Indonesian art boom starts leveling out

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.