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  • The State Of Art

    THE STATE OF ART
    By Morten Perregaard

    ScandAsia.com, Thailand
    Aug. 30, 2006

    Danish born artist Elizabeth Romhild living in Bangkok speaks about her
    art, and how she got to it. Furthermore, she reveals the interesting
    journey she had before ending up in Bangkok

    The black Land Rover rushes through the streets of downtown Bangkok.

    The driver handles the never-ending rush hour of the Thailand capital
    with a familiar steering hand. The all-wheel vehicle matches the
    traffic-jungle and the driver perfect. She is dressed casual and
    stylish at the same time. And laughter, smile and mildness are the
    agenda behind the classy sunglasses.

    The Land Rover comes to a halt in the driveway in a quiet neighborhood,
    just a walking distance from the busy Sukhumvit Road.

    So the silence is noted. Arco, the German Sheppard greets the driver.

    The smell of coffee fills the nose in the kitchen, and the home of
    the driver and her husband is filled with experiences and icons from
    a life abroad.

    The native born Danish artist, Elizabeth Romhild, has been living in
    Bangkok with her husband, Peter, for 18 years. And it was in Bangkok
    her art developed into the personal style that characterizes her
    paintings of today.

    The roundtrip Born in Denmark in 1960 by a Danish mother and Armenian
    father she got her cosmopolitan background with, so to speak, her
    mother¡¦s milk.

    In 1965 the family moved to Persia, where she met Peter, a Dane,
    who was working with East Asiatic Co. then, in 1978.

    They married in 1979 and shortly after the Islamic Revolution, which
    turned Persia into the country of Iran. Peter and Elizabeth moved to
    Saudi Arabia due to her husbands work.

    ¡§The first two years in Saudi Arabia were tough. As a woman I was not
    allowed even to go to the supermarket without my husband,¡¨ Elizabeth
    starts telling after serving biscuits and sweets.

    But the last two years in Saudi Arabia, she managed to build up a
    small business with the cosmetic company, AVON. She became manager
    with 30 employees working under her.

    ¡§It was my luck that the Saudi princesses used AVON. So I managed
    to leave a country, where women are not allowed to work, with money
    in my pocket,¡¨ Elizabeth continues with another mild laugh.

    Peter and she stayed in Saudi Arabia until 1984. They were then
    transferred to New York. They boarded Queen Elizabeth II and left ¡§The
    Big Apple¡¨ behind after just one year. Only to be on the European
    Continent for a couple of month before they were bound for Jakarta,
    Indonesia. Again, because of Peter¡¦s work.

    Motherhood In Indonesia, her passion for art started to emerge. She
    painted her first real picture in aquarelle.

    Elizabeth¡¦s earlier paintings were realistic - almost photographic
    in style ¡V of slum and people. She earned the flattered title ¡§The
    Slum-Painter.¡¨ In Jakarta she managed to get four exhibitions in an
    art gallery. The first three were paintings made of watercolor. Her
    works changed in style and materials. The motives went from people
    and their surroundings to landscape and seascape. She then moved from
    watercolor to oil paintings. The last exhibition in Jakarta consisted
    of oil paintings.

    ¡§It was more an evolution than a revolution in my change of style and
    materials. I am very powerful in my expression, so oil as a material
    came closer to me,¡¨ Elizabeth explains.

    In 1988 they settled down in Bangkok and have been here since.

    She gave birth to two children, Wenja and Henrik, today aged 16 and
    14. The new role as a mother meant a break in Elizabeth¡¦s work as
    an artist.

    After four years of artistic asylum, she started to paint again.

    Having children made a turning point for the artist.

    ¡§Motherhood gave me a certain feeling. I wanted to keep that feeling,
    and needed to transform that feeling onto the canvas. The feeling was
    to be expressed through my art.¡¨ The artist of today The female body
    became the main target. It started with an orange and a glass bowl.

    ¡§The shapes of those two objects are closely connected to the breast
    and form of a human body - and specific the female body. On the other
    hand, I do not have any specific preferences for the female body.

    But, as a woman, I believe I can show ¡¥her¡¦ in another way than
    a man. The man usually portrays the woman in some way as a sexual
    object,¡¨ she continues.

    ¡§For me it is to capture the positive, not the sexual object. I
    capture the beginning of life, and life starts at the breast. For
    all people the breast has meant and still means, not only comfort,
    but also security, safety and basic survival. But I was and still am
    non-political in my art. I do not want to be political in any way. I
    am not a part of the Women¡¦s Liberation Movement,¡¨ another smile
    from Elizabeth reveals.

    By no means is her non-political work an expression for a
    non-involvement in the society.

    Twice has she organized a charity event, for the ¡§Queen Srikit Breast
    Cancer Center¡¨, where she auctioned one original painting together
    with numbered wine bottles with her painting on the label.

    At her recent event she auctioned ¡§Queen of Hearts¡¨, which was bid
    for 750.000 Bath. Together with the wine sale and silent auction of
    the special numbered bottles, she managed to raise a total of 1.3
    million Bath, all to benefit the Queen Sirikit Breast Cancer Center
    at Chulalongkorn Hospital. For her continued support she was recently
    honored personally by HM Queen Sirikit.

    Inspiration Even though her bookcase in the studio reveals Picasso
    among others, it is more of interest rather than a specific source
    of inspiration.

    On the other hand music plays a role in Elizabeth Romhild¡¦s work.

    That is to inspire.

    ¡§I do not need to leave the house to get inspiration. But I of
    course pick up some ideas and get some input when I go out. But I
    need music. People often say they can hear the music in my work.¡¨
    Her pictures are strong and filled with passion, nothing abstract
    or diffuse.

    Today she earned the title, ¡§The Passion Specialist.¡¨ ¡§As a woman
    it is satisfactory to earn your own money without being depended on
    your husband. But I am lucky that I do not have to ¡¥live¡¦ from my
    work, and therefore can express true passion, on my canvases,¡¨ says
    the charismatic woman as she walks down the driveway after spending
    three hours revealing her art and life. Just to see the Land Rover
    parked in the garage, ready for the next trip to the gallery.

    ~CU She has just had a successful exhibition at Galerie Knud Grothe
    Charlottenlund, in Copenhagen, last June, where she will exhibit next
    in 2008.

    ~CU In Bangkok her paintings can be seen at The H Gallery, 201 Sathorn
    Soi 12, where she exhibits her work every other year.

    ~CU In Denmark she currently has some work at Galerie Wolfsen, in
    Aalborg ~CU In Singapore the well known Opera Gallery in 391 Orchard
    Road, Ngee Ann City, represent her work all the time together with
    their other artists.

    To be able to follow her future exhibitions you may visit her website
    www.elizabethromhild.com

    http://www.scand asia.com/viewNews.php?news_id=2665&coun_code=t h

    --Boundary_(ID_lj3ruY4ECamCM15+AJ+C/g)--

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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