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.