Auction scandal shadows Indonesian Arts scene 2000

By Agus Dermawan T.

JAKARTA (JP): When 1999 drew to a close and the year 2000 arrived, the Indonesian fine art community had high hopes that the quality of fine art events in the country would show an upward trend.

Understandably, to them the year 2000 ushered in a new era which would symbolically mark the revival of a dream. Or, perhaps, the year would be the time for the culmination of all art goals fought for in the past century.

Just like in other countries, fine art events in Indonesia were specially packaged. Some seemed to be intended only for ceremonial purposes although they produced enough accentuation to cover other areas. Others were deliberately made unique for the year 2000 as it was considered a special event.

Unfortunately, after a host of fine art events held with great zest from one month to another it came to an anticlimax in November, when Amana Inc 2000 Indonesia and A.GA Fine Arts organized an exhibition called The Old Painting Pre World War II.

This major exhibition displayed 110 paintings which it claimed to be the works of the world's, and Indonesia's, past masters with paintings from Picasso, Claude Monet, Van Gogh, Raden Saleh, Affandi, Basoeki Abdullah and Sudjojono.

This exhibition could have been a very enjoyable event to celebrate the end of the year but for the bitter reality that all of the paintings were forgeries. As a result, the auction that PT Balai Lelang Batavia had planned to hold on Nov. 24 was called off. An anticlimax indeed!

According to a number of local and foreign media, this shameful event has been dubbed the biggest and the most serious painting forgery scandal in the world's history of fine arts. Apart from the collection of 110 paintings in the special package, the event was also "supported" by two government institutions, i.e. the Directorate General of Culture and the Jakarta Arts Council.

The succession of fine art events in Indonesia throughout the year 2000 was damaged by this exhibition and failed auction which as a result has tarnished the reputation of the nation.

Fine Arts Economy

It does not necessarily mean, however, that other art events must be consigned to oblivion, especially as there are quite a few things worth noting for the year 2000.

Rather than problems related to fine art creativity, innovation, invention, exploration or exploitation, which have found fertile soil in the artists' studios, the most striking phenomenon throughout the year 2000 was the economic aspect, which is inextricably linked to fine art transactions.

There are a number of examples to prove this statement. Larasati Auction House, which held the auction at Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta in late April, pocketed about Rp 3 billion. In the next semester, some time in October, Larasati, in cooperation with Glerum, an auction house from the Netherlands, again enjoyed great success. Larasati was inspired to organize a painting auction in Jakarta owing to the success that Christie's and Sotheby's enjoyed in auctioning paintings by Indonesian painters about Indonesia in Singapore in March and later in September. On average each of them could collect about $S3 to $5 million.

It is worth noting that most of the buyers were Indonesians. Then Balindo also enjoyed success when it auctioned a number of paintings in September.

This is indeed unusual, as while Indonesia in general is still suffering from the long-dragging economic crisis, there are Indonesians who can afford to buy hundreds of valuable paintings.

This frenzied commotion of art changing hands at such a pace can be attributed to a number of reasons. Firstly the fine arts public has now acquired a more discerning appreciation of art. One may enjoy viewing fine art works but they come with a price tag. The second is public awareness that not only can fine art works be collected but that they are also an investment of sorts.

That's why paintings have been bought not only for a collection but also a an investment. The third is the intrinsic factor in art works, the artistic and aesthetic quality of the work.

The frenzied buying referred to earlier has led to the emergence of a free market in Indonesian fine arts. Artists try to find an opportunity to seize their own market. In this context, contemporary Balinese artists seem to have played their role by aggressively gaining access to the market. Of course the caliber of their work on its own has the potential to attract buyers.

Balinese artist

In the year 2000 dozens of contemporary Balinese artists have successfully held exhibitions in Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Made Djirna, for example, enjoyed a boom when he held an exhibition at Santi Gallery, Jakarta, last July. Earlier in March, Made Arya Palguna, 24, had most of his paintings bought when he held his exhibition at the same gallery.

Meanwhile, in May there was the Tritaksu exhibition and later in September the Spirit of Bali exhibition, which displayed the works of Wirawan, Ngurah Udiantara, Wayan Sudarna Putra, Putu Sutawijaya and Made Wiradana at Ina Gallery. The success of these two exhibitions was a big surprise to the art community.

Then in October, Made Hantaguna exhibited his works at Koi Gallery. A number of other Balinese artists have held their exhibitions in various art galleries in Jakarta such as Kembang Gallery, Mon Decor Gallery and Moom Gallery. In the meantime, Nyoman Nuarta, a Balinese sculptor, exhibited his works in October and enjoyed impressive commercial success from this event.

