Russian painters create Indonesian canvas

Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta

Scorching sunshine, beautiful, tropical panoramas and Indonesia's cultural diversity are all things of great interest to Russian artists.

Understandably, when some Russian artists took part in an exhibition of Russian paintings held at Borobudur Hotel in conjunction with the 55th anniversary of Indonesia's independence in 2000, they took this opportunity to explore areas in Java, Madura, Bali and Kalimantan, where they painted or made spontaneous drawings.

Two years later, a different group of Russian artists traveled to Sumatra for the same purpose.

Currently, their paintings of Indonesia are being displayed at the Indonesian National Gallery. Also exhibited are some paintings exploring objects from Russia and some other countries. As many as 24 Russian artists are taking part in this event.

Over 150 paintings, in various media, styles and sizes by the Russian artists, are on display.

These artists obviously have mastered realist painting basics, thanks to their formal studies at various art higher learning institutes in Russia, such as the Moscow (formerly Stroganov) Institute of Fine Arts, Surikov Academy of Arts, Surikov State Institute of Fine Arts, Sirikov Art Institute and Russian Academy of Arts. Famous both at home and abroad, they are actively engaged in expeditions and exhibitions abroad such as in India, Italy, Nepal, Germany and Canada.

Anisimov, who is president of the Russian Bureau of Creative Expeditions and president of Russian-Indian Roerich Art Club, features boats at Pangandaran, fishing in Bali and boats in Bengkulu in his works, handmade woolen tapestries. This thickly bearded artist well understands that the sea, boats, fish and the poleng (checkered) cloth are cultural and religious elements that play an important role in local people's lives. These works are far better than his previous paintings.

Sculptor Alexander Belashov sees Indonesia as a haven for flora and fauna. Look at his oil painting, made on canvas, titled Idyll" (2000). In a park full of flowers and colorful plants, birds, butterflies, lizards (or, perhaps, monitor lizards), grasshoppers and monkeys carrying their young live in harmony.

Hopefully, he is not satirizing Indonesian politicians -- involved in bickering every day -- and telling them to learn from these animals how to live in peace.

Meanwhile, Gennady Glakte has recorded Bali through its women. They are depicted carrying offerings, naked, along with men and resting in the company of birds and dogs. The women's figures look stylized, as can be seen in children's paintings.

These paintings show a great leap compared with his previous ones, such as Pink Morning (1987) and Poet and Muse (1992), both highly academic in nature.

Then four different painters explore the Borobudur Temple in their work. Stanislav Nikirev uses millions of pencil dots on paper to depict the temple. Vitaly Mironov uses a great burst of lines and daring colors. Vladimir Pereyaslavets is absorbed in detail, while Georgy Poplavsky captures the temple with pencil- made reliefs on paper.

Another Russian painter, Irina Makarova, in her work titled Dream about Madura (2000), features the local bull race, not in a linear way, but through several yellow, red, green and blue circles. The position of the bull, the gamelan players and the dances, as well as the mosque, seem to start from the middle and then spread to the edge. Besides, yellow and blue shadows of sickles are also found in this work.

In Morning time Blitar, graphic artist Olga Yausheva features the esthetic moment about a cow being slaughtered under a fan- shaped banana tree on a bright morning. She successfully plays with the shadow of the banana stem and midrib to create the impression of time and volume. This painting is as interesting as Morning in Bukittinggi (2002).

"I'm greatly amazed by the great natural beauty of Indonesia," she said while in Jakarta along with Anisimov and Konstantin Inozemtsev to represent other Russian painters who could not be present at the exhibition.

If their work on Indonesia is compared with their paintings that have Russian themes, there is a difference, particularly with respect to colors.

Erica, a Yogyakarta-based artist now studying fine art in Russia, said that this difference was attributable to the difference in climate and seasons. She said her own works, which were made in Russia, have shown a shift in colors because she saw a lot of snow.

The Russian objects present in this exhibition range from important sites like the Kremlin and Trubnaya Square in Nikolai Burtov's works, the vessels in a beautiful sea in the works by Konstantin Inozemstev to the interior of an imposing church in the work of Alexander Vorokov.

Officially opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, this exhibition is being staged jointly by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Jakarta, the Russian-Indonesian Cooperation and Friendship Society and the Russian Bureau of Creative Expeditions.

Chairman of the organizing committee, Tong Djoe, said that the exhibition was held both as a means of diplomacy to strengthen bilateral cultural relationships and to welcome Megawati's upcoming visit to the Russian Federation.

The exhibition is ongoing at the Indonesian National Gallery, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, until April 17; it is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.