Van Oel radiates spiritual energy in his works

Frans Djatmiko, Contributor, Gianyar

During his visit to a sacred room at the Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur, Dutch painter Walter van Oel -- accompanied by Balinese friends -- obtained a potent carnelian gem which later inspired most of his paintings.

"I believe that the sekala-niskala (tangible and intangible) world demanded that I stay and work in Bali," he said with a smile.

His decision to reside in Bali makes him one among numerous foreign artists who have fallen in love with Bali.

Van Oel previously lived and worked in Deventer, the Netherlands, before moving to France, New York, Tibet and China until finally settling in Bali.

Born in The Hague in May l942, the elderly Dutchman spoke freely to local members of the media at his studio in Ketewel village in Sukawati, Gianyar, south of the capital Denpasar.

He spoke on the philosophical ideas behind his creations.

"When we realize that we and other creatures originate from the same energy of the same universe, we find equality. Any kind of differences, which could endanger us and all other creatures, must be eliminated," he said.

Van Oel has always been inspired by the essence of these thoughts, which are actually the substance of one's life.

Most of the contours of his paintings are dominated by elliptic and circular forms reflecting spacious rooms for contemplation. Contemplation is full of kinetic energy -- Mandala, a Hindu symbol of the life cycle from birth until death.

Van Oel came to the point that he felt that he was born to be both a painter and a peace messenger. It has been proven by his closeness to leaders of different religions.

He made an analogy of his creative process with water.

"If we write about love and peace, the water will be become clear and beautiful like a crown. On the other hand, if we write bad things, the water will turn bitter and dirty."

Such a thing also occurs in the human body. Therefore, he said, he has always creates paintings which utilize meditative compositions, soft colors and tones to radiate positive energy to the bodies of those who view his works.

"For me, color is a medium to reach God, while painting is a medium for my meditation."

He uses gold-colored materials as a symbol of the sun and silver-like elements to symbolize the moon. He also uses both vertical and horizontal lines which portray heaven and the world respectively. However, there are several gaps between the horizontal lines symbolizing the differences in human kind.

Van Oel said people might find that he has adopted similar styles to other painters.

"Within the 50 years of my career, I have seen lots of works of other painters," he admitted. But, he is convinced that his paintings are different from others.

"God has created similar kinds of trees. Yet, in each tree, there is variance. Each painting has its own soul, the soul of the maker."

Van Oel's paintings are mostly abstracts.

Previously, he created a lot of realist paintings. However, it was difficult for him to transfer his entire spiritual energy into such a style. Therefore, starting in l985, Walter moved his focus to abstract works.

Walter's strength in his works is his competence in simplifying a complex composition. His choice of colors is superb and mature. He often uses only modest and inexpensive materials.

Van Oel said many fine arts critics in Indonesia considered his works to be "crafts" instead of genuine art works.

During his creative process, van Oel involves a number of his friends in the making of a painting.

"This is very natural. In Europe and the United States, many senior artists ask their colleagues to help them in the preparations. The original ideas still belong to the painters and the real conceptualizer," van Oel commented.

The painter plans to display 200 of his most recent works in a series of exhibition beginning at the Cemara Galeri in Jakarta next month followed by a joint exhibition with three Indonesian painters and three Dutch artists at Erasmus Huis, also in Jakarta in March.

In October, he is scheduled to display his works at Galeri Nasional Jakarta.

"Next year, I plan to hold a solo exhibition here in Bali, Singapore, New York and China."