Even Heru Hikayat, curator for Nonia de la Rosa’s exhibit, admitted that “observing the digital paintings from Nonia de la Rosa is a unique challenge for me.”
Heru was referring to the Spanish artist’s digital work, which is unique in that it does not immediately give away traces of the human body it depicts.
De la Rosa is currently displaying twenty-five of her work in the National Gallery of Indonesia under the title “The Search Through Love” until July 14.
Interestingly, de la Rosa insisted that her work be printed on a specific type of paper that was unavailable in Indonesia, hence they were printed in Spain then imported here, according to Heru.
The exhibition is also part of an effort to strengthen Indonesian-Spanish ties, with the Spanish Ambassador appearing as a special guest.
To use a colloquial term, Nonia’s artwork is characteristically trippy. A bright and colorful series of warped, blurred and textured irregular shapes and lines. The pieces are devoid of any concrete images. Rather, the audience must possess a certain sensitivity to allow the visualizations to stimulate the aural and emotional senses that resonate from scenes of the Hindu epic poem Ramayana, involving war, romance, serenity and birth.
It is not enough to merely view her work; one must submit to it, in which case, it greatly helps if the pieces are seen in full scale.
Spanish art critic and photographer Salva Loren praises de la Rosa, saying: “Nonia is gifted with the most sensitive of pictorial expression.”
De la Rosa was born and still lives in the northern Spanish province of Leon, where the artist shares her country home “with two dogs and a horse,” she said.
In an interview with Lithuanian composer and painter Zita Vilutyte, de la Rosa acknowledges that, like any other artist, her background has greatly influenced her work. However, she emphasized she is not restrained by her culture.
“I think my work is very similar to a reflection of my interior spiritual uneasiness more than something related to the land I was born in,” she explained. “I feel and I can identify myself as being an integral part of the world, not as only being of a certain country.”
In 2012, the artist travelled to India where she encountered and was inspired by ancient poem of Ramayana — specifically, the “Ramayana Kakawin,” which is the Old Javanese version of the original Sanskrit texts, as translated and edited by acclaimed linguist Soewito Santoso.
The epic tale of love and revenge eventually brought de la Rosa to Indonesia, where she began the next step of her spiritual journey. Now, colorful posters containing verses from the Hindu epic adorn the walls of building B in the National Gallery of Indonesia.
A passionate woman, de la Rosa immerses herself into every endeavor she pursues, including her efforts to foster a deep connection with Indonesia.
She recently announced that the White Elephant traditional martial arts school of the Cilanguk Art District in Bandung, plan to baptize her with the Indonesian name of Nyai Sembilan Mawar, or Lady of Nine Roses.
Content wise, the artist’s work is characteristically sensual, emotional and enigmatic. She explained that encountering the Ramayana “brought me to the crystal clear conclusion that my pilgrimage must go towards and through love.
“An infinite universal love, and eternal, powerful, unifying energy, The Sun in the Heart, that remains within us, immortal and deliciously enigmatic.”
