Galeri Lontar: A gallery with vision

Galeri Lontar: A gallery with vision

JAKARTA (JP): The growing interest of Indonesia's emerging
middle class in art as an investment over the past few years has
resulted in the opening of a large number of galleries all over
Jakarta.

One of them is Galeri Lontar at Jl. Utan Kayu No. 68H, East
Jakarta, near the Rawamangun exit to the Cawang-Tanjung Priok
toll road.

In the seven months since its opening on May 10 this year,
Galeri Lontar has emerged as a miniature art center with a
variety of fine art related activities. Different from the vast
majority of the galleries springing up in the capital, Galeri
Lontar was founded on the basis of a vision of art's place in a
cultured society.

The gallery's experienced professional team of curators is
made up of noted artists, critics, intellectuals and cultural
observers. Jim Supangkat, Bambang Bujono, S. Malela Mahagasarie,
Goenawan Mohammad, Nirwan Dewanto, Hildawati Soemantri, Umar
Kayam and S. Prinka carefully select the art to be presented in
the gallery's 9 x 16 square meter exhibition space.

The art work shown at Galeri Lontar is carefully screened and
selected on the basis of content and cultural relevance. Priority
is given to the works of important artists who for one reason or
another may have been overlooked by other galleries in Jakarta.
Cultural interests take precedence over commercial potential in
Lontar's discriminating selection process. This makes Galeri
Lontar a serious art collector's dream come true.

Galeri Lontar puts on exhibitions of a wide variety of art,
not just oil paintings. A case in point is the current exhibition
of "wood paintings" by Amrus Natalsya. And in the months to come,
Galeri Lontar has scheduled exhibitions by T. Sutanto, who will
be showing graphic art works, drawings and paintings next month;
R. Magdalena Pardede, who will exhibit silk screen prints; Agus
Suwage, who will be showing drawings; Satya Graha, who will
exhibit sculptures, and drawings and Edi Hara and Semsar Siahaan,
who will both display paintings. Amrus, Edi Hara and Semsar
Siahaan are noted for their insightful, sometimes sharply
critical views of contemporary Indonesian society.

Galeri Lontar, which is directed by Fikri Jufri and Zulkifly
Lubis, does more than just hold exhibitions. The gallery staff
produces and sends out a monthly newsletter containing
stimulating and informative articles on art by artists,
collectors and art lovers. Galeri Lontar also holds discussions
on trends in the arts. In September, Galeri Lontar sponsored a
discussion of the tendency toward commercialism in the production
of sinetron (television miniseries). The speakers, Jamal D.
Rahman and Mualim M. Sukethi, discussed the miniseries titled
Aku, Perempuan, dan Lelaki Itu (I, the Woman and The Man), which
a number of television networks had refused to broadcast because
they said it lacked commercial potential. Only ANteve was willing
to air the miniseries, which was shown at the beginning of this
month.

Besides the exhibition space itself, Galeri Lontar, which
covers a total area of 144 square meters, houses the Toko Buku
Galeri (Gallery Book Store), where visitors can purchase books on
art, as well as works of graphic art, calendars, cards and
stationery items, and the Kedai Tempo (Tempo Cafe), where
visitors can relax with a drink or snack and indulge themselves
in light conversation or serious discussion. With these
professionally run facilities and its management's visionary
focus on cultural and societal trends, Galeri Lontar is
definitely not a run-of-the-mill gallery.

-- Margaret Agusta