Born in Zaandam, the Netherlands in 1916, Arie Smit began his career as an artist at the Academy of Arts in Rotterdam. He later worked as a lithographer for the Dutch Colonial Army in the Dutch Indies before the Second World War. In 1956, he settled in Bali, devoting himself entirely to painting. He eventually became an Indonesian Citizen and both created art and instructed painting at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

His artworks mostly focused on capturing the essence of nature surrounding him. Smit showcased his works in solo exhibitions held at the Bandung Institute of Technology, The Honolulu East West Center, and the Center of Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. Recognizing his talent, he was honored with the “Dharma Kusuma” art award by the local government of Bali." We will be showcasing 13 artworks by Arie Smit in our online live auction on 8 December at 7:00 PM (JKT). Here are a few of his captivating pieces.

When Smit moved to Bali, he developed a deep appreciation for the local culture. This is evident in his 1957 painting "Krisna." Smit continued to employ the impressionist style that he had brought with him from the Netherlands, which was quite popular at the time.

Arie Smit has produced a lot of works since he arrived in Ubud, Bali. He poured his artistic passion into that city, choosing various objects to pour into the medium as his artworks. Deep admiration for the beauty of Bali could be seen in his artworks, where he loved to paint mountains, landscape, palm trees, rice terraces, farmers' daily life, and the local spiritual life.

The creative energy inside Arie Smit is always relentless, as shown in his paintings that are mostly decorated with uncommon colors and patterns. His artwork is more than just poetic use of colors. They are perfect compositions of lines, dots, colors, and textures. Smit is regarded as a pioneer of pointillism in Indonesia. This style employs dots as the primary medium, with a main focus on the selection and placement of colors, the size of the dots, and the arrangement of these dots to create beautiful paintings.

With his pointillism technique, Arie Smit creates the artwork "Trees as Background," characterized by a rich green color. He also added white and black streaks to create balance and decorate the painting. Deep admiration for the local spiritual life is evident in the way he depicts temples into his paintings.

In "Trees, Sundown", Arie Smit employs a blend of red, violet, and orange as a background to capture the ambiance of the evening sky. The trees in the forefront, serving as the focal point, are painted by Arie Smit in shades of green and black using a unique pointillism technique.

Arie Smit blends different tones of green to portray the night sky, with a striking full moon depicted in white to his upper right in “The Banyan Trees”. Sections of the landscape are rendered with a mix of green, blue, and yellow. The banyan tree is depicted in white, giving the impression of light reflecting the moonlight.

In “Pantai Laut di Lebih,” Arie Smit captures the ambiance of Lebih Beach, a renowned beach with black sand in Gianyar, Bali. He portrays the sea in gentle blues, evoking a sense of tranquil waves. Additionally, Arie Smit includes various human figures engaged in activities on the beach. 

Join us for the preview of our auction, where you can enjoy Arie Smit and other great artists' artworks. Take part in our online auction on 8 December 2023, at 7 PM (JKT). Feel free to register and place your bids now. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our marketing specialists.