Suwage's paintings sell, to critics' dismay<\/p>\n
Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In the art scene, Agus Suwage is well known as a contemporary
\nfine artist with integrity. He has attended many reputable fine
\narts forums at home and overseas.<\/p>\n
These events include the ninth Jakarta Bieniale in 1993 at
\nIsmail Marzuki Cultural Park in Jakarta, the Asia Pacific
\nTrienalle in Australia in 1996, the 11th Bienniale Havana in Cuba
\n(1997) and Kwangju Bieniale in Korea (2000), to name but a few.<\/p>\n
Now that he is exhibiting at the National Gallery in Jakarta,
\nSuwage is suddenly becoming commercial. And he has been
\nenthusiastically welcomed by Indonesia's art market.<\/p>\n
The exhibition is the third to have been curated by Rizki A.
\nZaelani, and organized by the Jakarta-based Nadi Gallery at the
\nNational Gallery. Almost 40 oil and acrylic paintings and
\ndigitally printed works on canvas had been sold -- at exorbitant
\nprices -- prior to the official opening by Marco Kusumawijaya on
\nFriday, Aug. 8.<\/p>\n
Despite the financial success of both Suwage and Biantoro
\nSantoso, the gallery's manager, many art critics and observers
\nare less than joyous.<\/p>\n
The National Gallery, they argue, was not intended to be the
\nlocation of sales-oriented exhibitions.<\/p>\n
Even if this was its function -- the institution is supposed
\nto serve the general public -- and so, even worse, why was the
\nshow sold out before it even opened? If such activity becomes the
\nbread of the National Gallery -- considered to be the last
\nbulwark for the active discourse of fine art -- where else can an
\nauthentic art discourse be found?<\/p>\n
Admittedly, this is not the first such incident to have
\noccurred here. Many galleries have opened as non-commercial
\nspaces, offering young artists room to experiment, but the public
\nloses the chance to see fresh work when curators start picking
\nand choosing, according to the market.<\/p>\n
Critics said that those involved in the exhibition were,
\nhypocritically, among those who were opposed to the idea of using
\nthe National Gallery for commercial purposes.<\/p>\n
The management of the National Gallery has failed to adhere to
\nits own rule of the game.<\/p>\n
Suwage's exhibition is named, Ough - Nguik, (the Indonesian
\nsound for the snort of the pig). Does this represent the
\nindignation of those who have witnessed the transformation of the
\nNational Gallery to Nadional Gallery? (A reference to the Nadi
\nGallery's infiltration of the National Gallery's ideals).<\/p>\n
But all this aside, what is the quality of Suwage's works? For
\nfine artists with a background in the graphic arts, like Suwage
\nhimself, there is no surprise here. Suwage's works could easily
\nhave been lifted from any foreign advertising or graphic art
\nbook.<\/p>\n
He includes a variety of self-portraits. Most of these works
\nare based on photographs, which his wife shot with a digital
\ncamera. In one of these self-portraits, Suwage is naked with a
\ncable, strung with dozens of light bulbs, being wound round his
\nbody. In another picture, he squats over the toilet bowl.
\nAnother, Suwage shooting himself in the head with a pistol.
\nAnother, depicts him wearing a head scarf like a woman and
\ncarrying a crying child.<\/p>\n
He painted acrylic strokes over the 100cm x 200cm photos,
\nwhich were printed in his studio. Sometimes, Suwage juxtaposes
\ntwo photographs, one over the other.<\/p>\n
In Holy Beer and Friends (2003), Suwage's head is dipped into
\na glass of beer. To make this work he combined three photographs.
\nA self-portrait, a beer glass and a photo of fire.<\/p>\n
In the piece Ough--Nguik!, the exhibition title, he wears a
\npig mask, while his ears are pulled from behind. Only Suwage
\nknows why he has written the scream in Arabic.<\/p>\n
The most interesting work in this exhibition is his
\ninstallation,Yin-Yang. The sculptural form of his red head, with
\none eye open and another closed, is being fought over by two
\nfigures, dressed respectively in khaki and black. Poignantly
\nhumorous, the head remains bodiless while the two bodies remain
\nheadless. The struggle to get the head is futile.<\/p>\n
Suwage said the work had nothing to do with the severed head
\nfound on the fifth floor of the JW Marriott hotel, in the
\naftermath of the bombing.<\/p>\n
\"I created this work long before the Marriott tragedy,\" said
\nSuwage, who graduated from the graphic design department at the
\nBandung Institute of Technology (ITB).<\/p>\n
Suwage began exhibiting in 1984 and his works can be found in
\nthe collections of several institutions overseas, from the
\nSingapore Art Museum to the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.<\/p>\n
The exhibition is being held at the National Gallery, Jl.
\nMedan Merdeka Timur 14 A, Central Jakarta, until Aug. 18.<\/p>",
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