, some lounging comfortably, others captured in slow movement. In Marketplace, three topless women sit modestly, averting any eye contact with the viewer. Earth-tones impart the warmth of the sun that heats their young bodies. They are waiting patiently, their wooden bowls turned outwards in a gesture of offering. They are not bored, but seemingly at peace.
"Painters and dancers are vanguards of peace," Blanco proclaims, hoping someone will hear his message.
Many have heard and his stature is recognized by many both inside and outside of Indonesia. He was awarded the Cruz de Caballero in 1992 by King Juan Carlos of Spain, an honor reserved for distinguished Spaniards. After two years in waiting, the medal was finally presented to Blanco by Spain's ambassador to Indonesia, Antonio Sanchez Jara, on the exhibition's opening night last week.