Young artists display abstract works

Boudewijn Brands, Contributor, Jakarta

When visiting Bali, the country's most popular tourist destination, one may stumble across some abstract paintings and notice that the prices are sometimes too high.

Some people even comment on abstract art, saying: "I can do that myself", or "My (baby) daughter/son, could make that too" and so on.

The paintings are expensive as they position themselves as "progressive" art from Australia or Singapore. However, in order to make good abstract art, one needs to master his or her skill; one must master the lines and application of color in order to achieve the desired emotional effect.

The exhibition: Colors, Rhythm, Energy, at Rumah Seni AIR, exposes the meaning of these words through the main characteristics of each participating artist's style.

The exhibition, which finishes on May 27, focuses on abstract works which curators hope will make the visitor ponder on what the artist is trying to express.

The gallery is taking a risk here, as most people interested in art rarely seem to appreciate abstract art and prefer to pay hefty sums for beautiful realistic works like pieces by Willem Hofker.

On show at Rumah Seni AIR are works by three relatively young artists. The only female painter is Zaira Adilla from Jakarta. She was born in 1976 and studied at LaSalle Singapore Institute of the Arts (SIA).

Her works have, according to her, some influence of Kandinski and Basquiat. She also refers to influences by Twombly and Tapie. Besides colors, you may find forms and letters in her work.

As she says: "My work focuses on the quality of color, line, marks and texture, that will engage the spirit and emotion of the viewer, evoking a sense of mystery, excitement or joy."

She likes to play with colors but not as children do: the quality and freshness of color is not only important, but placement of a specific color has equal importance.

Zaira considers her work abstract representational painting.

The other two artists have studied at the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta: Nahum Suwarsita (born in Yogyakarta, 1965) and Sigit Fitri Nugroho (born in Kediri, 1971).

Nahum just participated in an exhibition at Gelaran Gallery in Yogyakarta, a gallery owned by and mainly showing young artists' works and now considered a good alternative contemporary art gallery in the south of Yogyakarta.

He will also have an exhibition in the Netherlands in August and September.

Nahum's work is generally abstract and the inspiration comes mainly from the rhythm of nature. He has made abstract pieces since 1992, as he says figurative works "bored" him (and doesn't a photograph do a much better job in reproducing a realistic landscape?).

The title of one of the paintings is Landscape II inspired by an evening under the full moon. Your association with a full moon will depend on what you experienced. It may be an evening with a loved one or cows in a field. In Indonesia, it can also be an evening in a mountainous landscape with high trees; and, as Nahum says, "with damp rising from the soil". I am sure you can find this element in this painting here.

Since his stay in Jakarta in 1997 and 1998 he has sometimes included figurative elements. Examples are Blue City and Melintas Kota Asing (Passing an unknown city), a painting selected in the Philip Morris competition in 2000.

Sigit's works are inspired by nature as well. However, in this particular case it is the arid and dry landscape close to the small South Javanese coastal town Baron. He would go there by himself and observe and experience nature at different times of the day and year.

The results are relatively "quiet" paintings showing the flow of water and the sun rays at different moments of the day.

An example is: Sisa Rawa-rawa (Leftover of the swamp) which, according to him, depicts the dry and still firm soil, for the first time wet as the rainy season begins and before it is worked on by the farmer.

In other paintings he tries to capture the "feel" of nature; the way the moon shines when the weather turns from the dry to wet season.

He works both with knife and brush and applies usually "warm" and natural colors. Sigit's works will be sent to Singapore after the exhibition where they will be offered for rent by www.sylviesart.com.