the virtuous man is driven by responsibility
the non-virtuous man is driven by profit
(Kong Fuzi)
Imagination is more powerful than knowledge. A developed imagination allows the transformation of reality into eternity. Artists who build their dreams from a mass of ideas which ensnared them while awake from their sleep will stop the time in perfection. Art is a continuous revolution. A constant search until it reaches the limits of the impossible. Vitality is insistently vibrated to refuse mortality. Bringing the non-existence into existence. Thus, it is understandable to say that a work of art is the biological child of the artist.
Eva Bubla (27), a resident of Hungary, has been productive of bearing children after marrying the God of Beauty. Her children are in the form of paintings for Eva Bubla, which has consecrated herself to be a painter. Her experiences and the deepening of life underlie her creative process. The self-existence, the problems and conflicts, the perspectives in deciphering the secrets of the universe, and the inner voices are coloring her artistic expressions. Her paintings are not just arranged visual elements. There is a shadow of spirituality and the secrets of the psychological being that are told in disguise. Like poetry without words or music with no sounds. Singing without a voice, writing without words, or speaking without language. Yet, the meanings are set out in a beautiful and sturdy unity.
In her solo exhibition titled “All Eye Am” her acrylic paintings on canvas are unfolded. Their main subject matters are landscapes and figures. Everything is made in Yogyakarta based on her social experiences for about a year of living in Yogyakarta. Eva is studying Painting at FSR ISI. Culture clashes, conflict of values, psychological storm, yearnings and hopes are impressively applied in the paintings that tend to be calming and polite. The feelings of confusion and amazement, while at the same time the realization that she is having two feet in two countries (one foot in Indonesia and one foot in Hungary) have made her dreams and imagination explode. Intuitively all explosions are muted. Therefore, her works are not sensational. Even so, the magic has created a layered and stratified sensation rich in aroma. Simplicity precisely reinforces its essence and existence. Certainly, wisdom and virtue are always simple. Likewise the intelligence and the purity of heart. Honesty does not require any arguments. Neither complication nor convolution. No sophistication or a dressing of glamorous jewels. All the techniques and emotions present everything as they are for the coronation of truth.
My father Sri Harjanto Sahid, a humanist, when seeing the paintings of Eva Bubla for the first time, spontaneously commented that Eva painted with the eyes of a poet's heart. The universe is breathing in her work. The poetic atmosphere is flowing with the rhythm that feels very lyrical. There was a complete silence. Atmosphere is presented with spiritually soft and luxurious touch. Therefore, the simplicity is a selected simplicity by the maturity of thought. Hence, with the mind it is not easy to fall in love with Eva’s paintings, it is only possible with the heart. But if the love begins to bloom, it will last for a very long time. Love comes without realizing and it cannot be denied. It is sufficient to be felt without having to understand it.
Eva’s artworks are different than the local artworks of Indonesia. Indeed, even though she has been studying at ISI, she has already become a painter in her country. Style, technique and character of her art have been assembled. The rest are the development and improvement which come along with time and productivity. Acrylic is mixed with plenty of water, making it flow over the canvas. The element of surprise emerges from the surface, like an unexpected accident. Afterward, she plays with the surface. Important details are clarified and the rest is let in abstract.
In ensnaring and appreciating her object, Eva tried to be always manjing sajroning kahanan, melting with the situation and circumstances surrounding her. Unlike a tourist who only shares a glance and then takes photos. Yet she remains independent, wholly, with her personality. Appreciating the events and the universe of Yogyakarta with the mindset and taste of a Hungarian. Mount Merapi is painted by superimposing an aura of mystic, magic, and myth about spirits. Her masterpieces, The Spirit of Merapi and The Sound of Silence emit the irrational things. Her personal experience appears in paintings of figures which reflect her speechlessness caused by love, confusion, disappointment and the continuous search of universal morals, freedom, and inner peace. The voice of conscience became a pillar that supported her art structure. Whatever was lost will come back as a new possession. The past cannot be undone. The future is nothing but the present is perceived. That's why the past is always actual.
The real self can only be found in the depth of the self itself. Despite the steep winding road. My friend Eva Bubla, I congratulate you for your exhibition!
Yogyakarta, May 14, 2012
SERUNI BODJAWATI
Curator