Good art should not be expensive

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): It is a pleasure to look at so much art around Jakarta. However when it comes to buying a piece, a cloud of confusion invariably confronts most people.

One thousand and one troubling questions surface as one canvass looks more beautiful than the other, making the decision to choose one ever so difficult. Very often people go in search of a painting because they had heard of the artist at a social event held the previous evening.

However, they cannot make up their minds once they actually stand before the painting. It does not appeal to them but should it be bought only because their neighbors have one by the same artist in their houses?

That is a million-rupiah question. Should a painting be bought because one has plenty of money to spend and everyone around is buying art, or should art be bought simply because it pleases the individual?

If Mira, 28, and Karina, 33, are consulted, they would probably suggest that art ought to be bought for art's sake. The owners of a tiny little gallery, provocatively called Bizete, after the little flirtatious kiss the French are so famous for, even in their comparatively young lives, had collected so much of art simply because they liked it that two years ago they decided to open the gallery.

Undaunted by the fact that the city is already overflowing with countless of art galleries, Bizete opened its doors to the public in the thick of the economic crisis in November 1998.

"At first I just wanted another place to store all the works I had collected. My home was overflowing with paintings," says Mira. But when good friend Karina agreed to become a partner, the entire space was renovated and redecorated and exhibitions were held periodically after separating the collection into different themes, she said.

"Moments in Life" is the name of the ongoing exhibition that will be open until Oct. 29 and has on display the works of three young but extremely talented painters, along with sculptures from Bali and Yogyakarta.

The two art collectors do not necessarily go in for the very expensive, almost unaffordable works of the great masters. However if a client is looking for a rare canvas they try to help them get it.

"My experience is that all good art does not have to be expensive. A painting does not have to cost a lot to be valued," says Karina who gives the example of the collection at the Bizete Gallery where it is still possible to pick up a piece of art for under Rp 1 million.

What excites them most is the discovery of young, unknown artists and to introduce their work to more and more people without of course trying to fool or fleece the buyers. Both admit that they depend upon their love for art, intuition and experience of living with art since childhood to select works for the gallery.

Mira is an accountant by profession and Karina is in the restaurant and cafe business but what cements the deep friendship between the two is their common passion for art.

They describe two types of art collectors that one comes across these days, those who are part of a passing fad or trend and those who love art despite the change in the season.

The stunning bronze pieces by Basuki Prahoro from Yogyakarta on display at the gallery at the moment are examples of the fine taste of the two collectors. It may not be too ambitious to predict that the piece titled Ibu dan Anak (Mother and Child) will remain a masterpiece long after the artist is no more.

Another painter to watch out is I Nengah Naraya from Bali who mixed media techniques and soft abstractions to create patterns that can also be termed timeless.

But, as they say, the best is yet to come when the gallery will host a month-long national art festival where it will be possible to pick up works by Hungarian painter Lazzlo, Amirus Natalsya from Sumatra, I Gusti Widiantara from Bali, Ledek from Jakarta and other talented painters from across the archipelago.

They promise the paintings will be most reasonably priced.

The festival will start on Nov. 7 and further inquiries can be made at the gallery at 724 6725 that is open daily between 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The e-mail address is: bizetegallery@yahoo.com.