Jeihan's works captivate Parisians

By Putu Wirata

PARIS, France (JP): Noted Indonesian painter Jeihan Sukmantoro is currently delighting art lovers in the cultural capital of France, Paris, with 30 of his mysterious, yet enchanting, works.

In cooperation with the Paris-based Lansberg art gallery, Jais Hadiana Dargawijaya, owner of the Darga Gallery in Denpasar, Bali, is holding a breakthrough solo exhibition by an Indonesian painter at the Lansberg Gallery, ending on Dec.31, l999.

The exhibition is attracting hundreds of visitors to the gallery.

"It is very touching, and I feel very excited to know that an Indonesian painter is finally able to display his work in this prestigious gallery," exclaimed Dargawijaya.

Dargawijaya said that he had worked tirelessly to promote Indonesian artists and to arrange exhibitions of their work in Paris for years.

"You know, galleries in this city have long been controlled by art dealers and curators who want to only exhibit masterpieces like the works of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Christo, Henrie Matisse and others," he said.

He added it was very hard to convince the curators that there are many talented artists in Indonesia whose works deserved to be displayed at Paris galleries.

Previously Dargawijaya displayed works by Made Wianta, Nyoman Erawan, Chusin Setyadikara and Made Budhiana in a joint exhibition at the same gallery.

"I feel that Jeihan's works are very inspiring and are filled with electrifying energy," commented one visitor at the exhibition.

Some viewers experienced sensational feelings when looking at Jeihan's objects -- mysterious women.

The painter favorite objects are ordinary women or low-class female workers.

The ways these models pose for the artist reflect their ignorance to their surroundings and their enigmatic and intricate faces; something incomprehensible for most Westerners.

In many European paintings, women appear as sensual objects and as a symbol of middle-upper class society. Women are also regarded as having social and economic potential.

Jeihan's women are a far cry from these. According to art critic Jim Supangkat, Jeihan prefers to pick female workers from his neighborhood in Cicadas, a slum area in Bandung, as his models. He let them pose in natural ways.

The women are sometimes depicted half-nude with their full breasts as in Jeihan's untitled 1969 painting and Nin or Nora (l995). In Nora, Jeihan depicts a young woman's breast without intending to arouse male's sexual desires.

In Model, (l974) Jeihan also displayed an attractive half- naked woman lying on a bench as if she is relaxing watching a television program.

Many painters focus on women and nudity as an expression of their protest. On the other hand, Jeihan seems to portray women as they are. Jeihan is not a feminist who speaks for women. He just wants to portray women from different point of views, neither as an exotic object as in Balinese paintings or as a sexual objects as in European paintings.

Jeihan's family background has contributed to the way he views women. Supangkat says that Jeihan was obsessed with his happy childhood, where he lived among royal princesses of the Surakarta royal house in Central Java.

Within this royal circle, the young Jeihan absorbed sophisticated Javanese culture and values. Through his female models, Jeihan expresses his passions and his outlook towards women.

Dargawijaya said he was very happy to witness the public's enthusiasm towards the exhibition. He will certainly financially gain nothing from it; his effort to introduce Indonesian artists to the European public is admirable.

So far, there have been no art dealers brave enough to bring Asian artists to exhibit their works at Parisian art galleries.

Dargawijaya has already proven that Indonesian artists can also showcase their talents on European art stages.

"At present, I focus on Indonesian contemporary arts," said Dargawijaya.

Whether the door to European art galleries and museums will open wider and allow other Indonesian artists in, only time can tell.