The great enthusiasm for art exhibitions that Balinese artists have shown in the year 2000 may be attributable to the spirit of Sanggar Dewata. Set up by Nyoman Gunarsa and his colleagues, Sanggar Dewata organized large-scale exhibitions at four locations simultaneously in Bali, as if suggesting to the public that Balinese artists are ready to take control of the art world. In the flux of Indonesian art, old names have managed to survive: Made Wianta, Nyoman Erawan, Manggu Putra and Wayan Sika, while the newly-emerging painters: Made Sudibia, Made Sukadana, Nyoman Sukari, Ketut Tenang and Made Duatmika have gained popularity. Some of them have received sponsorship for overseas exhibitions.

Made Arya Palguna has exhibited his works in Denmark. In January, 2000 Ketut Taman held an exhibition of his sculptures and paintings at Komaneka Gallery, Ubud, Bali, and from this gained the opportunity to display his works at Singapore's Artfolio Gallery in November of this year. It's really quite extraordinary how successful these contemporary Balinese paintings have been when compared with other works.

Beyond Bali

Undeniably, and regardless of ethnic problems, Bali's power can be a threat to fine arts from other regions. Balinese painters have encouraged the setting up of art collectives in other regions like the West Sumatera Group, which held an exhibition at Embun Gallery at Ciputra Hotel in June.

Edi Sunaryo, head of fine art department at the Fine Arts School, Yogyakarta's Indonesian Institute of the Arts, admitted the presence of this "threat". He said, however, that it was in a positive manner because it stimulates fine artists from other regions to raise the level of awareness of their work.

Edi, originally from Java, diverted from this hegemony with his solo exhibition, called Lintas Waktu (Crossing the Time) which was held at Moom Gallery in August.

In October, dozens of painters originally hailing from Banyuwangi exhibited their works in Surabaya. The exhibition was coordinated by S. Yadi K. and held at the Youth Building at Surabaya Arts Council.

Two realist painters from Semarang, Inanta and Kok Poo exhibited their works at Dunia Mimesis (Mimetic World) at Maxima Gallery in September. Tiga Jawa (Java Three): Januri, Nurkholis and Suraji held their exhibition at Ina Gallery in November. A month earlier, two Chinese artists, Benny Setiawan and Tio Tjay, exhibited their works at Batavia Gallery in Singapore. In March, a grand exhibition of H. Widayat's works was held at the Indonesian National Gallery.

In June, Faizal had an exhibition at the Maxima Gallery along with the Dunia Sukaria (the Merry World) offering. Afterwards, Kriyono did the same thing at the Mulia Hotel, Jakarta and Amrus Natalsya exhibited his works at 878 Gallery in September. The next month, October, saw the exhibition of Nasirun's works at the Indonesian National Gallery, Jakarta.

Heri Dono and Erica held their exhibition at the Nadi Gallery, also in October. Then Teguh Ostenrik, an Indonesian fine-artist who has spent a long time in Germany, came up with two exhibitions, at Goethe Institute and Erasmus Huis, respectively, in November and December.

Guest Fine Arts

The year 2000 could be said to have been the year of good fortune. It has seen a fine art exhibition, Outward Bound from the United States, held at Ismail Marzuki Arts Park, Jakarta last February. The next month saw the holding of a Russian paintings exhibition. Another held at the Duta Gallery in Jakarta in October was called les Artiste Francophones Inspires par L'Indonesia (French artists' Indonesia has inspired). Finally Ken Pattern of Canada held a well received painting and graphic exhibition called Indonesian Metaphors, in the Linggar Gallery.

In the year 2000, a number of major exhibitions have taken place. In September, PT Semen Gresik organized a national painting exhibition in Gresik called, Silahturahmi Budaya. (Cultural Friendship). In the next month, an exhibition called Balinese Arts, Growth and Development was held at Bentara Budaya Jakarta. The month after there was also a grand exhibition called Half a Century of Indonesia's Graphic Art. In late December, Made Wianta exhibited hundreds of his works concurrently at three locations: Rudana Museum in Peliatan, Genta Gallery in Ubud and Singasana Gallery in Sanur. In one of the galleries he displayed an installation-art piece which required 1 ton of rice and 2,000 eggs.

While The Year of the Dragon is drawing to a close a number of wonderful publications have arrived on the scene: Kirjono, the Flying Elephant by Agus Derwawan T, Popo by I Bambang Sugiharto, Sriyanto, published by Sriyanto gallery, Teguh Ostentrik Transcending Time by Barbara Asboth. In June 2000, ceramicist F. Widayanto exhibited his ceramic sculptures and simultaneously published a book called Mother & Chile, From the Kiln of F. Widayanto. Last but not least the Association of Indonesian Sculptors (API) was officially established in Yogyakarta in November.

The writer is an art critic living in Jakarta.