Early influences
Suriname became part of Amsterdam in 1683, during the golden age of Dutch art. Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer rejected religious art and mythological subjects in favor of genre painting and chiaroscuro. Surinamese culture was influenced by this trend.
The diversity of ethnic origins, thwarted by colonialism, distracted Suriname from its quest for identity. The first art schools were run by expatriates. Thus, the tradition of Dutch, and more generally European, oil painting dominated local art.
Wim Bos Verschuur
Artist, politician, screenwriter and activist Wim Bos Verschuur has had a significant influence on Surinamese artists. Born in Suriname in 1904, he rebelled against the authorities. Supported by the population, Verschuur published pamphlets in the press and painted landscapes in oils. His drawing classes had a strong influence on future Surinamese artists. It was in this way that they glimpsed the possibilities offered by the visual arts. But it was not until the 1950s that this potential was really developed.
Erwin De Vries
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a number of young artists set off to train in the Netherlands. Erwin de Vries, Rudi Getrouw and Stuart Robles de Medina led the way in 1947. On their return, they laid the foundations for modern Surinamese art.
Erwin de Vries, born in Paramaribo in 1929, is the half-brother of Henry Lucien de Vries, Governor of Suriname from 1965 to 1967. A painter and sculptor, De Vries studied in the Netherlands with Ossip Zadkine, exhibiting his work from the age of 19.
Returning home, De Vries became an art teacher in 1952. In 1958, he returned to the Netherlands, where he studied at the National Academy of Art in Amsterdam. He continues to live in Amsterdam, where most of his work is exhibited. De Vries produced busts of numerous Dutch celebrities, earning him the nickname "Rembrandt of the Caribbean".
Modern second wave
The second phase of artistic emancipation corresponds to the arrival of Nola Hatterman, painter of the New Objectivity movement. This movement is defined by a raw representation of reality. Born in Amsterdam in 1899, Nola Hatterman pursued an acting career in her homeland. A self-taught artist, she didn't settle in Suriname until 1953. Hatterman made no secret of her outspoken opposition to colonialism. She taught until her death in 1984. Her former students founded the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Paramaribo in her honor. The gallery of the same name gives an artist the opportunity to exhibit each year.
Among his students, Armand Baag, Ruben Karsters and Jules Chin A Foeng left to continue their studies in the Netherlands. Baag went on to enjoy a successful career in Europe. His monumental forms and vivid palette seduced the public. Chin A Foeng founded several art schools in Suriname. A passionate and experimental artist, he was a strong advocate of "Surinamese" art. On his return to Suriname, Karsters succeeded Hatterman as head of the School of Drawing.
Stylistic variety
The 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of a wide variety of styles. However, as there was no local art market or museum, young talents had to choose between practicing as a dilettante or moving abroad.
Soeki Irodikromo, born in 1945, is a renowned painter and ceramist. Along with Erwin de Vries, Ruben Karsters, Rudi de la Fuente and Paul Woei, he was one of the Surinamese artists to emerge in the 1960s. Influenced by the COBRA movement, he emphasizes Surinamese cultural diversity and uses recurring themes from Javanese mythology.
Black-brown descendant Rinaldo Klas, born in 1954 in Moengo, trained at the New School for Visual Arts in Paramaribo between 1970 and 1976, then in Jamaica. Now head of the Nola Hatterman Academy, his art is influenced by his direct surroundings. Through his work, Klas seeks to raise public awareness of environmental conservation.
John Lie-A-Fo chose to settle in French Guiana at an early age, where he is pursuing an international career. The art of this Surinamese painter of Asian origin, often described as timeless, is a counter-proposal to tropicalist art.
Surinamese school
Since 1995, a movement of Surinamese artists has been recognized in the field of visual art. Its members assert their roots and the multicultural heritage of this unique country. Each artist expresses this in his or her own style.
Readytex Art Gallery has played a crucial role in the recognition of this movement since 1993, giving a chance to young talents who would later explode, such as Marcel Pinas and George Struikelblok. Pinas is one of Suriname's leading visual artists. He was born on March 22, 1971 in Pelgrim, in the northeast of Suriname, the tragic site of the civil war. At the age of 16, he enrolled at the Nola Hatterman Academy, then won a scholarship to study in Jamaica. He went on to win prizes in Europe for his art, which conveys two key messages: kibri a kulturu (preserve culture) and kibii wi koni(preserve knowledge). He claims to represent the N'Djuka culture. All his creations are signed using the Afaka syllabic script.
Visual artist Sri Irodikromo studied at the De Vrije Kunst Academy in Suriname, as well as at the Nola Hatterman Academy, then in the Netherlands. Beginning with abstract art, this artist first turned her attention to birds, then to Surinamese women and the fabrics they wear: pangi, madras and embroidery. The techniques and materials she uses are as varied as the country's mixed-race culture, from which she draws her inspiration. Raku and sculpture are also among her experimental mediums. Her magnificent works are regularly exhibited at the Readytex gallery.
Photography
Photography appeals to young artists like Nicolaas Porter and Albert Roessing. Nicolaas Porter is a founding member of MIB, an experimental group that mixes artistic disciplines. After a stay in Germany, he became interested in photography and organized exhibitions in Holland and Suriname. In 2011, he won the Rabindranath Tagore Prize in the photography category.
