Home  |  Events  |  Artists  |  Customer service  |  Contact us  |  Check out







 
Register now
Forgot password?

About us
Artists
Artisans
Events
Your order
Customer service
Contact us
Newsletter Sign-Up
Gallery Statement
Newsletter
Craft catalogs

About Suriname
Art in Suriname
Interesting articles
Credits and Copyrights
Sranan Art Xposed

Find us on Facebook
Home | Artists
'creativity is the basis for change'

Roddney Tjon Poen Gie: compositions of letter-signs of the ancestors

Rodney Tjon Poen Gie was originally trained in the art of painting but he is also well known for his work as a sculptor. He produces a variety of sculptures amongst which small ceramic sculptures and beautifully detailed wooden sculptures. Because of its original shape and structure, the artist has also started experimenting with the so called “art trouvé” or pieces of driftwood which he attaches to wooden pedestals and sometimes works on with saw and drill but almost always paints. In painting these creations he uses beautiful contrasting colors and lines depending on perception or subject of observation.
Lines are important to the artist and are characteristic in his painted creations, sculptures and paintings both.
In his paintings Roddney Tjon Poen Gie is well known for using his own visual language which is based upon the letter symbols of his ancestors. He draws the characters and symbols three-dimensionally and thus produces a playful abstraction of Chinese letters and Afro Surinamese Afaka symbols in his artwork. 
Since 1995,  in the Surinamese visual art industry a stream of artists has been recognised who intensively search for their roots and the multi-cultural heritage of the people of this unique country. Each artist expresses this in his own way.  Roddney Tjon Poen Gi is the only one to express his roots in the abstract; in the letter writings and characters of his ancestors. With his work he tries to contribute to the cooperation amongst and integration of the different ethnic groups in Suriname. It is also the artists aim, to experiment in the cooperation and integration of all different techniques in which he experiments in order to come to the creation unique and multi-faceted art.  

Working experience:
Employed by het Directoraat Cultuur – Coördinator State collection
- Autodidact in sculpting of wood since 1995
- Project: art for the elderly - Surifesta activity
- Project: poster design for the handicapped – Surifesta activity
- Project: Federation of Visual Artists in Suriname in Coronie in 2004
- 2009 Artist in Residence at Vermont Studio Center, USA
- 2009 Artist in Residence at Duende, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Exhibitions:
2010 Paramaribo SPAN, DSB Bank, Paramaribo, Suriname
2009 National Art Fair (NK’09), Paramaribo, Suriname
2009 Double feature, Readytex Art Gallery, Paramaribo, Suriname
2009 CBK en Duende, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2009 Fernades goes Art with Readytex Art Gallery,Suriname
2008 NK'08, National Art Fair, Suriname
2008 Out of the Ocean, Readytex Art Gallery, Suriname
2008 Commonalities, IVCC, Suriname
2007 Synergy, IVCC and Readytex Art Gallery, Suriname
2007 Iets Anders, FVAS/AGA Readytex Art Gallery
2006 Kunst, Koffie en een Koekje Readytex Art Gallery
2006 Holland Art Fair Denhaag Nederland
2005 Open House Exhibition Readytex Art Gallery, Suriname
2004 Expo Ballroom Hotel Torarica, Surina Biënnale of Santo Domingo
2001 - 2005 National Art Fair (NKB), Suriname
2002 Expo 112 years Javaanse Immigration, Suriname
Traveling Expo “between the lines” of Carribean artists
2000 Exhibition in Trinidad & Tobago





Back to index

Roddney Marnix Johannes Tjon Poen Gie



Birth place:
Paramaribo

Education:
1994 Graduated at the Academie voor Hoger Kunst en Cultuur Onderwijs (AHKCO). Major: Visual Arts (painting and drawing).
1991 Workshop watercolors AHKCO y. Artist Dawson
1993 Workshop screenprinting by Henk van der Plas
1994 Workshop Nola Hatterman Instituut by Saskia Jetten
1994 Workshop OAS cultural administrator
1999 Workshop Graphic design
2001 Workshop Ceramics and Batik by Soeki Irodikromo




Show work from this artist
Show artist catalogue