Capital city flooded with art exhibitions

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.