Indonesian art, hot items at auctions<\/p>\n
By Boudewijn Brands<\/p>\n
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands (JP): A concentration of offers
\nattract more buyers. That is a marketing strategy. So usually,
\nauction houses, targeting wealthy buyers in Singapore, plan their
\nsales at the same time.<\/p>\n
The art market in this region seems to be on the move, and
\nagain, Glerum seems to take the initiative. This is so because:
\nfirstly, Indonesia is the largest country in the area and there
\nis a large market for Indonesia related art; secondly, the
\nNetherlands is the largest European source and a market for
\nIndonesian Mooi-Indie art, while at the same time having a lively
\ncontemporary art scene; thirdly, Singapore has an art
\nappreciating population and is the most efficient and cost
\neffective place to do business; forthly, income distribution in
\ndeveloping countries is very unequal, thus making them good
\nmarkets for expensive articles; and lastly, a collector usually
\nstarts buying small and cheap items before going on to more
\nexpensive ones.<\/p>\n
So when Jan-Pieter Glerum started to create a market for
\nIndonesia-related art, he started in the Netherlands and was also
\nthe first to move to Singapore, targeting rich buyers in the
\narea, especially Indonesians. In 1996, contemporary Indonesian
\nart was included for the first time. Indonesia, corrupt and
\nbureaucratic, was not an ideal place for quality auctions.
\nSotheby's and Christie's are now also regularly auctioning in
\nSingapore but that time Glerum has made an association with a
\nlocal organization in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
So what has been on offer recently? On May 21, 2000, Glerum
\nheld a unique auction in Amsterdam. Glerum was allowed to sell
\nworks from Maria Hofker-Rueter's (she passed away last December)
\ncollection that she did not bestow to the Teyler Museum in
\nHaarlem as he had a close personal relationship with her.<\/p>\n
This auction obviously had a large Indonesian content as a lot
\nof the work, especially Willem Hofker's, was done in Indonesia
\n(see also the article on Maria Hofker in The Jakarta Post in
\n1998).<\/p>\n
On Sept. 6, 2000, Glerum had another two-dimensional art
\nauction. There were 673 lots. 92 out of the 121 in the Indonesian
\nsection, or about 80 percent, were sold. It is at auctions like
\nthese that starters can buy good art at reasonable prices: prints
\nof established Cobra artists, such as Eugene Brands or Corneille,
\ngo for prices half of what is asked for in galleries.<\/p>\n
There are even items sold for Dfl 10 (about Rp 33,000). In
\nthis auction, the most expensive work was Indonesia-related: a
\npainting by Frida Holleman that went for Dfl 5,200 (excluding
\nauction costs), about four times its estimated value (Duta Fine
\nArts Foundation has a booklet about this artist).<\/p>\n
Oct. 1, 2000, both Christie's and Sotheby's had auctions in
\nSingapore. Christie's in the morning at 10.30 and Sotheby's in
\nthe afternoon. The target here was obviously the collector with a
\npurse surpassing the one owned by working people.<\/p>\n
Christie's divided their lots into five chapters. The first 36
\nconsisting of Indo-European pictures and the last 45 lots on
\nIndonesian picture. The other 63 works originated from Singapore,
\nMalaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The catalogue is, as
\nusual, beautiful and had excellent write-ups on the background of
\nsome of the paintings such as Le Mayeur's on which Drs. Jop
\nUbbens, who was recently promoted to general manager of
\nChristie's in Amsterdam, is a specialist. The highest price bided
\nfor in this auction (including costs) was S$713,750, for a
\npainting of women working in the rice fields by Fabian de la Rosa
\nfrom the Philippines.<\/p>\n
The six Le Mayeurs fetched a combined total of S$1,673,875.
\nChristie's is conservative toward contemporary art. It will only
\nsell works of artists who have an auction history or that who
\nhave already established names. It is also interesting to note
\nthat Christie's has started to auction, including contemporary
\nart, in Thailand.<\/p>\n
Sotheby's has divided their 163 lots into six chapters, four
\nof them on Indonesia; 25 on Indo-European paintings, six on Bali,
\n56 on modern and contemporary works and 16 on new contemporary
\npaintings. Top prices bided for here were S$889,550 for a Walter
\nSpies and S$127,750 (including costs) for a Raden Saleh.<\/p>\n
In the contemporary category, Sotheby's is a bit more
\nadventurous, offering works of relatively unknown Faizin (born
\n1973) and Bilaningsih (born 1960). Excellent prices were obtained
\nhere for works by Heri Dono (S$12,000), Sigit Santoso (S$4,800)
\nand for a strong \"ugly\" (nondecorative) painting called Figures
\n(using integers) by active artist Entang Wiharso (born 1967).<\/p>\n
A shady side of art came up in Sotheby's auction. Indonesian
\nart specialist Amir Sidarta pointed out that lot 53, a painting
\nby S. Sudjojono, was stolen. The next day, Sept. 22, an e-mail
\nwas sent out on this matter saying that of the 53 paintings of
\nthis artist seen in 17 catalogues since 1996, 17 were fakes and
\nsix stolen.<\/p>\n
The fakes are sometimes so well-made that prospective buyers
\nare cautioned against unqualified statements on the authorship or
\ndate of execution of the paintings.<\/p>\n
This warning notice was seen at the auction that was taken
\nplace on Oct. 22, 2000 in Jakarta. This was the 2nd Pictures of
\nIndonesia auction and was completely devoted to Indonesian art.<\/p>\n
The catalogue does not give any names of associated experts in
\nLarasati (the organizer) and the reason may exactly be the above.
\nHowever, the auction was done in association with Glerum
\nSoutheast Asia and offers 227 works. 37 or about 16 percent of
\nthese are Hofkers of which the authenticity is at least
\nguaranteed. They are at all price levels. The showstopper of this
\nauction would no doubt be Hofker's Portrait of the Seated Ni
\nNoneh (lot 64). There would also be a beautiful and rare Affandi,
\nactually featuring snow (lot 179).<\/p>\n
Anyone seriously interested in Indonesian art should get this
\ncatalogue and read the introduction. Claire Holt's book on \"Art
\nin Indonesia\" is currently available in Indonesian, but without
\ncolor illustrations. This catalogue gives a good illustration of
\nIndonesia's art history.<\/p>\n
History is also being made here; a young artist's work
\nincluded in this auction is S. Teddy D.'s Bunga Jeruk, named
\nafter his artist friend. Will such a work be picked up by an
\nIndonesian or an expatriate?<\/p>\n
Teddy's works are currently being exhibited in a Jakarta
\ngallery and some of his works can even be rented in the
\nNetherlands. Such information cannot be found in the short
\nbiographies of each artist represented, but with 13 pages of such
\nbiographies, the catalogue is up to date on contemporary art.<\/p>\n
*The writer is an art collector.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-art-hot-items-at-auctions-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }