Sherratt revels in local aesthetic affluence

Sherratt revels in local aesthetic affluence

By Pavan Kapoor

JAKARTA (JP): Subconscious forces, fantasies, archetypal myths
and surrealist symbols, all eventually crystallized by a
compelling rainbow spectrum into a complex arrangement of forms
and rhythms, is perhaps the best attempt at describing the work
of surrealist artist Bruce Sherratt.

The English artist is displaying his 58 paintings at the Duta
Fine Arts Foundation in Kemang, South Jakarta, until Oct. 14.

With inexpugnable dreams, philosophical and psychological
influences which seem to have assimilated themselves in his
psyche, the brush of Sherratt knows no boundaries, adheres to no
limitations while exploring surrealism to the uttermost extremity
combined with a prolific understanding of the expressive
possibilities of the use of color.

It was at a very young and impressionable age that Sherratt
was exposed to and fascinated by surrealist masters such as
Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. Due to his extensive travels and
wide interests, his work is eclectic and internationally
versatile.

His style is sculptured by broad, archetypal concepts founded
on nature and landscape, mythology, psychology and the
mesmerizing eastern philosophies have long provided the
philosophical under-pinning for his paintings. Currently he is
living in Jakarta with his daughter and teaching at the Jakarta
International School.

Sherratt focuses on the raw emotion and the need to express
his intuitions and feelings as his primary sources of
inspiration.

"Like life itself, my paintings are enigmatic. The colors
speak directly to the soul. The paintings are not statements but
visual offerings," he said.

One of his favorite paintings called The Awakening was
inspired by his first trips to Bali. Potently impelled by the
atmosphere of mystery, energy and life that permeates the entire
island, this work of art resonates the contradictions of the
exotic and bountiful intertwined with the vengeful and
destructive.

For all artists of varied mediums, be it oils, watercolors or
even pastels - color ceases to be just a medium of art but
formulates a language, a dialect of it's own. Color has an
objective and spiritual power, which has had undeniable influence
throughout the course of history.

And for Sherratt who has researched into color, especially the
theories of Goethe and Rudolf Steiner, color is the starting
point; the primary element from which his pictures emerge. It
works on the subconscious level more than that of symbology and
other images of which Sherratt makes abundant use of in paintings
such as Wishes and Desires, Bali Dawn, Metempsychosis and
Victim.

Colors are often enhanced when juxtaposed with their
opposites.

However, Sherratt has not allowed himself the exuberance of
the entire spectrum of colors in all of his paintings, but often
uses a very limited range of colors, such as in Self portrait
with Phantoms 1996, where there are layers of orange and red
only. The Two Blue Monkeys is a visual treat, as well as a
challenge in dominantly green and blue with subtle, warmer hues
seeping through producing a wet, tropical, swampy atmosphere.

According to Sherratt, "Sometimes a more restricted color
range achieves a more distinct effect, as in theater and film it
is used to produce a particularly powerful and characteristic
effect."

Woman in Bali is a common enough subject but when viewed
through the eyes of a surrealist attempting realism the result
infuses new life into the subject. The painting speaks of the
psycho-spiritual desire of many western women to enrich and
enliven their lives inspired by the tropical lushness of Bali.
Exposing their soul to exotic or sacred places the foreigner
desires to merge her being completely within this tropical and
sensuous world. Meanwhile the use of the symbol of the tall,
bird-headed phantom on the extreme left, heightens her femininity
and vulnerability in a strange land.

Not only has the exoticism of Bali interested the artist but
he insists it is the local sense of their stylish elegance and
fine craftsmanship that has also inspired him a great deal.

Sherratt is currently investigating painting and stained glass
work in relation to architecture, especially public and religious
buildings and large-scale projects such as murals.

He feels contented that he has been successful in establishing
a dynamic and satiating relationship between his work at the
school as an art educator and as a professional artist.

While teaching art to his students they become the frontline
of inspiration for him. He strongly believes that art education
and aesthetic awareness is indispensable to a child's complete
education and that art will move hand in hand as we move into the
next century.

When one comes across Sherratt's black and white linear
watercolor paintings, it seems paradoxical to his theory on
color. However Sherratt expands on his fascination as a young
adult with the strong black lines contained in stained glass
church windows in contrast to the brilliantly colored glass. An
irresistible desire to add human, animal and abstract shapes to
realistic images and the strong influence of the Balinese Batuan
style.