Art-exhibition-Karya untuk Kawan

JP/19/KARYA

Karya untuk Kawan, an exhibition of many flavors

Carla Bianpoen Contributor/Jakarta

At a time of bleakness and a never-ending need for donations, an art exhibition at the National Gallery comes as a cool breeze that soothes the senses.

The exhibition, held by the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) to benefit some 50 Women Crisis Centers in the country, features the works of renowned sculptors like Dolorosa Sinaga, Iriantine Karnaya, Teguh Ostenrik, Yani Mariani.

There are also works by graphic artist/painter Tris Neddy Santo and FX Harsono, whose graphic art and installations are born out personal experience and linked to social and political discontent.

Other artists include Ivan Sagito, the celebrated surrealist painter; Marintan Sirait with her fascinating drawings; painter Magdalena Pardede who experiments with photography; well-known photographer Firman Ichsan who is also a painter of urban lifestyles; and ceramicist Lydia Poetri.

Artist Andar Manik, Titis Jabarudin with her soft pastel drawings on paper that show the hardships of Iraqi women, and Wara Anindiyah, whose eerie paintings of Chinese faces have now taken a softer look, are also represented.

Young and upcoming artists are also included like Renjani Damais, whose sculptures are a testimony of her depth of feeling, Ade Artie, whose works are increasingly sought after at art auctions in the country; and Awan Simatupang and Taufan AP, whose works bring together social concerns and innovative thought.

An interesting feature is also the presence of works by Farida Srihadi, who has been absent from the local art scene for a very long time, Ratmini Soedjatmoko, who initiated exhibitions of wives with artistic inclinations, in Group Sembilan, and Nani Sakri, a onetime icon in the fashion world-turned artist.

The works by expatriate artists -- mostly sculptors, like Jeannette Bijlmer, Birgit Ulrike Hau, Margriet Bos, Rhona Polonsky, Lexy Anderson and Nienke Attema -- add a special flavor to the exhibition.

The most eye-catching works made with professional skill and a good sense of the imaginative, include those by Ice Mogi Tol, a seasoned graphic art and painter, who manages to bring a woman's focus without sticking to the suffering, by bringing out the features of a goddess that are within every woman.

In My Power, an acrylic painting with gold prada layers, measuring 195 centimeters by 95 cm the artist hints at her Indonesian roots; the liberation of her fellow women is indicated by the finely painted batik sarong spread wide instead of the usual way of wearing it as a tight skirt.

The body and face painted in gold prada, accentuated by a sort of aura, seem to rise out of such a consideration. The same theme is found in her painting My head flies, in which a woman transcends her devastation.

There is also Sasha Tranggono, whose watercolor flowers are one of a kind. While her work,Remember me this way, 80 cm by 113 cm, watercolor on paper, is a delicate piece of atmospheric still life, her watercolor hibiscus on canvas (the first of its kind), measuring 120 cm by 100 cm and titled Spirit of the Moment is uniquely expressive and reverberates with depth and passion.

A fine piece of work is also presented by Aditya Tobing. Suara2 Cello di Mercusuar yang Mati, watercolor and ballpoint (72 cm by 52 cm), featuring realistically drawn cellos against a surreal landscape under a somber sky.

Very close to our concern is Tsunami, a painting by RW Moeljadi. Measuring 125 cm by 175cm, the painting recalls the giant waves that hit Aceh and North Sumatra.

The painting features the wave and its devastating impact, as it swept away men, women and children, its impact continuing as a huge load carried by a man, who holds a handkerchief in the colors of the national flag, as if to indicate that his burden is the country's. In addition, Moeljadi's engravings in mezzotint are unique.

Not every participant can be referred to or described, but the above is meant as an illustration that there is ample choice and good quality that would make anyone's charity gift worthwhile in the collector's understanding.

With cases of violence against women rising from 3,160 in 2001 to 14,020 today, the money spent on purchasing a work at this exhibition, would be well spent indeed.

Karya untuk Kawan A charity exhibition of visual arts through March 22 National Gallery Jakarta