Riduan Tomkins Art in a quest for a sense of clarity

Riduan Tomkins Art in a quest for a sense of clarity

Jock Paul, Contributor, Jakarta

The upbeat paintings of artist Riduan Tomkins, currently on
display at the Duta Fine Arts Gallery in Jakarta,
combine rich colors, sharp bold lines and small clever figures to
engage and attract the viewer.

The work of Tomkins, a figurative artist primarily concerned
with space and clarity, is more abstract than realistic.

Many of Tomkins' paintings in the exhibition "Formal Meetings,
Informal Meanings" feature a pair of small-shaped figures on a
canvas of rich, strong colors larger than themselves. A few lines
and shapes sometimes intersect the space, seemingly drawing
energy from the figures.

The figures are ambiguous and may evoke some human qualities,
but they also act as entrance points that lead the viewer into
and about the interior of the paintings.

Tomkins, 61, is a mature painter whose work is considered
among the most distinctive produced this century, according to
New Zealand art critic Ted Bracey.

He has shown at the prestigious Whitechaple Gallery in London,
and three times with Betty Parsons in New York. In 1984, the
Museum of Modern Art in New York chose his work to represent
Canadian painting at the exhibition entitled "An International
Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture".

Some would say Tomkins' work is based on the European painting
movement of the 1960s, and he admits that his work has changed
little since he earned a master's in fine art during that decade.

"(My work) still deals with the same concerns to do with
space, and trying to find the appropriate level of complexity,"
said Tomkins.

"I cannot see the reason for changing just for the sake of
changing. One tries to develop what is intuitively right in the
work.

"What I respond to most in work is a sense of tranquility and
excitement. So what I am looking for in my paintings is clarity."

One significant feature that has been introduced to Tomkins'
work is the pair of figures that now play a central role in many
of his paintings. They were first painted when someone requested
a painting of two twins.

These figures anchor the lines and shapes that intersect his
paintings, and oppose the color and space within his work. But
Tomkins says that often it is the lines, not the figures that
come first.

"The nature of figurative painting is ambiguous, it operates
on two levels," said Tomkins. "The paintings are about paradoxes
and contradictions, (they are) seemingly color-filled painting
with figures in them."

"But if you look at the paintings, it is always the figures
that come first and it is the color which articulates the space."

This is not the case for some viewers, thus highlighting the
ambiguity of Tomkins' work.

The owner of the Duta Fine Arts Foundation, Didier Hamel,
said, "for me the first thing you see in the paintings are the
colors, which are very pleasing, the second step is visualizing
the shapes".

Others will find themselves drawn from the rich, bold lines
quickly to the figures. Although painted with minimal detail and
color, the flare within the figures captured my attention. Their
puffy jackets and rounded legs evoke confidence, peacefulness.

Tomkins work has evolved over more than 40 years. He completed
art school in his native England at 26, and then taught art or
painted as a visiting artist for at least a decade each in
England, Canada and New Zealand.

He first came to Jakarta in 1968, and he said he subsequently
visited the country countless times, especially while living in
New Zealand.

He enjoyed Indonesia, but could not pin down why he moved here
three years ago. "It was simply intuition," he said.

Tomkins said it had been a good move for him, as he enjoyed
painting now as much as he ever had.

"Painting is traditionally an old man's pastime, and also
something that people tend to get better at when they get older,"
he said.

Aside from painting, Tomkins is now hoping to finish a project
he is working on in Kalimantan using art to address tension and
foster healing within the Dayak community.

The exhibition is at the Duta Fine Arts Gallery, Jl. Kemang
Utara 55A, South Jakarta, until July 19.