OLGA MARIE POLUNIN
Source: Artist's contribution to SINGAPOREART.ORG 2006
The Year of the Goat 2003
Olga Marie Polunin is a Singaporean artist living
in Belgium. She is of Russian-English and Hakka Chinese descent. Her parental
grand-parents were both respected artists of the 20th century, friends and
colleagues of Diaghilev, Matisse, Picasso, and Bracques.
Her painting is inclined towards a positive interpretation of life, highlighting
the creative and uplifting aspects of humanity. She explores her Asian roots
through the image of the feminine form. She paints in both oil and goache.
Chinese influences are very evident in her series of nudes.
Following the birth of her children, she expanded her study to include the
sacred yet playful bond between mother and child, the Madonna theme being a
recurrent one in her work. The demanding and passionate infant who lay in a way
supplants the place of the lover by its very dependence and desire for its
mother's full attention.
Olga's paintings are hard to classify, they are original and unique. She is
completely self-taught, inspired especially by the religious works of the 15th
century of both Europe and Asia. Her paintings have a poetic simplicity as they
deal with personal yet universal themes exploring the dual poles of humanity,
spirit and flesh. There is humour and wit, sensuality and spirituality.
She had her first solo exhibition in Brussels in October 1997, and her second
and third solo exhibitions at the Professor Arthur Lim gallery in Singapore in
February 1999, and Locus-Media gallery in Soho, New York in October 1999. In
November 1999, she participated in a group show with Idiz Bogam Art, Brussels.
She has had work in the Holly Solomon gallery in New York, and will be
participating in a double show at the Kingdom Fine Arts in May 2000 as a solo
show at Gajah Gallery Singapore in July 2000.
She was featured on StarWorld Cable Channel and CNBC Asia in January 2000. Her
work can be found in private collections in Singapore, Indonesia, Brussels,
Paris, London, New York, and Los Angeles.
Twin Selves-wife/lover
Two selves exist within one whole,
wife is sitting calm and pretty
Change and freedom held in check,
Lover's glance her pince provoking,
Which one wins this waiting game?
Love's two doves, the happy couple,
free not caged to come and go,
marriage is an understanding
the bonds of love not fear will hold
The Mask
I wear a mask that hides myself
throught her I peep at life's events
look out, look in, through empty eyes
acceptance and approval what I seek
As time goes on, my confidence grows
I slowly shed my comforting sheild
and show the me I truly am
I accept myself, my pain is healed
See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil and Do no Evil
(NUS Art museum collection)
Control and censor what we see,
hear only what is deemed correct
by ancient rules, tradition bound,
by dead fore-fathers long since gone
Speak not our thoughts, stay calm, serene
These are a woman's treasured charms
If womans place is in the home,
can here dreams be ever known?
Yet forbidden thoughts they must arise
from deep within a dampened soul
Forbidden fruit, forbidden desire
A smouldering heart has secret fire
Tantric Madonna
Tantric mother, bloom of wisdom
Calm, serene, in glory sits
her child of peace, the height of promise
Linked together a chain divine
A cycle unfolds, it's never ending
Mother and child are one the same
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
It is through living and observing, this necessary period of gestation, that I have arrived at this point of artistic creation. Coincidentally, or perhaps not so, the important body of my work started flowing following the birth of my two children. It seems that for me I needed the experience of motherhood to mature my vision.
In painting women, a subject which by nature includes children, I explore the idea of the two poles of humanity, spirit and flesh. That a human being is both god and beast, of heaven and earth, the mystery that has puzzled and inspired all of us since the beginning of time.
For me the madonna image symbolises the closest we can physically come to being as god, through the creation of a new life. Yet even though this divine creation is through a physical act, many cultures and religions from ancient times and to this day see it as something somehow dirty and to be ashamed of-yet the whole of mankind could not exist otherwise. There is nothing more natural than this fusion of body and soul, it is only our perceptions that are distorted. If we have been born with both aspects, it is for us to find the way to live with both in harmony and balance.
My poems are the auras of the paintings, story-telling inspired by the images.
Through my work, I try to reconcile body and soul, to portray their essential purity and innocence. Pigments and brushes, contrasts in ideas and colours, used to express the paradox that is the seed of our hearts.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in 1963, Olga Marie Polunin is a Singaporean painter living in Belgium.
She is of Russian-English and Hakka Chinese descent. Her paternal grand-parents,
Vladimir and Violet Polunin were both respected artists of the 20th century,
friends and colleagues of Diaghilev, Matisse, Picasso, Bracques.....
Olga’s paintings are inclined towards a positive interpretation of life,
highlighting the creative and uplifting aspects of humanity. She explores her Asian roots through images of the feminine form. Chinese influences are evident
in her series of nudes. She paints in both oil and gouache.
Following the birth of her children, she expanded her study to include the sacred yet
playful bond between mother and child, the Madonna theme being a recurrent one
in her work. She is completely self-taught, inspired by the early religious works of both
Europe and Asia. Her paintings have a poetic simplicity as they deal with personal
yet universal themes. There is humour and wit, sensuality and spirituality.
She has given numerous art and creativity workshops notably with the Singapore University Art Museum, and also with the Singapore Lifeskills and Lifestyles Department of the Singapore Community Club Association where she has given Master classes for both children’s Art teachers as well as for children. She has also illustrated a children’s story book, “The Littlest Emperor” published by Tuttle Publishers.
Her painting, “See no Evil, Hear no evil, Speak no Evil, and Do no Evil I “ is in the permanent collection of the NUS Art Museum.
