Jais falls deeply in love with the arts

Jais falls deeply in love with the arts

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Sanur, Bali

Once, she was relatively unknown in the art world. No one in
either the local and or global art circle would have noticed her
shuttling from gallery to gallery, let alone at prestigious
auction houses. Once, she was even denied entrance to an auction
house in Europe.

But then she made herself heard. Sitting in the front row at
an art auction, she confidently made a surprise bid.

Almost everyone in the room stared at her cynically, as if
wondering "who is that petite Asian lady who dares to make a bid
in one of the most important art auctions?"

That "lady" was Jais Hadiana Dargawidjaya, an Indonesian art
dealer who now spends her days running from one auction to
another around the world.

"They (accomplished art collectors and dealers) thought I was
insane. I was not one of them and not recognized as either an art
collector or dealer," Jais said, recalling her early days
struggling to make a name for herself. Now, she stands tall among
world art collectors and dealers.

Only a few Asian people have been able to penetrate the "close
and established art dealer club" in the West. And it needed extra
efforts to be noticed and accepted by members of that society,
added Jais when she visited her home and gallery in Bali.

Born into a rich, extended family in Bandung 45 years ago,
Jais never dreamed of becoming an art dealer.

She studied at a secretarial college in her hometown in
Bandung but was surrounded by many artist friends. Painter
Jeihan, music critic and writer Remy Sylado are among her old
pals. She also happened to be cast in a number of teen movies in
the l970s before she moved to Jakarta.

It was her father Dargawidjaya, who was of the landed gentry
class who became her idol. "He gave me a lot of lessons and
always inspired me to be courageous in facing hardships in life,"
said the mother of a teenage daughter.

Jais, who married Pascal Landsberg only two months ago, has a
12 year-old daughter, Magali, from a previous marriage and
brought her up as a single mother.

"I just follow my life and my destiny. It is like water
flowing through a river," she said.

Juggling business and family concerns has not been easy even
for a strong-willed woman like Jais.

In the early stage of her career, she found life was quite
difficult, having to start a business from scratch while taking
care of her baby all alone.

Starting out in the art business in the early 70s, she managed
it from her home. To display her collection, Jais set up an
exhibition at the Mercantile Club, which worked quite well. She
began dealing with clients who wanted to buy and collect
paintings.

"I spent hours providing them with necessary information about
each piece. Some buyers had little or no knowledge of the arts
but they wanted to start collecting," Jais said. In the l980s
when art was booming in Indonesia, many wealthy people were eager
to buy paintings of Indonesian and foreign artists for both
private collections and as a profitable investment.

In the early l990s, she moved to Bali, one of centers for the
arts in Indonesia, and opened Darga gallery in Sanur area in
l996.

When she tried to penetrate the European art market, she
thought it would be an impossible mission. Yet, she has been
quite successful despite all the obstacles.

"I am a stubborn woman," she admitted.

But there's one thing Jais regrets -- disappointing her only
child when she needed her most. At that time, her daughter, who
was still studying at a private school in Bali, was performing in
a school program.

"My daughter never asked me for anything, even for toys. But
at that time, she just asked me to watch her show. I really could
not make it as I was still involved in my first big art deal in
Paris, thousands of miles away," she recalled.

Now, Jais is building her new family in Paris with Pascal and
Magali by her side. For her, living in Paris is also the gateway
to the world arts community. In l998, she opened Darga-Landsberg
gallery in one of Paris's affluent areas.

"For me, living in Paris has given me wide exposure to the
masterpieces of international artists from various countries,
periods and movements," Jais said.

In her opinion, an art dealer should be kept informed about
every movement in the global art market, and Paris is the perfect
place to be.

"In Indonesia, art dealers are not yet respected. Most people
think of an art dealer as someone who sells paintings."

In Indonesia, she found people mostly prefer to be called art
collectors or art critics rather than an art dealers.

Being a good and respected art dealer, one should be
knowledgeable, well-informed about "art market mechanism" and
have access to a broad network of art dealers, owners of
galleries and the management of museums as well as potential
clients.

Good networking is a must, she added. Citing an example, if a
client needed a painting by Salvador Dali or another masters and
she did not have one, she would send the client directly to one
of her dealer colleagues.

When dealing with the price of artwork in Indonesia, each
party -- artist, gallery owner and collector, tends to blame one
another. "The Indonesian arts community does not have any
guidelines to standardize the prices of any items offered for
sale," she said.

In Indonesia, the market is still developing.

"I am glad, there are a number of local auction houses
emerging which will certainly help shape the map of the
Indonesian art market."

Jais now divides her time between her home and gallery in
Paris and in Suwung, Sanur, Bali. "I spend between two to three
months in Bali running my gallery and holding some exhibitions or
cultural gatherings at Darga."

When exhibiting artworks in Darga-Bali, she selects the ones
that would benefit local artists and art-lovers.

"A gallery is not only a place of business. It should also be
a place for education and art appreciation."

Jais boasted that she displayed works by masters like Pablo
Picasso, Henri Matisse, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezzane when she
first opened Darga gallery in Sanur. "I didn't mean to show off.
But only to give the chance for young artists in Indonesia to
view the works of masters," she argued.

During the opening of Darga-Landsberg in Paris four years ago,
she brought works of Indonesian artists like Jeihan, Affandi and
many more.

Recently, Darga Gallery in Sanur displayed works of Chinese-
born Paris artist Chu-Teh Chun. "He is one of the most
accomplished Asian-born painters in Paris. My intention was to
encourage young Indonesian artists to follow his path -- to be
recognized in the world art stage."

And a few weeks ago, she held a book launching for young
writer Bre Redana.

"I really hope I can make just a small contribution to the
development of artistic and creative activities in Indonesia."