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Mixed media Photo by Steve Johnson Artist Peter Van Fleet got the idea in Bali to combine Fresco painting with ornately carved door frames from Indonesia. His work will be on exhibit starting Wednesday at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford. Artist blends fresco, carved door frames from Indonesia By BILL VARBLE Artist Peter Van Fleet went to Bali to paint. He was browsing in a little shop when he saw an ornately carved door frame with the head of a Hindu demon. The piece had been removed from a 100-year-old temple. The woodworking was exquisite. "Instantly the idea of going through doors hit me," Van Fleet says. His idea was: Why not combine the ancient art of fresco painting with these incredible door frames? The results can be seen in "Pathways to Spirit," an art exhibit that opens Dec. 2 at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford (for details, call 772-8118). The unique show is highlighted by Van Fleet's takes on the theme of contemporary fresco combined with Balinese door and window frames, as well as his contemporary sculpture. Van Fleet spent about two years in Indonesia all told, going first in 1995 and returning in 1997, lugging 250 pounds of fresco materials with him. "It was perhaps the most inspirational time of my life," he says. But because he figured his paintings had to fit into his suitcases, they had to be small. Then came the idea for fresco paintings framed by real doors and windows. They would just have to be shipped home later (it wound up taking several months). The frames, works of art in themselves, vary according to which part of the Indonesian archipelago they come from, and there are some 3,000 islands. The fresco with the demon, for example _ his name is Barong Kit _ came from a 100-year-old temple. Barong Kit is a good demon who is often represented fighting an evil demon. At the center of the fresco is a triangle symbol known as Muru, which represents stages of wisdom. The idea of an aperture or passage as a metaphor spurred Van Fleet's imagination. "Instead of doing a painting and finding a frame, I had a frame and did a painting to fit it," he says. Fresco dates back to ancient Egypt. Much of the best-known fresco work came from ancient Greece, and later from the Renaissance. But it's been something of a lost art in modern times until relatively recently. Fresco is a mix of lime, cement, sand and water. The ingredients are made into a putty that rests for a time, after which it will accept pigmentation. It can be colored and manipulated for about eight hours, Van Fleet says. Then a chemical reaction bonds the colors to the lime surface. The resulting images and colors can last thousands of years unless they're ravaged by pollution, as is happening to masterpieces in Europe. Van Fleet says he freely manipulates the fresco texture for luminous, three-dimensional effects. "I like the idea of not knowing what I'm doing," he says. "I'm a right-brain artist. "We all have to deal with the objective world, but the excitement of art is the mystery that's out there." Van Fleet says he'd like to go back to Bali and find more door frames to work with. "And it's not just the frames," he says. "You should see the doors." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA