Hendra's works a big hit at Sydney auction

Hendra's works a big hit at Sydney auction

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne

Although Hendra Gunawan's works celebrating the beauty of
ordinary life have fetched handsome prices at an Australian
auction, there is a poignant story behind them.

It seems that in every segment of life we cannot avoid the power
of trends. In Australia's art circles, the trend of Southeast
Asian art is increasingly felt, with Indonesian and Vietnamese
paintings now featuring prominently in this country's art
auctions.

Chris Deutscher of Deutscher Menzies Auction House observes
that interest in Australia for contemporary paintings from Asia
in general has been steadily growing.

He was fielding enquiries about Hendra Gunawan's works,
Fruitsellers and Women with Betelnut, for some time before the
actual auction on Dec. 8-9. He emphasized that these had come
from genuine art collectors, not from investment bodies.

On the morning the two paintings were auctioned and eventually
sold for A$143,900 each, the suspense in the 250-strong audience
was palpable, so much so that each time the auctioneer's hammer
went down, there was loud applause to dissolve the tension.

For an Indonesian, it was gratifying to see such tangible
appreciation for the works of nationally well-known art icon.

Interestingly, while Dutch artist Willem Gerard Hofker's Bali
paintings went to a private Indonesian collector at the same
auction, Hendra Gunawan's Fruitsellers and Women with Betelnut
were bought by a private Dutch collector.

Coincidentally, like Hofker's works, the previous owner of
Hendra's paintings was a military officer too, Brig. Gen. Subroto
Kusmardjo, for whom Hendra painted them when he was in prison in
1967. The brigadier general, a keen art connoisseur, was an
intelligence officer in the Indonesian Army who regularly visited
him.

Hendra -- a painter, sculptor and poet -- was imprisoned
because of his perceived close association with LEKRA, the
communist-leaning cultural organization in Indonesia under
Sukarno's rule.

His passion for promoting populist art to the country's
aristocracy, upper bourgeoisie and power elite endeared him to
LEKRA, which gave Hendra, then in his early 40s, studio space,
along with materials, and what were considered sizable funds for
travel at the time.

A crack in the link between Hendra and LEKRA began to appear
when, during the political turbulence between 1963 and 1965,
LEKRA seemed to become increasingly aggressive in promoting the
ideology of "politics as commander".

However, before Hendra had time to take any drastic step to
sever the ties, the bloody events of Sept. 30, 1965, led to
chaos, and when the dust finally settled with the staunchly anti-
Communist Soeharto in power, Hendra, along with many left-leaning
personalities, were taken into what proved to be long detention.

In December 1965, Hendra was taken to Cimahi prison, and was
later transferred to Kebon Waru prison in Bandung, where he
remained for the following 13 years without trial.

The prison authorities, aware of Hendra's artistic talent,
vacated a room for him to be used as a studio. It was during this
time that he painted Fruitsellers and Women with Betelnut, as
well as producing other works which now reside in various
galleries and homes of private collectors around the world.

In Kebon Waru he also taught painting to fellow inmates as
well as those from the community. He became known as the "painter
behind bars", and made genuine friendships with many people from
all walks of life, including journalists and some military
officers.

In his art, Hendra celebrated ordinary lives -- the lives and
activities he saw around him. And in his art, he transcended
class distinction.

For instance, instead of focusing on hardship, he saw beauty
in the resilience and the capacity for endurance in the women he
came across in the marketplace.

It is interesting that even in prison, those images still
dominated his psyche -- he still produced such simultaneously
gentle and passionate works in adversity, showing his unwavering
integrity.

Against this background, A$143,900.00 for each painting at the
auction is a fair sum. And in this era where we hear of violence,
and see evidence of it beaming at us every day from the
television screen, it is hoped that Hendra's works inspire and
insinuate some gentle normality into our lives.