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Copyright 2000 by Carla Bianpoen
Appearing on Javafred with kind permission of the author. First published in The Indonesian Observer (p. 24),
9 December 2000.
A Tale of Line and Colour
by Carla Bianpoen
Please note that there were some inconsistencies in the publication, which I have corrected in the text below. -- CB
Entering the Deutsche Bank building in central Jakarta is a pleasant feeling. Now there is an inviting air to the entrance, once so cold and unwelcoming. Of course the latest Mercedes Benz on show there is quite an attraction, but the fascination goes far beyond that.
Two painters, Nunung W.S. and Sonny Eska have been selected by DaimlerChrysler and the Deutsche Bank to fill the space with their works until January 24, 2001.
Nunung W.S.
Nunung W.S. hardly needs an introduction. A senior painter, who has placed painting as a priority above all other matters, she has carved her way from an abstract expressionist who used lines as a form of expression, into one who has favoured colour as a language to bring out her feelings. Often likened to a pilgrim, she travelled the planes of colour to find the path of spiritual energy.
Devoid of any type of form, the ultimate colours on her painting are the result of placing layer after layer of different color, the process being almost an act of contemplation for Nunung.. 'Through colour I bring myself into the transcendental', she says. With just a single line she may indicate her place in the realms of the spiritual.
Her large canvases showed a growing immersion in the supernatural and the mystique and she became fascinated by the dark and sombre colours in the traditional cultures of this archipelago. Always there was the rim along the sides of the painting, showing the basic layers of color, and at the same time hinting at the habit in batik making.
Some time after that, there were more lines, giving the impression of doors she still had to pass to arrive in the ultimate sphere of the ethereal. 'At this age,' she explained once, 'one gets closer to the realms of non-matter'.
Yet, the paintings at the Deutsche Bank building testify to the opposite. Although colours still take the center stage, Nunung seems to have approached more down to earthly realities, and form is returning to her canvas. Her many travels over time may have contributed to this evidence. If the titling of virtually every piece of the 14 paintings is striking, the way of expression is even more surprising.
Brandenburg Gate 2
acrylic on paper, 50 x 75 cm
by Nunung W.S.
Take the painting titled 'Brandenburg Gate 2', for instance. It is a shape striking boldly over three planes against a light brown background and a bit of yellow underneath. It comes over as a big bang in brown-black. There is harshness and anger leaving only a little ray of sunshine, expressed in the little spot of yellow. Nunung says, when she saw the Gate, she virtually felt the bang hitting her breast, and she just had to put it on canvas, right then. Yet, in another painting with the same titling, 'Brandenburg Gate 1', the Nunung of colours are recognizeable, the subtle lines in white suggesting the contours of another Gate which stand as a feeling of hope for future liberation.
Another change from the usual is Nunungs preoccupation with the flower. Her painting ‘One Flower' is still like a hesitant line emerging from a spontaneous movement of the hand. But 'Red Flower' (mixed media on canvas, 3 x 23 x 30.5 cm) is telling when it comes to her switching of dimensionand Nunung confides during the past five years the 'flower' has grown within her.
Perhaps, she says, it has something to do with her only son, Seno whose care ffor her is obvious in many little things, but particularly when she works late, or in his willingness to drive her wherever she needs to go.
Nunung may find herself at a turning point. The three planes in her canvases possibly hint at the bearing of her family over her: the unusual harsh brush sweeping over the planes like in the Brandenburg Gate, and the emergence of the flower as a metaphor, may all be hints. But as always, Nunung does not say much. An artist of few words, she always lets her inner senses speak. Let's just wait and see.
Brandenburg Gate 1
acrylic on paper, 55 x 75 cm
by Nunung W.S.
Sonny Eska
The works of Sonny in this exhibition are varied in style and perhaps in concept. ‘Travel with myself and someone else (oil on canvas, 70 x 90 cm) for instance consists mostly of lines, black on white. The simple contours of what might be a boat and black mountains in very tiny format with a red lip coming out reminds of his trip to see the Krakatoa volcano. It's an almost archaic painting in the style of the naive. Living close to Eddie Hara, it was only natural that he became influenced by that style. But basically, he learnt painting from such painters like Rusli and Nazar, he says.
The Whisper
by Sonny Eska
Painting became an obsession quite early in life. When he finished high school, it was painting he wanted to do instead of architecture as his father demanded. A self starter and a self-taught artist, he tried to learn from other painters. When Nazar passed away, it was Nunung W.S who became one of his resources. 'The Volcano and the Waterfall' (oil on canvas, 70 x 90 cm) is among his finest works in the show in which he exhibits six paintings. One may imagine the lava of the volcano splashing into the rushing water, later becoming one with the falling water likening to a flight of feathers in the wind.
Sonny says he is eternally in search of the essence of nature. Driven by ancient instincts and collective emotions from times long past, he tries to find enlightenment about his own self. 'Whisper' (oil on canvas, 200 x 145 cm) may be expressing exactly that.
Like any other artist, Sonny too has been touched by the increasing violence hitting the country, especially women. What is presented as 'Untitled' is part of a series in which abstractions of women as victims are suggested in a few lines and just a few colors against a white background. The original series was titled 'God forgive us'.
Sonny Eska's works have been exhibited in Yogya, Jakarta, Bandung and Bali.
The Volcano and the Waterfall
by Sonny Eska
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