She has shown her work internationally and has been featured on numerous
Art programmes on StarWorld Cable Channel, CNBC and several other networks.
Exhibitions
October 1997-Solo exhibition at Gallery Rabier, Brussels, Belgium.
April 1998-work shown at Holly Solomon, New York.
February 1999-Solo exhibition at Professor Arthur Lim Gallery, Singapore.
October 1999-Solo exhibition at Locus-Media, New York.
November 1999-group show, Idiz Bogam Art, Brussels, Belgium.
May 2000-double show at Kingdom Fine Arts Boston.
June 2000-group show at Locus-Media New York.
July 2000-Solo show at Gajah Gallery, Singapore.
September 2000-Asian Contemporary Art Fair with Gajah Gallery, Singapore.
October 2000-group show, “Images of Women VI” at Schoeni Gallery, Hong Kong.
March 2001-“Six femmes-six cultures”(six women-six cultures) Espace Senghor
Cultural Centre, Brussels, Belgium.
September 2001-Asia Contemporary Art Fair with Gajah Gallery, Singpapore.
October 2001-group show, “Images of Women VII” at Schoeni Gallery, Hong Kong. February-March 2002—“Spirited Faces” tv documentary series on Asian Women artists with Arts Central and following group show at Belvedere Gallery at MITA, Singapore. December 6th 2002-“YIN” exhibition, at Wild Gallery, Brussels Belgium. February 8th 2003-Group show, pledge of 13 paintings by Prof Arthur Lim to NUS Art Museum Singapore “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and do no evil” by Olga Polunin in permanent collection of NUS Museums. February 22th 2003- Group show-grand opening of TAKSU Jakarta, Indonesia. Nov 29th 2003-Group show TAKSU Singapore. April 2004 –Group show TAKSU, Art Fair Singapore. May 2004-Invited artist for Open Deur Daj Atelier, Hoeilaart, Belgium Nov 29th 2004- Group Show Taksu, Singapore.
July22nd 2005-Interface-Group Exhibition, Taksu Singapore
March 4th 2005- Group Show at Vasco and Co, Sablon, Brussels.
January 7th-Group Exhibition, langkawi Inaugural Show, Taksu Langkawi
November 24th 2005-Group Exhibition, Taksu Jakarta
January 26th 2006-Group Exhibition, Taksu Kuala Lumpur
May 26th 2006-Peninsula and Island-Group Show Taksu, Kuala Lumpur
ARTIST MELDS RELIGIOUS, EASTERN, AND WESTERN THEMES
The creations of Olga Polunin are inspired by the religious works of the 15th
century of both Europe and Asia, which is not surprising given her heritage. The
artist, based in Belgium, is of Russian-English and Chinese descent. Her
paternal grand-parents were both respected artists of the 20th century, friends
and colleagues of Diaghilev, Matisse, Picasso, Bracques.
Olga's family are prominent in the medical field and she followed in the family
tradition by enrolling as a Science undergraduate. However, after a year, like
the Felicity Porter character on television, she could not ignore the her true
calling, and threw up a potential career in the Sciences to devote her energy to
art. Steering on the side of caution, Olga enrolled in the California Institute
of Arts to study a commercially viable alternative -- graphic design --- which
she used in her subsequent occupation as a graphics artist in Los Angeles.
It was only after she got married at the age of 29 and moved to Belgium that
Olga was able to devote time to develop a technique that she could call her own.
After the births of her babies Asmara and Kazymir, the themes of motherhood and
the child continuously recurred in her paintings.
Her work Asmara and Sofia's Night Out was inspired by the playfulness of
Asmara and her friend Sofia. In the painting, the children are seated on a
tiger, on a magical escapade. "The tiger," Olga says, "represents the energy and
electricity that the children have between them".
"I feel, as a woman and as a mother, that art in the home should give solace; it
should not disturb or unsettle the mind. I think humour is also very important.
I want to focus and highlight the positive and creative aspects of humanity, and
to share that with others," says Olga.
Olga's paintings are positive, humourous, witty and tinged with sensuality and
spirituality and done in both oil and gouache.
Her work has been exhibited in the renowned Holly Solomon Gallery in Soho, New
York and can be found in private collections in Brussels, Los Angeles, Paris and
Indonesia.
THE LIVES OF THE PRINCESS
Locus Media is proud to present
"The Lives of the Princess" brilliant new works by Olga Polunin (See Photos).
Olga Marie Polunin is a Singaporean artist living in Belgium. She is of
Russian-English and Hakka Chinese descent. Her paternal grand-parents were both
respected artists of the 20th century, friends and colleagues of Diaghilev,
Matisse, Picasso, Bracques... despite this, her early education was in the
Sciences. After a year as an undergraduate in the Science Faculty at the
National University of Singapore, she realized that her true vocation should be
in Art.
Her painting is inclined towards a positive interpretation of life, highlighting
the creative and uplifting aspects of humanity. She explores her Asian roots
through the image of the feminine form. She paints in both oil and gouache.
Chinese influences are very evident in her series of nudes.
Following the birth of her children, she expanded her study to include the sacred yet playful bond between mother and child, the Madonna theme being a recurrent one in her work. Her paintings are hard to classify, they are original and unique.. She is completely self taught, inspired by the religious works of the 15th century of both Europe and Asia. Her paintings have a poetic simplicity as they deal with personal yet universal themes. There is humor and wit, sensuality and spirituality.
She had her first exhibition in Brussels in October 1997, and her second at Professor Arthur Lim gallery in Singapore in February 1999. Her work can also be found in private collections in Singapore, Indonesia, Brussels, Paris and Los Angeles.