American artist Ross Weber is one of those people who are "fascinated by wrinkles".

He paints Indonesian women, the colors muted to heighten the power of the eyes. Initially, these faces in dark gray, green and purple, have a chilling effect. But, after meeting the artist, they make a lot more sense.

"Indonesians are very handsome people," Weber said. "Their lips and eyes and ears.

"They have gone through so many tragedies -- krismon, political and personal tragedies. And yet still they survive. They are a resilient people."

Many of his models live hard lives. They have lived in the slums of Jakarta, which are far away from their kampongs in Java. Living in Jakarta is difficult, Weber said, yet the women who modeled for him did not want to migrate back to Java.

"There was this girl, whom I met when she was young. She got married and had two or three children. After a decade or so, the topography of the face changes. They have wrinkles and crevices. It's because of her environment and her poor condition. Yet they go on and have hope."

One of the ways in which he approaches his work is to paint the same woman at different stages of her life. He puts the two paintings side-by-side, as if the old version of the woman were gazing fondly upon the younger one.

Weber, who is also a consultant for a clothing business in Jakarta, has been living in Jakarta since 1995. He has transformed his residence on Jl. Puri Sakti Buntu into a studio.

But why choose to live in Jakarta rather than Bali or Yogyakarta? Jakarta is a fascinating and vibrant city, so full of contradictions and juxtapositions, Weber said.

Out of every 10 paintings, he usually trashes two.

"I destroy those images. If only 20 percent of my work is bad, that's a percentage I'm comfortable with," he said with a chuckle.

Weber said he created order out of chaos, and not vice versa. Although some artists start from order and move to chaos, he added.

People can learn to study art just by observing an object for a long time, he said. "If you look at something for long enough, then you can draw it. The problem is finding the time as the city is fast moving."

He said formal art training could provide a good basis for a studio practice as it was easier for art students to find models and share information.

Weber enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute when he was 25.

"I decided to leave San Francisco, which is a very nice town with a European feeling. I (chose) New York because New York is the center of art in the United States. I lived in New York for about nine years," he said.

While he was living in the Big Apple, he also traveled extensively to countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Besides painting, Weber is an ardent fan of Javanese and Balinese dances, which he calls intellectual forms of art.

"I also love puppetry. It's a shame many people now don't go for those eight-hour-long puppet performances."

The puppets in a way are frozen, just like the faces that Weber depicts in his paintings. "I don't use a lot of motion in my work, and also the puppets stand still. In most of my work, I try to stop time a bit."

In the midst of our hectic lives, it is indeed important to take the time to appreciate what is around us.

Ross Weber exhibition

April 24-May 20

Duta Fine Arts Foundation

Jl. Kemang Utara 55A, Jakarta

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