Polish painter borrows Indonesian motifs
JAKARTA (JP): One of Poland's most famous artists, Roman Opalka, will display his imaginative works on Indonesia for art lovers from May 8 to May 20 at the Duta Fine Arts Foundation gallery.
Opalka -- considered one of the first Polish conceptual artists -- will display illustrations that he designed for the Robert Stiller's books Innocent Tiger of 1966 and Stoned Ship of 1967. Both books are collections of Malay and Indonesian tales.
"Opalka has never been to Indonesia, a country he has so suggestively presented. His vision appears in the imagination, inspired by Indonesian art and craft," said director of the Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Andrzej Wawrzyniak here.
He explained that Opalka made sketches for Innocent Tiger by borrowing the artistic style of the shadow puppet show and gave the figures the forms of their pronounced and nimble hands.
He said Opalka was impressed by the splendid reliefs of Borobudur temple and then finally, in Stoned Ship, portrayed figures carved in stone.
Opalka will feature 74 of his works. Ten of the works belong to the Asia and Pacific Museum.
"It has been a great opportunity for us to make contributions to the collection, because the Asia and Pacific Museum is specially interested in the works of Polish artists, specializing in Asian subjects," Wawrzyniak said.
The exhibition is one of four events organized by the Embassy of Poland to celebrate its national day on May 3 by presenting cultural ties between the two countries and to show the growing interest in Indonesian culture in Poland.
Promoting ties between the two countries was a photo exhibition presenting the life of Moslems in Poland, which was exhibited at the Antara gallery in April, while a poetry reading, featuring the works of Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, a master of lyrical poetry, was also presented last month at the University of Indonesia.
Apart from Opalka's works, Indonesian can also admire batik works created by Polish children in Poland, which will be displayed at the Pesona Indonesia, Tamin Mini Indonesia Indah from May 19 to May 25. (ste)