Andi's paintings boast 'great sales' on opening night

By Pavan Kapoor

JAKARTA (JP): As the art business booms, the increasing number of red tags on the easels has generously encouraged not only gallery owners and art promoters but also rejuvenated the inspiration of artists.

One such artist is surrealist Andi Suandy, who is exhibiting his artworks at the 'Indosteak' restaurant in the Mulia Tower. Entitled Interaksi Menyambung Sebuah Gagasan (Interaction of a Reflectionist), the exhibition will run until March 22.

The event had an amazing opening when eighty percent of the paintings were sold out.

Most of Andi's paintings are on small easels of about 35cm x 60cm with a wide canvas around to bring the focus of the onlooker to the rectangle of color within. Interestingly some of the paintings framed vertically were painted on three or four panels. Sometimes Andi leaves a space between each of the panels to symbolize a continuation or a new phase or perhaps a breakdown of the meanings so powerfully projected in a burst of vivid color or a seamless fusion of well blended hues.

Considering all 30 frames exhibited are the most recent works of the artist, it is not surprising to discover an element of the theme of the economic crisis that has permanently etched scars on everyone's mind. Besides addressing artistic values, Andi has also addressed the life of children and the difficulties they innocently face in these tough times, almost as if he has tried to find a solution within the realms to which an artist is confined.

In paintings such as Beri Kesempatan Kepada Mereka (Give them a chance) and Peduli I (Caring I), Andi has roped together sympathy and compassion for the street children without being too blatant and overly narcissistic about the issue of poverty. The ragged newspaper cutout imprints of a group of street children staring at the camera with blank expressions almost fuse with the swirl of symbolic black or earthy brown. The picture of the children haunts one and leaves the onlooker pondering the grim realities of life at close range.

Andi admits to having grown out of symbolism in forms and thinks more in terms of the colors and movement he generates in the eye of the viewer from one section of the canvas to another.

In Batas Lingkaran (Boundaries of the Circle) he has projected life for those entrapped in the crisis by a thick black circle. The raw rotary movement of the brush with the elements inside seems to be whirling as if sucked into a big black hole. On the outside in direct contrast are the same elements in an ethereal blue base color, symbolizing a languid, tranquil sea. The elements are fish-like creatures with tentacles; some would define them as shrimps or a type of marine crustacean.

"The people who are outside the reach of the monetary crisis are swimming in tranquil oblivion with no idea of how those affected feel or manage from day to day," said Andi.

Wajah I and II (Face I and II) and Topeng (Mask) are attempts at realistic abstracts. "Perhaps it is his choice of colors that when set against the broad whiteness of the bordering canvas are so complementary that the overall effect is attractive even as the painting itself," said one art dealer.

Andi has done well for the year 1999 with 80 percent of his paintings being snapped up on the opening night itself. "Most of the people who are buying art are collectors and art lovers from overseas. The dollar-rupiah exchange rate has cut the price of the paintings and they are taking advantage of that. There is no crisis in the art world of Indonesia, maybe because of the good reputation Indonesian art has earned in recent decades," says Andi.