JP/xx/YCARLA
JP/xx/YCARLA
Art highlights 2005
Carla Bianpoen
Contributor/Jakarta
For the art world 2005 was a year of milestones, one of which no
doubt was the 20th anniversary of Edwin Gallery which was
celebrated with a major extension of the premises and a memorable
exhibition of selected works by artists who had been part of the
gallery's history.
The anniversary also induced the birth of the Indonesian
Gallery Association, which intends to set strategies and
regulations for the dos and don'ts for artists, galleries and
auctions in the art commerce world.
The vibrancy in the arts this year was marked by numerous
exhibitions and the emergence of new auction houses, like
Heritage (a sister company of Master Piece auction house) and
Sidharta Auctioneer, launched at the beginning of this month.
The Borobudur auction house set its mark by successfully
launching its first auction outside the country (Singapore).
While Sidharta Auctioneer (in Jakarta) distinguished itself from
other auction houses with a more than usual affordable
collection, the Borobudur Auction house (in Singapore) made it a
point to present only the masters in the visual arts.
No doubt women took center stage, with the 100-year-old
Masmundari appearing in a solo exhibition of works that could be
classified from folk art to contemporary art.
Rita Widagdo, the German-born Indonesian grande dame of
sculpture, showed her impeccable oeuvre with a retrospective of
100 works, and even went beyond that with the launch of her
superb oeuvre at Summarecon Kelapa Gading to mark the company's
30th anniversary.
Yani Mariani Sastranegara, who jumped from monolith sculptures
to splendid installation art works in 2002, this year was a star
of the Indonesian delegation in Venice, while her huge white
cocoons amid the lush gardens of the Arma Museum in Ubud belonged
to the cutting edge of the Bali Biennale.
The same can be said of Titarubi, the star of the second and
last CP Biennale here, whose truck filled with (ceramic) corpses
might have given an impression of Jews on their way to the gas
chamber, but might also refer to victims of colonial times (the
truck being a vehicle for sugarcane transportation here), or
might ultimately talk of mass killings in our time.
Dyan Anggraeni's solo exhibition at CSIS on the political
discourse in the country reflected a bold analysis unusual for a
woman artist. Sidharta Auctioneer's main focus on Emiria Sunassa
in their inaugural auction was another notable mark in relation
to women artists.
Amid an almost exuberant sculpture art, the sculptures of
Teguh Ostenrik, a non-Catholic, is worth noting. Featuring Jesus
Christ and the Roman Catholic pantheon of saints and scenes at
Nadi Gallery here, and his Corpus Christi bathing in a pool on
the premises of the Ubud Arma Museum, they worked as an antidote
to radical notions of religious nature.
Three biennales marked the second half of the year. While this
may have seemed too much initially -- both for participating
artists as well as for the viewing public -- as they proceeded,
they appeared to become a beacon amid socio-political and
economic uncertainties.
As this year end report is being submitted, preparations for
the 8th Yogya Biennale are in full swing, and the only comment
available today is that participating works will be exposed in
heritage-valued places.
Bali's first ever Biennale kicked off on Nov. 27 and will run
through early 2006. It is imbued with an invigorating sensation
as the selected choices of the curators unfold in a wide variety
of works emanating creative dynamics.
A special focus on cartoon/comics in the Bali Biennale's
Cartoon Pavilion at the Danes Art Veranda in Denpasar seems to
solidify the rise of this trend in the visual arts scene.
The second -- and the last -- CP Biennale which closed on Oct.
5 might primarily be remembered for its controversy with the
Islam Defenders Front and its curator's emotional response of
declaring this their last biennale.
Other highlights of the year included attention drawn to paper
making as well as to paper as a material in the making of visual
art works.
Indonesian paper art artist Setiawan Sabana's works at Bentara
Budaya exemplified the versatile quality of paper and its ability
to move between fragility and robustness. The works of a group of
Dutch paper artists at the Dutch Cultural Center Erasmus Huis
featured jewelry, sculptures and wall decorations based on
Western paper making, while Mexican Sergio Lopez Orozco's works
at Arma Bali Museum drew attention to the ancient Balinese
Kamasan art made on ulan taga (bark cloth) paper, which had the
same characteristics as the paper the Mexican artist used for his
oeuvre, i.e. amate paper made with ancient Mexican techniques.
Landscapes and still lifes, the art of yore, may have
disappeared for some time, but they're making a comeback, if the
virtually sold-out works of the Jendela and Sakato groups showing
at Nadi's gallery this year are a sign.
A cooperation between master artist Jeihan Sukmanto and noted
playwright Ratna Sarumpaet in the staging of Sarumpaet's latest
soul-searching play Pelacur dan Sang Presiden (The Prostitute and
the President) was an awe-inspiring experience.
Performed by the young actors and actresses of Satu Merah
Panggung theater troupe at Balai Sudirman, on a stage with
selected monumental sculptures from Jeihan's most recent
inspiration, it may be seen as a groundbreaking event that calls
for more of the kind.
The issue of humanity that rings through in the play as well
as Jeihan's sculptures brings back the memory of the great German
artist Guenther Uecker's retrospective exhibition, a cooperation
between Goethe Institut Jakarta -- the German IFA (Institution
for Foreign Cultural Affairs -- and Bentara Budaya Gallery here
earlier in the year, which referred to the very core of art: to
evoke the stirring of the soul.