Good art should not be expensive

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.