Capital city flooded with art exhibitions

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta is flooded with art exhibitions. At least three large exhibitions are being held at three public venues, while other smaller but equally established galleries are presenting separate solo exhibitions by emerging Indonesian painters.

The most interesting and important show is undoubtedly the exhibit on Asian modernism at the Ministry of Education and Culture's Wisma Seni Rupa at Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur 14, Central Jakarta. The show attempts to assert a strong curatorial statement, introducing the notion of the development of Asian modernism in the context of the development of modern art through the works of artists from thee Asian countries, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Modernism has a strong resonance throughout the world, and ideally, a modernism that rejects national boundaries may have emerged. However, explained curator Jim Supangkat, "It is clear that other modernisms that have strong roots in culture also emerged locally. I call this development 'multimodernism'."

The exhibition clearly shows that cubism had a strong impact and influence in the 1950s and 1960s in the three Asian countries represented.

"Even though cubism and other styles of abstraction have influenced many artists, they have used the styles to portray reality closely linked to culture," Supangkat added.

The progress of modernism is shown by various historic works placed in the western section of the second floor of the gallery's annex. The historical development of Indonesia is represented by the works of Raden Saleh, Sudjojono, Affandi, Mochtar Apin, Sadali, Pirous, G. Sidharta and Srihadi.

In the eastern section, works by contemporary Asian artists, including Tisna Sanjaya, Anusapati and Nindityo Adipurnomo from Indonesia, Montien Boonma and Vasan Sithiket from Thailand, and Imelda Cajipe Endaya and Roberto Feleo from the Philippines are exhibited. Created out of a composite with sawdust as its primary component, Feleo's Tau Tao is perhaps the most fascinating piece in this exhibition.

Affandi

The art of "Affandi and Family" exhibition at the Regent Jakarta seems to be purposely timed to coincide with the exhibit on Asian modernism. Both exhibitions close July 7.

The show presents some quite good pieces by this Indonesian master but the most interesting are the works done by other members of his family. His wife Maryati's painting of the Eiffel Tower expresses her spontaneous personal impression of the tower. Affandi's rendition of the same subject matter, displayed as the focal point of this show, is much too calculated and rational. Another painting of the tower by Affandi (presumably in the Sumichan collection and now shown in this exhibition) is much more expressive and perhaps, was influenced by Maryati's modest painting.

Kartika's Village of Catino is a work to enjoy, and this is enhanced by the excellent choice of the triptych format. The works of this daughter of Affandi we are already familiar with, but Rukmini's paintings, as can be seen in Dufan Ferris Wheel at Night, are more vivid in coloration and, therefore, much more exciting.

Rather disappointing is the display of Affandi's graphic art, which consists mainly of lithographs claimed as the master's work. While there are a couple of his original engravings, the lithographs exhibited are actually mostly photo reproductions of his original paintings that have been printed using the lithographic process.

New Wave

While the Asian modernism exhibition, due to the biases of curator Jim Supangkat, presents contemporary Indonesian artists working in various media other than conventional paints, the Indonesian fine arts scene today is still dominated by painters. An exhibition of eight young and emerging painters is currently being held on the 6th floor of the main building of the Jakarta Fair Grounds in Kemayoran.

The show features the works of Erica Hestu Wahyuni, the most impressive of which is the 2 meters by 10 meters Elephants Traveling in Metropolis and The Mystery of Nine Women. There are actually only eight women in the latter painting, so most viewers would ask the painter where the ninth woman is and whimsically, Erica would inform them that the ninth is herself.

Erica, a young painter who received a tremendous response from the 1996 Tresors in Singapore in May, is perceptive, observant and has a great sense of humor. Another of her large paintings, Mother's Day, was started after she experienced the event, which was quite foreign to her, in Singapore. A young mother herself, she presented the painting as a kind of self portrait.

In this painting she first appears as a tourist, complete with the tourist attributes, including a camera, experiencing Mother's Day in Singapore. This scene is combined with her image of her hometown Yogyakarta, with the city's acclaimed dokar horse cart. Her husband also appears on the opposite side of the house interior she portrays. Then, a much larger image of herself appears prominently on the right side of the painting holding cooking implements. There is a kind of MTV music video quality to the entire composition, and in particular the painting reminds me of Oppie's Ingat-ingat Pesan Mama (Don't Forget Mama's Words) that often appears on television.

The works of other young painters, including Tresna Suryawan, Salim M, Arifien, Eddie Hara, M. Faizal and Entang Warsito are presented in this show organized by the Galeri Santi until July 14.

Last but not least, there are exhibitions in smaller galleries which are worthy of note. And like the larger art exhibitions, they continue through July. An exhibition at the Duta Fine Arts Gallery in Kemang Utara 55A, South Jakarta, features the paintings of M. Faizal, showing that this young painter is indeed on the rise. This exhibition closes on July 25.

The Australian Embassy Gallery, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said C15-16, South Jakarta, presents the paintings of Australian painter Melissa Jane Ades until July 20. Finally, there is still time to catch the imaginative paintings of young Indonesian artist Yanuar Ernawati, shown at the Cemara Galeri Kafe in Menteng, Central Jakarta until July 2.