Indonesia experiences second art boom

Indonesia experiences second art boom

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Almost 170 Southeast Asian paintings were auctioned in Singapore last Sunday. A historical painting by Raden Saleh Syarief Bustaman, entitled The Deer Hunt, measuring almost 2 by 3 meters, fetched a record breaking price for a work by the 19th century Indonesian artist. It was sold at a hammer price of S$2.8 million (US$2 million), well over the estimated value of between S$800,000 and S$1,200,000.

Also auctioned was a painting entitled Ni Tjawan and Little Ketoet at a Weaving Loom by William Hofker, which fetched a price of S$550,000. The estimated price was between S$200,000 and S$300,000. The most surprising sale was that of the 19th century Filipino painter Amorsolo, whose painting went for S$220,000, eleven times its estimated value.

Most paintings, however, sold at the lower end of their estimated values.

Christie's raked in S$7 million from the auction.

Indonesia is definitely experiencing a second art boom. The first boom in 1989 saw an emergence of collectors, galleries and Jakarta exhibitions, and pushed prices to unexpected levels. Dr. Oei Hong Djien, an ardent art collector, observed that this second boom, which began in 1995, is more intense and had spread to other big Indonesian cities.

Second boom

This second boom reinforces that there is a market for foreign artists' paintings of Indonesia, especially by artists working in Indonesia in the last three decades prior to independence. Today, more than 50 years after Indonesian independence, many of the original collectors have died, and their possessions have been passed to inheritors.

Even before the first boom in Indonesian art, collectors -- especially those based in the major painting center of Bali -- were already interested in paintings by foreign artists considered to be masters. These masters included Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet and William Hofker.

At that time, however, paintings by the masters were scarce. The Neka Museum in Ubud had six paintings by Bonnet, a result of Suteja Neka's friendship with the artist, and 15 paintings by Hofker, which Neka himself pursued all the way back to Holland. The Neka Museum was only able to represent Spies with a reproduction.

Similarly, Agung Rai's collection had only a small number of Hofkers and Bonnets. Only in 1989 was Agung Rai able to acquire a mysterious painting of a Calonarang, believed to be by Walter Spies. Most experts now agree that this unsigned painting is an original Spies.

That same year, new collectors from Jakarta looked to Bali for paintings by these masters, but only a privileged few among this elite found what they were seeking.

Peak

The peak of the boom was the Festival of Indonesia exhibition in 1991. This landmark exhibition in America reintroduced Indonesian art to the world. Exhibitions were then held in Jakarta at a remarkable frequency. The excitement, however, faded away, and it was soon evident the boom had ended.

The beginning of the second boom coincided with the first Christie's auction in Singapore in March 1994. At that auction, paintings by masters who worked in Indonesia were suddenly available for sale in the region. Spies's Crab Fisherman, for example, appeared in that sale. The auction's offerings of ceramics, jewelry and paintings filled only one catalog.

Since that pioneer auction, many other important artworks by both foreign and Indonesian artists have been offered at Christie's auctions. A number of interesting Hofkers, Bonnets, Le Mayeurs and Sonnegas came up for sale in an auction in March 1995. Even a painting by Covarrubias, who until then was hard to find, was offered. An entire catalog was then dedicated to Southeast Asian paintings.

A little over half a year later, in October 1995, the next auction was held. Although fewer paintings were offered, they were of higher quality. Two of Walter Spies' best-known paintings were auctioned, one fetching the astronomical price of S$900,000. The October auction proved there was a market for his paintings.

A number of books were published as the market developed. In 1993, monographs on Bonnet and Hofker were published. At the October 1995 auction, Haks and Maris's landmark Lexicon of Foreign Artists who Visualized Indonesia was introduced. Ruud Spruit wrote about Nieuwenkampf, Bonnet, Spies, Hofker, Le Mayeur and Arie Smit in his Artists on Bali. Another monograph on Le Mayeur was published the same year. All of a sudden, there was immense interest in the scholarship of these artists.

These publications helped fill the void of literature on Indonesian art and also helped boost sales.

Southeast Asia is emerging as a major fine art market, proven by Sotheby's opening shop in Indonesia a few weeks ago. Next month, both Sotheby's and Christie's will hold auctions of Indonesian art in Amsterdam on two consecutive days.

The glory days of painting auctions in the region has passed its peak. The first Christie's Singapore auction of Southeast Asian pictures in March 1994, fetched S$5.25 million, which then jumped to S$10.3 million the following year. Revenues fell to S$6.1 million at the third auction.

Although revenues increased at last Sunday's auction, the average price per painting decreased substantially. Keeping in mind that the record breaking price of the Raden Saleh accounted for more than a third of the total revenue of the last auction, it is clear that the presence of extraordinary pieces are crucial to the success of any auction in the region. The ability of auction houses to find real Indonesian and Southeast Asian masterpieces will determine if the business will remain profitable.