Indonesian art boom starts leveling out

By Amir Sidharta

SINGAPORE (JP): The results of the most recent auction of Southeast Asian paintings in Singapore last weekend indicated that the so-called Indonesian art boom is starting to level out and stabilize. Meanwhile, a similar art boom is shifting northward to art from the Philippines and Vietnam.

With a few exceptions, mediocre works with Indonesian themes by Le Mayeur, Theo Meier and Rudolf Bonnet either sold lower than expected or failed to sell at all. Meanwhile, paintings by Philippine artist Fernando Amorsolo continued to consistently fetch prices significantly above their estimates, as they did in last year's auctions. Works by Vietnamese artists, like Le Pho and Mai Thu, are also becoming very popular.

In Sotheby's auction last Saturday, Lee Man Fong's Bali Life, which was placed on the cover of Sotheby's catalog, failed to sell. Many agreed that the reason for the failure was because the estimates were set much too high, while the painting, done in the last year of his life, was rather weak. This epitomized the results of the sale of the Indonesian paintings in general. Although most of the paintings with Indonesian subjects sold poorly, there were some exceptional pieces which still fetched high prices. Le Mayeur's Three Young Balinese Women, a popular piece, attracted S$170,000 (US$118,055), still within its estimate.

However, a number of good quality paintings gained quite high prices. A fabulous landscape by Walter Spies broke another record for the Russian-born, German artist's work, being sold at a hammer price of $1 million. In previous sales, his paintings only managed to reach a bid lower than this price. Emil Rizek's Pasar in Bali was sold for $150,000, almost twice its already high estimate of $80,000 to $90,000. This piece broke a record for paintings by the Austrian artist. The work of the Indonesian 19th century painter Raden Saleh, titled Fighting Animals, was sold for $700,000, well over its estimate, to a phone bidder from Indonesia.

Another Raden Saleh depiction of the Dieng Plateau failed to sell. Apparently there were rumors in the Netherlands that the painting was a fake. A number of knowledgeable European-based specialists disagreed. They were convinced of the authenticity of the painting, but thought that perhaps the painting was part of the background of a larger painting by Raden Saleh. This seems to be an acceptable explanation, since the painting does seem to be consistent with Raden Saleh's technique, but the subject matter seems to be rather bland, compared to the painter's other choice of subject matter.

Another art expert agreed. "The large cloud which stretches on the upper part of the painting seems to be ill-proportioned for this painting, but is better suited in a larger image. Raden Saleh's paintings usually have a strong composition," she said.

Indonesian painters

Some works by other Indonesian painters also managed to achieve high prices. Hendra Gunawan's War and Peace gained $135,000, approximately twice its estimate. Makan Siang by the late Sudjana Kerton, was sold at $38,000. Kerton's name became subject of discussion earlier this year after 19 of his paintings were stolen, following a major retrospective of the artist's oeuvre last year. Other surprises included the sale of a large painting by young artist I Wayan Cahya, titled Summoning the Animal Kingdom, which fetched a surprising $30,000, over twice its estimate.

Although Christie's sale on Sunday seemed much more vivacious than Sotheby's auction the day before, it also showed a similar trend. Paintings by Le Mayeur generally sold within the estimated range of prices, with the exception of one which fetched twice its estimate. Two of the three works by Hofker which sold, only went a little above their estimated prices. In the past, Hofker's work was known to have fetched surprisingly high prices.

Some works by Australian artist Donald Friend were sold at prices lower than $20,000. Several typical vertical pieces by Lee Man Fong, which managed to sell, could only achieve low prices -- between $14,000 and $22,000. Last year, good works by Lee Man Fong fetched prices four to five times higher.

Raden Saleh's Lion and Snake Fighting Outside a Grotto in a Tropical Landscape was sold at a hammer price of $1.8 million. At Christie's auction last year at this time, Raden Saleh's Deer Hunt set a record price of $2.8 million. Some experts felt that the painting which sold on Sunday, although smaller in size, was more impressive than the record-breaking one which sold last year. Raden Saleh's second painting at Christie's, a European landscape titled Water-Mill, was sold for a modest $80,000.

Again, the better pictures in the Christie's sale continued to fetch sound prices. Walter Spies's Animal Fable also sold for $750,000. Kerton's Potato Diggers sold for $50,000, even better than the first Kerton which sold at Sotheby's the previous day. Hendra Gunawan's Fish Monger sold at $80,000, above its estimate.

Works by living senior Indonesian modern painters also sold well. Works by Nasjah Djamin, Achmad Sadali and Popo Iskandar sold at prices which were toward the higher end of the estimated ranges or even higher. Meanwhile, a horizon piece by Srihadi Soedarsono sold well above its estimate.

Singaporean and Malaysian paintings also indicate a maturation of the market, with the stronger paintings selling well, while the mediocre ones had a harder time selling. Works by Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Dato Mohammed Hussein Enas, Latif Mohiddin and Chang Fee Ming continued to fetch high prices.

Both Sotheby's and Christie's sales of Philippine and Vietnamese paintings were tremendously successful. The first of Amorsolo's works offered at Sotheby's, Young Girl with a Pot, was sold for an estimated $160,000, well over its estimate of $30,000 to $40,000.

At Christie's, Amorsolo's Working in the Fields was sold at $140,000, twice its estimated price. His other works also sold well. Also at Christie's, Portrait of an Old Man by Fabian de la Rosa, fetched $38,000, approximately three times its estimate. Even the more mediocre pieces by Philippine artists managed to sell.

Surprise

However, the real surprises happened during the sale of paintings by the Vietnamese artist Mai Thu at Christie's. His painting of two boys and a girl with a fan sold for $11,000, over twice its estimate. Another piece by the artist, The Jade Necklace, fetched $18,000, over six times its estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. Bidders for this piece included collectors from Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

Le Pho's paintings also sold well, especially An Elegant Beauty Reclining in a Poppy Field, which sold for $28,000, and Maternal Love, which fetched $22,000. Both paintings sold for around three times their estimated prices. At Sotheby's, Le Pho's La Lettre, a sweet oil on silk, fetched $28,000, almost twice its estimate. This indicated that the prices of Vietnamese art were on the rise.

"It is clear that collectors are becoming much more selective," exclaimed Oei Hong Djien, a prominent Central Java collector. He thought that this was the main reason for the relatively tough sales last weekend.

"Most collectors already have good pieces by the artists they like and they are now looking for better quality paintings. You can see that the better quality paintings remain strong in terms of prices," he added.

The fact that many Indonesian paintings sold within their estimated ranges also indicated that the estimates were more accurate. It also suggested that the market was becoming much more mature.

Meanwhile, it is also evident that auction houses are finding it more and more difficult to locate high quality paintings which are suitable for auction, priced well and attractive to their loyal clients. With the exception of some very good pieces, most of the paintings appearing in the auctions last weekend were considered to be mediocre by potential buyers.

Seeing that the art boom is quickly shifting northward to artwork from the Philippines and Vietnam, observers predict that auction houses will no longer rely on Indonesia as their main market. They will soon broaden their focus and place greater emphasis on art from the greater Southeast Asian region. We will soon see a further globalization of Southeast Asian paintings.