Paintings by Filippo Sciascia
At Kendra Gallery, Jl. Drupadi No. 88B, Basangkasa, Seminyak. Tel: 736628
In his exhibition of recent monochrome artworks, entitled ‘Lux Lumina’, Filippo Sciascia explores artificial light as seen through mechanical digital optical technology. A photograph only records the effects of light, and for an object or event to be captured in a photograph, or a video image, it must be made into a source of light. Filippo is chasing the attendant effects of light, and a particular atmosphere in their realization as an array of thick black or white brushstrokes. The paintings are characterized by intense contrasts of black and white areas, the general suppression, and even omission, of the middle tones, and the consequent loss of details into shimmering masses of ambiguous form. What results is a radical simplification of the image, together with a new quality of painterly abstraction. It is as though he has managed to materialize light as substance.
Western painters have used various methods to ‘capture’ and ‘transfer’ light onto canvas. In every age, light was to be presented in various ways and ideas according to the spirit and philosophies of that particular time. In the 16th Century, the Italian artist Caravaggio applied the techniques of ‘chiaroscuro’. For Caravaggio, the contrast between light and shadow was to create a convincing illusion of reality on a on a flat canvas surface, but, light was also to be used as a metaphor about divinity. Later, during Impressionism, the changing pattern of sunlight and shadow throughout the day was to be captured through a multiplicity of different color brushstrokes, which represented the passage of time through the day. Interestingly, Filippo represents the passage of time by allowing his heavily encrusted painted surfaces to ‘wrinkle’ or ‘crack’. A cultural signifier that an object is aging.
To observe paintings, such as ‘Lux 7’ and ‘Lux Stage 2’, we become aware that light does not always help us to understand things. The dazzling light in Sciascia’s images leaves us with a deep sense of unease, uncertainty and mystery. As viewers we feel an intense desire to ‘fill in’ the gaps. To seek meaning where there might not necessarily be any. Sciascia tempts us to find personal revelations in his ‘light’.
Sciascia continually delights in placing his images in relationship to the new visual representations of a reality coming from the photographic, film and video medium. He always questions painting as a practice of art which does not only present the problems of representation in art, but, also, addresses the philosophical nature of the changing digital medium. Sciascia’s exhibition will not disappoint, as he continues with his probing analysis of contemporary art and its essential meaning.
Questions?
Paintings by Paul Whitehead
At Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Resort, Jimbaran Bay
Tel: 701010
The art of Paul Whitehead is personified by his favorite technique of catching the viewer off guard, with a visual pun that mirrors a wry sense of humor and possibly delivers a profound message. These messages are often posed as unanswered riddles, striking a perfect balance between whimsy and self-effacing wisdom.
Although he describes his experiences of studying art at Oxford as a disaster, he also says it was informative. His breakthrough came during London’s ‘Swinging Sixties’, when he established himself as a designer of album covers for musicians like the super-group Genesis, creating for them album covers in a classic post-psychedelic style. It should also be noted that Whitehead’s art can be characterized by an appreciation of a Rene Magritte and an Escher type of surrealistic humor.
“For me”, Whitehead says, “painting is about questioning reality and challenging perceptions”. His appreciation of how a concept created in our minds by an object, and its depiction, and how it can be determined by our social values and insights, is best demonstrated in the works ‘Love?’ and ‘Peace?’ Here, a diamond, recalling the famous advertisement ‘A Diamond is forever’, typifies romantic love, and, the barrel of a rifle is turned back on itself questioning the necessities of violence. As a survivor of the ‘Sixties’, Paul Whitehead’s paintings will amuse many art lovers.
Art(I)culation
Group Exhibition of Paintings
At Hanna Art Space, Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud
Tel: 978216
The ‘Art(I)culation’ exhibition gathers together over thirty Indonesian artists from places as diverse as Bali, Bandung, Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. The artists participating in the show belong to different generations of practicing Indonesian artists, who are actively creating the present contemporary Indonesian art scene.
Contemporary Indonesian art contains a wide variety of tendencies and characteristics, and the painters on show articulate their strong ideas and concerns with various artistic tools, themes, and approaches. As some examples will demonstrate, such as Entang Wiharso’s ‘Your Pleasure as Poison’, Lulus Santosa’s ‘Follow Me’, Sutjipto Adi’s ‘Self Portrait’, and, Wayan Cahya’s ‘Kelahiran Kembali’, the artists explore their imaginations in various modes of representation, as different as political expressionism, indigenous cultural references, personal hyperrealism, and captivating surrealistic fantasies.
Nevertheless, the creativity of all of the artists in the exhibition is moved by moral responses and attitudes concerning social, political and cultural situations which they all have to encounter and face in their artistic lives. The creative processes of the artists involve complex confrontations between internal and external factors, and objective and subjective stimulus. The result is works that reflect the personal intuition of the artists, as well as their social, political and cultural backgrounds.
