Christine Ay Tjoe

The work is in good condition overall, as is the canvas, which is clear and taut. There is light wear and handling around the edges of the painting but visible only upon close observation. Examination under ultraviolet light shows no evidence of restoration. Framed.
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“The language of space in color can doubtless be made to express anything that stirs in the consciousness of man.”– Patrick Heron¹

A work of stunning complexity and intellectual foundation, Layers as a Hiding Place is a superb example of Christine Ay Tjoe’s emphasis on the narration of her spiritual quest. The composition pulsates with a special rhythm, amidst the vibrant shades of red that symbolize confidence, courage, vitality, love and beauty. Thus Christine conceptualizes the drama of abstract contemporary art with the audience.

Christine Ay Tjoe was born in Bandung, Indonesia and completed her studies at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). It was her mother’s artistic talent that inspired the artist to pursue a degree in graphic art. During the early stages of her artistic career she studied with the foundation of intaglio, which perfected her drawing skills of intricate lines and forms. Christine also explored the dry point technique and developed the skill of sketching fine lines, which she soon mastered, with it becoming a frequent presence in her artworks. Honing these techniques, her skills have distinctly developed a frequent presence in her artworks. The artist’s international exposure including overseas exhibitions have established the artist as a leading contemporary artist. Christine is notably the most acclaim and respected female artist in Indonesia.

Christine embraced the artworks from Egon Schiele’s (Fig.1 & Fig. 2) and Horst Janssen’s (Fig. 3). She remains fascinated with abstract connections. Language that is expressed without words, only with emotions. A continuous theme within her body of works, Christine expresses language without words, but instead articulates them with emotions. Despite their intuitive nature, however, it may be implied that Christine’s paintings come from her observations of the external world, as well as the philosophical journey that every individual experiences throughout their lifetime.

According to Christine, “[Her works are a] reflection of the way [she] and other people, in their most private, individual manner and path, perform particular actions to discover the essence of their being, or the deepest value and meaning by which they live.” ² Using these qualities, she apply an intimate and passionate understanding of the human mind’s cognition.

The work Layer as a Hiding Place is an expressive play of mood and emotions, and invites the audience to familiarize themselves with the energy and soul of the painting. The intensity of her composition and shock of hues elevates the work’s complex narrative. By using repetition as means to fill in the spaces in between the paint layers, the artist has created an intricate labyrinth of textures and colors that engages the audience, while subsequently highlighting her creative purpose and principles. Curator Agung Hajatnikajenonng had described her paintings as such, “Colorful areas and lines are distorted randomly, roaming around the canvases, simultaneously covering the paintings’ ground with a contrast between serenity and explosive excitement. Soft gray, void spaces are disturbed by the presence of some extremely chaotic forms. These paintings offer a composition that delivers ‘a balance’ in an erratic, yet sublime, manner. The traces of the artist’s direct and intuitive expressions are persuading ‘the order’ to reach its most improbable limit".³

Every artist may be seen as a conductor of their own works. Within this light, Christine never fails to bring together a perfect concerto that is filled with spectacular dramas, symphonic vibrancy, stunning colors, and the sublime confluence of lines and forms, all captured with an emotional urgency. Christine’s corpus is thus imbued with an air of timelessness, colors and textures. The painting Layer as a Hiding Place eloquently conveys this artistic precision, and ultimately stands out as a significant piece from the artist’s oeuvre.

¹Vivien Knight, Space and Colour at the Hanover Gallery, London, 1988, p. 26

²Agung Hujatnikajenonng, Myriad of ‘paste’: Ay Tjoe Crhistine, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan, 2013, p. 5-6

³ refer to p. 5