Arie Smit

ARIE SMIT (Netherlands, 1916-2016).
"Coastal view," 1990.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 22 x 30 cm; 37 x 49 cm (frame).

Arie Smit was an outstanding painter of Dutch origin who became a key figure in Indonesian art after settling in Bali in 1956. Trained in graphic design at the Rotterdam Academy of Arts, Smit arrived in Indonesia in 1938 as a military lithographer, but it was his move to Bali that defined his career as he became captivated by the light and mysticism of the island. His style, often described as "poetic illuminism," combines the influence of European post-impressionism (especially Gauguin and Cézanne) with vibrant Balinese subject matter, using a technique of intensely colored dots and lines to capture temples, rice paddies and everyday life. He is especially remembered for founding the "Young Artists" movement in the 1960s in the village of Penestanan, where he provided materials and guidance to local youth, fostering a naïve and colorful style of painting that transformed the region's art scene and earned him the prestigious Dharma Kusuma cultural award.