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“Kumbat’tey” Readytex Art Gallery welcomes you at
‘Kumbat’tey’, an exhibition of visual artist John Lie A Fo. It is after 35
years that this artist who lives and works in French Guyana since 1983, once
again has a solo exhibition in Suriname, his country of birth. He is eager and
ready for it! Because this is after all the country his heart belongs to. It is
the country where his ‘Kumbat’tey’ (umbilical cord) lies buried, and the
culture, the rituals and the traditions of Suriname have always remained his
main sources of inspiration. Lie A Fo left Suriname for the Netherlands when he
was just 15 years old. As an adventurer, a musician and an artist, he traveled,
lived and worked through and in Europe for many years. When he left Europe for
good in the late seventies, because the desire to return to his tropical roots
could no longer be ignored, he spent several years living in Suriname. In the early
80’s however, he chose to leave Suriname once again. In 1983 he finally settled
in French Guyana, not too far away from home. His work is
exhibited regularly in French-Guyana, in Europe and the Caribbean, and the last
few months were spent enthusiastically working on the new works of art for his
exhibition here in Suriname. And as usual, that enthusiasm can easily be read
from his canvases. The explosions of color, the bold imagery and the
uncurtailed expressiveness in the work of this artist will hold the attention
and fuel the imagination of viewers for quite some time to come. The short
multi-lingual texts or words that Lie A Fo adds to his images have a profound
effect as well. They are either enlightening or they raise questions. This
makes the work even more fascinating, oftentimes adding a hint of mystery. Lie
A Fo is driven entirely by his feelings and by his passion for the culture, the
traditions and the rituals of his country. Rituals and symbols of the Maroons,
the Indigenous and the Javanese are all represented in this collection. In one
painting he also pays specific attention to Chinese culture. And although the
cultural elements will undoubtedly be recognizable for some, his work is not a
literal portrayal of those cultures. His imagery,
just like his own personality, is characterized by exuberant, free and
unrestrained expression. He is in no way constrained by reality, but gives free
reign to his creativity and his imagination, which often results in
compositions containing elements that are somewhat playful, surprising and even
a bit unexpected. And in addition to culture, the collection also deals with
other subjects that Lie A Fo is interested in or concerned with. His paintings
include birds, free in nature, the disabled children that he works with in
French Guyana and the painful subject of the child-slaves in Haiti. As the
artist says: “Everything I do, is where I live, is who I am, and what I am. But
I do it in my own way!” Team Readytex
Art Gallery and artist John Lie A Fo wish you much viewing pleasure at the
exhibition ‘Kumbat’tey’.
‘Kumbat'tey’ is on display in
Readytex Art Gallery at the Steenbakkerijstraat 30, from Friday the 7th until
Saturday the 15th of April, on Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm and on
Saturday from 8:30 am – 1:30 pm. Extra opening hours in the evenings on Friday
the 7th and Saturday the 8th of April from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.











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