Toto Duko paints the colors of Java

JAKARTA (JP): In deep-toned primary colors, the festive figures of artist Toto Duko are full of life and bright with energy.

The paintings are round and female, smooth, languid. Human forms are juxtaposed with squarely instrumental, ornamental objects. The women wear red and gold, in groups or pairs, or alone with a child; the celebrations of larger groups are crowded with noise and happiness.

In oils and wooden sculpture currently on show at Duta Fine Arts Foundation, energetic figures work, dance and celebrate rich stories of Javanese cultural traditions and family ritual.

The 34-year-old artist from Bojonegoro, East Java, acknowledged he is progressing now from an earlier, more decorative style. "I used to be more of a realist, now I am more of a Cubist," he said.

He is quiet, gentle, very calm. Only his twinkling lively eyes betray the exuberance of life, the joyous, ebullient energy portrayed in all his works.

For him, subject and theme are inseparable -- there is music, of musical instruments, orchestras, concerts, dances and celebrations -- food, textiles and the warm images of Javanese village life.

There is the jamu (traditional herbal medicine) seller, people pounding rice in an age-old tradition and, of course, celebrants swaying to the sultry tones of dangdut music.

He said he started painting "young", but he graduated from university with a degree in civil engineering. A self-taught artist, he later won a poster competition and exhibited his works for the first time in 1992.

What is in his heart when he begins a painting?

"I begin with the themes ... of medicine and myth, magic and music."

His goal?

"I want people to enjoy this -- and for them to learn about the culture." (Jeannie Fairfax).

The exhibition runs through April 8 at Duta Fine Arts Foundation, Jl. Kemang Utara 55-A, South Jakarta (tel. 7990226). It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday and Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.