A lady with a Passion – Lavina Art Gallery

Livana Art galery.

Christianne with one of her paintings.

Christianne Goonting, who likes to be known as Tianne, is a lady with a deep passion for art. She is a very prolific artist who soon ran out of space in her house for her paintings.(A quick look around her house will vouch for her passion , it would seem that if it does not move, it’s a fit subject to be decorated . Cupboards, mirrors, kettles, empty bottles and even the dustbin are all empty canvases to her. ) To overcome this challenge, of space, she and her husband purchased a single story detached house around Karamunsing. Extensive renovations were carried out on the new house with the roof being pitched a story higher to accommodate a gallery on the 2nd floor. And so “Lavinia” art gallery came into being.

Female dancers series.

Christianne Goonting is Malaysian with Portuguese & Dutch ancestry; her family is originally from the former Portuguese enclave of Malacca. As far back into her childhood as she can remember, she has always been interested in art. While growing up in Kuala Lumpur, Tianne often visited the art gallery with her mother and was fascinated with what she saw. This early introduction to the art scene installed in her a desire to be an artist. Her parents wanted her to pursue a professional degree in Singapore, which she did for a year and then gave it up in pursuit of a career in art. Her initial training was in traditional Chinese brushwork and she understudied various other artists before following her husband to the United Kingdom. While her husband pursued his medical studies, Tianne signed up for various classes at the Aberdeen Museum and Art Gallery and at Gray’s school of art in Aberdeen, making full use of her time in the UK to gather as much experience from the art world before heading back to Malaysia.

Kettle decoracted in decupage.

Coming home to Malaysia with her newly acquired knowledge and experience Tianne devoted even more of her time to her art. Her work can be pure watercolours or acrylics, decoupage in combination with either medium or even collages of many mediums. Though diverse in medium, approach and style, her work can be associated with three major categories (at this point in time), Tribute to Nature, Spirit within/spirit of life and our ethnic heritage. She has held a number of exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur and her very first solo exhibition was in Sabah in 1985. This was also her first introduction to the state. Not long after, her husband was offered a position in a private medical centre in Kota Kinabalu and they decided to move to Sabah. Christianne became very involved in the local art scene and together with fellow artist she formed “The decorative art group” which conducts workshops, exhibitions art classes. Christianne herself teaches art classes at her home, conducts art sessions at private schools and is very active in the Palliative care Association of Sabah.

Visits to Lavina art gallery are by appointment:
Contact : Christianne Goonting
Email : christianne.goonting@devaser.com

 Text and photos by David de la Harpe