Midnight Constellation offer us earthlings an unlimited set of signs. A sailor in the midst of the ocean feels grateful when he sees the Big Dipper, the constellation that leads him to the Pole Star and thus to the North. Orion and the Southern Cross are helpful constellations to those trying to find their way in the southern hemisphere. Astrologists recognize familiar constellations such as Taurus, Gemini and Virgo as astral signs that inspire reflections about destinies and psychological characteristics. Many people make a wish when seeing a so-called falling star, which in reality is a meteorite. A scientist will draw conclusions from astronomic observations. We may reasonably assume that nobody can look at a midnight constellation without being profoundly impressed.

The French philosopher Blaise Pascal once said that the human response when confronted with the eternal silence of infinite space is dread. But also he stressed that surrendering to this reality is a proof of wisdom and good religious feelings. Midnight constellations bring us awareness of the cosmos, in which we have our very modest place. Something of this concept is present in the exhibition that brings together works of Paula Kouwenhoven, Masahide Kudo and Dodog Soeseno. Their art tells us that midnight constellations can be considered to be messages of beauty and harmony.

It is interesting that at the moment in which they conceived the idea of an exhibition of their recent works of art under the collective title Midnight Constellation, an exhibition in the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was showing paintings by Vincent and his contemporaries under the title Van Gogh and the Colours of the Night. The paintings by Van Gogh from his Arles and St.Rémy−de−Provence period in particular feature unforgettable midnight constellations painted during clear star-lit nights. These nightly constellations, depicted in a realistic-cum-expressionistic manner, appear to send cosmic messages to the diminutive earthlings below and even to the landscapes. More than a century later, Dodog Soeseno, Masahide Kudo and Paula Kouwenhoven give a fundamentally similar meaning to their art, albeit, of course, in a very different way.

Despite their different approaches, the works display a shared awareness of the fact that as human beings we have a place in universe from which the midnight constellations are shown to us in their overwhelming beauty.

Beauty is essential in the paintings of Paula Kouwenhoven and it is colour above all that makes this visible. Colour is brought to us by light, the light that provides us with the messages of the stars as signs from far away worlds and from long ago. Thus we reflect on the origin of the world. Courbet´s famous painting The origin of the world (L´origine du monde) suggests that this origin is metaphorically represented in the world of mankind by the female vulva, as a door to the vagina. We find symbolic vulvas in Paula´s paintings, but we may see them as mouths, the organ by which we can make ourselves heard. People familiar with earlier work by Paula may notice that the forms and colours in her recent work are more outspoken than previously. There is change, evolution.

The same thing is evident in the artistic development of Dodog Soeseno´s work. His research has led him from the romantic−erotic dream performances of some seven years ago to his Diary of Expectations. These expectations relate to his dealings with Japan, its culture and its artists. Dodog has exhibited in Japan, from Tokyo by way of Shikoku and Nagasaki, through to Okinawa. His works demonstrate that the French philosopher Jacques Lacan was right in suggesting that each of us lives in three different worlds, that of reality, that of the imaginary and that of the symbolic. In his former period his representations and symbols were closer to reality than they are in his most recent works. However, the implicit dream survives in Dodog´s abstract forms: they suggest mysterious movement and evolution, just as the heavenly constellations do. The colours add the beauty of the dream.

Meditation is a permanent existential tradition in the life of Masahide Kudo and this has its effects on his art. He provides spontaneous evidence of his love and respect for what nature means for mankind. When he gives expression to his inner observations of the universe, we find explosive images. The implicit passion in these images provides with a further insight: movement and violent changes are part of cosmic evolutions and revolutions. What was real and radiant one day explodes and disappears later in a black hole. This explains the black in Kudo´s paintings, whereas his colours speak of the splendour of life. Do black and colour fight or do they dance a cosmic dance? That is the fascinating question we ask when looking at Kudo´s artwork.

These three artists are showing recent works, the latest facets of their artistic evolution. They share fundamental creative ideals and ideological presuppositions. Paula, Kudo and Dodog are fellow-artists, friends. They met each other during several symposiums in Delft (The Netherlands) and around the world. In Delft the symposiums and exhibitions are held at World Art Delft, the home of a foundation created by Paula Kouwenhoven. This lovable, softly spoken person is not only a creator of fine art who has worked and exhibited the world over, but is also a very energetic and inspiring art manager. In collaboration with her running mate Dodog Soeseno she has realized substantial educational and creative art projects. The two curators recently organized symposiums and exhibitions like ‘Homage to Delft’ and ‘Art Under The volcano’. The last one has taken place around the Mount Merapi near Yogyakarta, cultural capital of the isle of Java, and at the Affandi Museum of that place. In 2011 one will work together with other artists−friends on the isle of Okinawa in the southwest of Japan.