Lisa Siregar

Kartini Basuki is inspired by the outdoors but still likes to paint and design her evening bags in her studio. (Photo: Courtesy of Puri Kartini)

Kartini Basuki’s Fountain of Youth Is Art, Meditation and Family

At the age of 60, Kartini Basuki is as active as ever.

The artist and socialite opened her own gallery, Puri Kartini, in Kemang, South Jakarta, in April, and apart from being a painter, she designs evening bags and jewelry.

Kartini, who was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and Javanese father, and grew up in Indonesia, has been an artist of some description for as long as she can remember.

“I used to make flower bouquets in our backyard for my mom during her birthdays,” Kartini said, reminiscing about her house in Riau province.

She started painting when she was 35, just after she had her third child.

“It was Sudjojono who encouraged me to learn how to paint,” Kartini said, referring to the artist known as the “father of modern Indonesian art.”

“If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be confident enough to paint.”

At the age of 35, while looking at a number of Sudjojono’s paintings, a piece depicting his pregnant wife caught Kartini’s eye. She was touched by the way Sudjojono expressed his love for his wife through the painting, which apparently took the artist 10 years to complete. Impressed that Kartini had an eye for his art, Sudjojono then offered to teach her.

She took lessons from him for a year before he passed away in 1986.

Kartini’s paintings are inspired by nature; she paints still lifes of flowers and tranquil landscapes.

But she does not like her paintings to be constrained within a frame; in some of her work, she defies borders and paints on the frame itself.

Some of her paintings take a day to finish, while others take weeks, months or even years. Kartini said she wanted her paintings to capture every little detail of her subjects: the shadows, the light, the colors and the surroundings.

She often carries her painting tools around with her, but prefers to paint in a quiet environment when she can.

When Kartini was in Italy with her family some years ago, she saw a breathtaking scene just outside her hotel window and could not help but paint all day. The piece “Portofino Italia” was finished that day.

These days, Kartini spends most of her time in a creative zone, whether she is painting or designing accessories. She also likes to meditate and spend quality time with her five grandchildren.

Kartini has three employees working at the gallery, where she exhibits her paintings, evening bags and jewelry. The workers help her produce the small bags, some of which are knits, while others are made of silk, adorned with semiprecious stones.

“I’d like to present an evening bag as a complete accessory. That’s why I try to make the chain straps look like necklaces,” she said.

So far, Kartini has produced 150 handmade evening bags, sometimes in the same shape, but never of the same design and color. Each piece is one of a kind.

“It usually takes a month to finish a piece,” she said.

Kartini sources the stones herself, often when she is traveling. But she tries her best to avoid orders for the bags.

“For me, this is art, like painting. So if I take orders, I get worried that I will not be in the piece.”

She seems content with the way things are. She is kept busy by all her projects, but always has time for her family and to meditate.

And it looks like the meditation is paying off; the serene 60-year-old appears more like a 40-year-old. Although her still life paintings have a sense of refinement about them, her evening bags exude the energetic youthfulness Kartini carries.

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