Art exhibitions lure cultured shoppers

Art exhibitions lure cultured shoppers

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

After the successful exhibition of "The Art of the Flying Dragon" by sculptor-cum-installation artist Yani Mariani Sastranegara last February, Plaza Senayan's intent for furthering the art appreciation of the general public seems to be firming up even more.

At least that is the impression vis-a-vis the current contemporary art exhibitions held in the lobby in conjunction with the Plaza's seventh anniversary.

For many of the shoppers, it is a wonderful experience to see artwork that is usually confined to museums and prestigious galleries.

As I walked through the mall last Tuesday, I saw shoppers looking and pointing at the sculptures. Christovita Wiloto of the public relations office Power PR who happened to be enjoying the sculptures expressed great appreciation for the Plaza's initiative to bring art to the mall.

This way, even those who have never set foot in a museum or gallery get access to improving their quality of life through art, he said.

Others even run their hands over the surface of the sculptures, like the girl who was seen repeatedly stroking the sculpture titled Tension 2 Tension by Iriantine Karnaya, who was born in 1951.

"Do you like it?" I asked her, to which she shyly replied "very much". She did not know why exactly, "it's just beautiful," she said. One of seven bronze works made by the artist, Tension 2 Tension, shows an abstraction of a woman's figure in a high-risk floating position.

The artist says she wanted to visualize the condition of women today. Other works include torsos and abstractions of moods, such as Festival I and Festival III, in which a deeper meaning shines through the delightfully joyful rhythm of movement.

Teguh Ostenrik's sculptures stand out in mode and size. A seasoned artist of international standing, Ostenrik, born in 1950, has invented a new technique of layering to make his sculptures take on the appearance of primitive antiquity.

The artist, who is known for his abstract expressionist paintings, his cast bronze sculptures, his stage and choreographic talents, is particularly celebrated for his works centering around the homo sapiens. "I wanted to recast the figure of homo sapiens in a three-dimensional form, so I started experimenting with a mix of fine clay and samot, and then layered the plates on the clay sculptures," explained Ostenrik. Samot is crude pulver made of red brick slabs.

The result is an excitingly unique shape of sculptures that connects the past with the present. Three of the series that Ostenrik has called "Corpus Terrae", are No Fear (1,186 cm x 59 cm x 77 cm), I am Holding On (90 cm x 135 cm x 80 cm), and Your Appointment with Life (165 cm x 73 cm x 53 cm).

Dolorosa Sinaga is a sculptor who is taking her place among the growing body of modern artists whose utterance is valid. Inspired for a long time by the legendary Kaethe Kollwitz, whose talent as a dramatic artist had the uncanny ability to evoke human emotions through subtle gestures and facial expressions, Dolorosa's sculptures bear witness to her talent to provoke tension and drama at the same time.

They are about women transcending their pain and suffering into resistance and opposition and moving to proceed further. The sculpture titled Solidarity depicts barefoot women joining hands, while Cerita Perempuan presents women's figures from all walks of life and in different physical conditions standing together, Begging but also demanding, with both feet in a firm, forthright position. Lawan Kekerasan is about woman as creator, the center of the cycle of life, and shows the Matriarch shielding her people in a protective embrace. Avante looks to the future. One sculpture titled Dalai Lama represents the artist's reverence for the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, whom some consider to be one of the world's enduring figures of struggle and compassion against oppression.

Yani Mariani Sastranegara, born in 1955, again surprises with sculptures shaped like surreal capricious abstractions from the living environment. The sculptures of the artist who recently caused a stir by breaking through the limits of sculpture into the plains of installation art, evoke the illusion of creatures or objects in an almost surreal world, where dream and fantasy give substance to reality. Whether it's titled Rara Sembrani, which is in poly-resin, Nyanyian Jiwa, which is silver and copper electroplated, Ameliorata, in pewter, Cucu Ibuku, in pewter and copper, or Nyanyian Jiwa, which is silver electroplated, they sprout from the spiritual depths, amazing imagery, an unusual aesthetic and excellent command of technique.

Young people also flocked to the poster exhibition, titled Anti Logika, showing posters by students of the Lasalle College International Jakarta and Trisakti University. Many of the posters are equal to good contemporary artwork.

The attention of the general public to the artwork on show denotes a subconscious need for those who have never been exposed to such art.

Hopefully, many more of these exhibitions will follow suit.

i-box Sculpture exhibition from April 1 through April 30 Poster exhibition from April 8 through April 13 Venue: Lobby Plaza Senayan Contact: phone 572 555, A&P Dept. Plaza Senayan