Foreword for the ’Passages’ exhibition

Daniel Komala, Larasati auc­tion­eers, Jakarta.

People say that great art is time­less. Its power tran­scends time to evoke emo­tions, tell a story, or merely inspire with its beauty. Question is, how do you iden­tify today’s true artists, whose works will stand the test of time?

No amount of schooling can make an artist great. Anyone can learn about the tech­niques of the mas­ters and no doubt many would become very skillful. But they will remain little else than clever jug­glers of the brush if they fail to express their pro­found feel­ings on to their works. It’s not easy to become a true artist, let alone a master.

On this note, I can proudly declare that Philippe is a true artist who fol­lows his inner urge, inde­pen­dent of fads and fashion. In fact, he has chosen a style that may appear to be some­what too con­ven­tional for art in the new mil­len­nium.

Viewing Philippe’s works is like watching the pres­ence of the past. By blending abstrac­tion and realism, Philippe’s dream-like paint­ings of the land and people of Bali show purity and sim­plicity, a life without artifi ciality. His del­i­cate style and ele­gant images at times mask his visions.

Through the fig­ures in his paint­ings, J-Phillipe tries to evoke and ele­vate the human spirit, a quality that has no bound­aries, nation­al­i­ties or cul­tures.

Art is part magic and part science, part truth and part imag­i­na­tion. It is a form of com­mu­ni­ca­tion that goes beyond lan­guage. It has not been exactly a smooth journey for Philippe as an artist, but today I believe Philippe’s art fi ts the bill.

Look at his works and feel them in your heart and mind. They are so warm, full of pas­sion and com­pas­sion.