Art galleries more than just storage houses

Art galleries more than just storage houses

Bambang Asrini Widjanarko, Contributor, Jakarta

Art galleries are no longer just places to stock paintings or other artwork. Numerous art events -- exhibitions of painting, photography, sculptures, installations and other new media art -- are frequently held at galleries as the venues.

It is interesting to see how these thriving galleries operate and how they try to contribute to the development of art here.

When considering the many art galleries, the first one that comes across the mind must be the Galeri Nasional, which is located on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur in Central Jakarta.

Recently, this (supposedly) prestigious national gallery has been receiving criticism from local mass media.

The criticism is mostly over the fact that their activities are considered woefully inadequate in promoting art appreciation.

Sculptor Dicky Tjanda, the gallery's new director, explains that, "Galeri Nasional is under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is run by government bureaucrats, so the whole policy is merely to further the government's agenda."

Dicky said that despite its limited budget, Galeri Nasional should still be able to change for the better by making better use of the available staff to fix the weak art programs planned at the gallery.

Dicky, who also lectures at the University of Makassar, conceded that some improvements have been planned for the coming years, including broadening its network with overseas galleries and also updating the online service of the gallery.

"We can offer mutual cooperation with overseas art institutions and review the old curatorial system by picking the committed curators for our programs," he said.

Dicky also hopes the gallery will someday be able to function as an art education venue for citizens, by working together with the private sector in publishing art books and holding educational seminars or travel exhibitions throughout the country.

And what of the other art galleries around, some of which are located within foreign countries' cultural centers?

The Jakarta Post met Janny Bourdais, the director of the French Cultural Center (CCF) located in Salemba, Central Jakarta.

"As a gallery that plays a role in helping the cultural development and mutual understanding between the two countries, Indonesia and France, we welcome young, local curators and artists to exhibit their artwork," Bourdais said.

"Sometimes we have a special occasion, where we also invite local artists to exhibit their works in France too."

She explained that its Carte Blanc program which is offered to young Indonesian curators or artists to participate in exhibitions, discussions or performances at CCF and also invite local artists to co-produce artwork with visiting French artists.

"If we plan to hold bigger events, or present collective exhibitions of noted French artists like the popular figures from the Impressionist genre, we will cooperate with Galeri Nasional, because we need more space and more guaranteed security," she said.

Other art galleries available for are enthusiasts are the independent, non-profit ones often founded by reputable foreign foundations.

The Lontar Gallery in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta is included in this category. Asikin Hasan, curator/gallery manager, said, "The Lontar Gallery was founded as an alternative gallery in the hope that it would give a better picture of how art is developed and managed."

The gallery focused on the depth of art understanding and how art usually can be intimately linked with social context so people can enjoy the beauty and at the same time get an alternative reading of what they observed.

Asikin gave an example of one of recent exhibition they just held "Sejarah dan Seni Rupa" (History and Art), which showed the historical course of the Dutch colonialization period portrayed in drawings produced during the period.

In the display, he said, the role of painters was explored as it showed how the artists struggled to record the social and political upheavals of the time.

Private galleries are those that are fully financed by individuals and mostly have a commercial orientation.

Biantaro Tanjung who owns Nadi Gallery in Kedoya, West Jakarta said, "Ideally, a private gallery can help foster appreciation and education by presenting contemporary art by emerging artists and not only the already popular names."

"My most frequent visitors are middle- and upper-class collectors and have a good appreciation for the latest developments in fine art."

When asked how he selected the artwork to be put in his gallery, Biantoro explained, "Our selection is based more on the names of the artists, their history, their technical capabilities, their ideas and, of course, their work that shows new kinds of aesthetics."

There are also galleries that have branches opened in neighboring countries, like Galeri Taksu in Kemang, South Jakarta. Taksu has branches in Singapore and Malaysia.

The gallery's chief director, Australia-born Christ Fong, said, "Our gallery was just established two years ago, but we aim to have a long-term investment in this business."

As a relatively new gallery, Taksu, is considered very progressive and productive in holding exhibitions of mostly contemporary artwork.

"We create events with particular concepts that are not only intended to sell the artwork, but also to show our appreciation of the artists' creative process," he said.

This gallery has ambitions to be a partner with are enthusiasts in judging the quality of artwork.

The varied galleries, along with their different missions, should all work for the benefit of the artists and the development of art here. However, when commerce collides with art, it will be up to the public to decide.