WALTER VAN OEL

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(Lak, goud en zilver op doek)

Raising his hands above his head, as if calling to heaven, the man blurts out: "Nature is energy. I myself am energy and everything is connected through energy. As a painter, my job is to channel positive energy. This is why my painting touches anyone looking at it. Even when at first it strikes one as violent, it soon generates calm and quiet."

No Indonesian artist could indeed utter such words. The artist who is thus boasting about his role as a medium artist is of course not Indonesian, but Dutch. It is Walter van Oel, 63.

Walter van Oel looks the part: Eyes filled with mirth, he radiates an undeniable impression of power. Yet, more importantly, his works truly warrant attention. Although it may sound paradoxical for a writer to say this, Walter van Oel's paintings do not need explaining to be appreciated. They stand out against anything in their surroundings in the radiance of their colors, the simplicity of their forms and the immediacy of their symbolism.

Walter van Oel is not indeed an unknown artist in his land of origin -- nor in Indonesia. A recent Dutch book, Oog in Oog (Eye to Eye) (2000), puts him alongside great names like Chagall, Picasso and De Kooning as an artist who has shaped the Dutch painting of the 20th century.

Walter van Oel is at his best when the "exotic component" is at its minimum, that is when the "system of form" of his works remains "Western" and "modern", with just a small, yet decisive touch of Eastern inspired, and simple, spiritual symbolism, like in "Magic Window-Kings", "Eternity" or "Magic Window".

Walter van Oel is at the vanguard of a new generation of Westerners, and Western artists, who have been shaped by late 20th century globalization: to them, often through contact with non-Western faiths and beliefs, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen and Sufism, which have now entered the Western cultural mainstream, the problem of humanity's relationship with the world, the unknown and indeed, the divine, is again becoming a paramount topic of expression. Such artists illustrate the coming of age of a "global spiritual wisdom" issuing from our awareness of the limits of human power, and our need to live in harmony with our environment.