“Chennai has a very different style of life and way of thinking. People here are not merely interested in art, nor do they use it just as a painting or decoration; they want to know the message that the artist is trying to convey and they want to know how he or she has done it through the painting.” This is the reason Olaf Van Cleef — artist, painter and consultant to Cartier — loves the city, and makes his way here every year. “It’s also the first place I exhibited my work in India, so I have a very special connection,” says the 64 -year-old.
There are a pile of his paintings in the living room of his suite at the Taj Coromandel, each more intricate than the next. Olaf brings out a magnifying glass and holds it over a painting of Ganesha, and what looks like gold paint turns out to be 2 mm-long slivers of chocolate wrappers. “It’s easy to get red and gold wrappers, but very difficult to find green and blue. I’ve even chased wrappers flying in the wind! The incredible paradox is that what is considered garbage is made beautiful in my work. What I do is unique; it’s not modern art, but is precious art. I don’t want to be exhibited in museums – I want my work to be in people’s hearts,” he says.
He admits that his paintings might not seem impressive in photos, but that’s only because he relies on the sparkling of the crystals to create movement and give a perspective that can only be seen and appreciated in person. “They might not look as exotic as a Tanjore painting, but they are elegant,” he says of his work, adding that this means that they even fit into the modern apartments of the new generation.
Moving away from his love for painting Hindu gods and goddesses, Olaf is on his way to Bhutan to exhibit a collection of 57 paintings of the Buddha, as part of the 60th birthday celebrations of the King-Father of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Since he was unfamiliar with the very specific styles of art used to depict the Buddha, it took him time to research and then begin work. Considering he usually finishes two paintings a month, he says, “I worked a lot more than usual to get this done, but it still took me two years to complete it all. There are a lot of rules about how the Buddha can and cannot be drawn, and there were proportions to be maintained; it’s not really how I work, but I kept to it. That was my challenge.”
“The monarch had organised a camp for children over their holidays earlier this year, in January. I conducted a class there and it was amazing to work with them. I believe that when one has a lot, one should give back a lot,” says Olaf. His next stop is Myanmar, where he will continue to explore new places and look for new challenges to work on.
The exhibition will be held at the Royal Textile Academy in Thimphu, Bhutan from October 13 to 22.
