Paintings by Linda Buller
At Jenggala Gallery
Jl. Uluwatu II, Jimbaran
Tel. 703311
Landscape painting has always been an important tradition
in Australian art. There was a kind of national pride which
commanded an artist to record the external appearance of the
land in which they lived. Australia was a victim of the tyranny
of distance. Prints and books on European art were scarce
and inadequate. However, in the late 1950’s, Australian
art was undergoing a transition, as many artists were able
to travel abroad, and books and art literature became readily
available. The emerging artists of the time were reluctant
to abandon the landscape, yet, they were eager to embrace
the new freedoms that European and American Abstract Expressionism
offered. Writing about one of Australia’s most important
painters, the historian and critic, Bernard Smith, had to
say of John Olsen’s art: “He sought to make of
his paintings enactments of passionate experiences, records
of a personal encounter of the whole man with his environment,
a palimpsest of moods, memories and physical sensations, revived
and relived in the very act of painting”. Olsen and
his followers were to retain their commitment to the landscape,
but through their blotches of thrusting color, held together
by a sensuous line, they created images of an environment
that was “a mingling in harmony and discord, in vulgarity
and beauty, of the animal, vegetable and human”. A sullen,
brooding and total depiction of the spirit of a place. However,
as Abstract Expressionists, they were also compelled to make
their paintings a personal encounter with the inner self.
They painted with both conscious and unconscious control.
Creating hybrid images of the inner and outer world. This
‘transitional’ Australian art, influenced by overseas
trends, matured into a unique national style, which even today
remains one of the most prominent and popular forms of contemporary
Australian art.
Linda Buller is an Australian artist who has been resident
in Bali for 10 years. She started painting at the age of 14,
and then studied Fine Arts at the Bendigo Institute of Technology.
In Melbourne, Linda was an active member of the Fitzroy arts
scene as a performer, poet and visual artist, participating
in both group and solo exhibitions. Utilizing mainly oil and
acrylic paint, Linda also likes to explore a wide variety
of materials in her work, which can include sand, plaster,
concrete and paper-on-canvas. She feels that the multi-media
abstract canvases that she creates give her larger room to
express her spirituality and her concerns about her surroundings.
“Almost everything that I see on Earth is inspiring.
Mountains, animals, people, nature and the environment. Paintings
are music. They talk to your soul. If something resonates
then it is because your soul is seeing or hearing the painting.
When your hair stands on end or when you get goose bumps,
well, that’s your soul enjoying”. In her very
impressive exhibition, ‘Transition’, Linda displays
the results of a formal training in the Australian tradition,
but she also reveals, in an extremely remarkable way, the
effects of allowing her ‘soul’ to fully express
her Balinese experiences.
Similar to John Olsen before her, in her paintings ‘A
Day in Ubud’ and ‘Jalan Andong’ Linda attempts
to convey a complete impression of the Ubud environment. In
an explosion of vibrant colors and twisted lines she records
the random sensations, energy and spirit of everyday Ubud
life. Suggestions of Balinese dogs, fighting cocks, and bakso
carts meander across her canvases. One can almost hear the
conflict of sounds. Car horns, the buzz of the marketplace,
or the crash of a gamelan. The scent of incense, and the sticky
heat, and the bitter-sweet summons of a shaded temple. With
vivacious brushstrokes she immerses herself into the vibrancy
of Ubud. The paintings are a joyous sensory over-kill and
we are entranced by her passion.
‘Look at Me’ and ‘Eat Your Heart Out’
are flamboyant works that explore Balinese patterning. Perhaps
inspired by batik and other forms of indigenous decoration,
Linda employs her multi-media skills in these canvases to
create pieces that elaborately demonstrate her mastering of
this form. But, with their lavish use of gold and enamel-like
primary colors, the paintings suggest a spirituality that
is Byzantine in its effect. These canvases present an iconic
or mythical connotation that suggests a past and present environment
alive with totemic presences, primitive idols, and other traces
of tribal artifacts. Yet, it is Linda’s brazen bravado
in these works which has to be admired.
Finally, in the canvases ‘Open to Knowing’ and
‘Pink Dreaming’ Linda confronts her personal ‘inner’
landscape. Confident in her formal Australian painting techniques
she allows herself to be seduced by the mysteries of contemporary
Balinese painting. Within these works can be found remnants
of Australian Aboriginal gestures balanced by Balinese decoration.
The impasto Australian-style paint is contained within the
exquisite placement and delicate colors to be found in the
best current abstract Balinese art. Through these works, Linda
appears to be reaching within herself to give birth to a new
individual symbolism. A language not pre-meditated, but created
out of the tangible art of painting. She displays a willingness
to open herself to her environment and to learn and benefit
from her life experiences.
Like Australian art 50 years ago, Indonesian art is presently
undergoing a transition. Many contemporary Indonesian artists
are seeking to establish a merging of Eastern and Western
themes. However, the challenge of Fusion Art is to decide
what is to be retained and what is to be replaced. What is
to be accepted and what is to be rejected. The combining of
the indigenous with the foreign to create a harmonious modern
Indonesian painting style. With her exhibition, ‘Transition’,
Linda Buller presents a very important show, for, within her
field of Abstract Expressionism, she has successfully created
a viable form of Fusion Art. The works are not Australian.
Nor are they Balinese. They are something else. Something
entirely original. Yet, the elementary sources of the paintings
are abundantly clear and highly visible.
