King of reinvention Iwan Tirta strikes again
King of reinvention Iwan Tirta strikes again
Sherry Samtani, Contributor, Jakarta
The many faces of Iwan Tirta include professor, international
lawyer, author, the country's leading batik designer and now a
designer of silverware.
But regardless of his line of business, one title reigns
supreme -- his perpetual enthroning as the "master of the art of
batik".
Now the master has his very own emporium, a massive yellow and
red five-story building of several thousand square feet, tucked
away in Kedoya, West Jakarta.
With the ground floor exclusively devoted to his products, the
opening of Iwan Tirta's spanking new gallery will provide a much
needed batik haven on that side of Jakarta.
Seceding from his previous joint venture with PT Rama Craft,
Iwan launched PT Iwan Tirta last year, an affiliation with Agus
Sugiono, with an exclusive line of creations titled the "IT
Private Collection."
The move followed the lead of international high fashion
designers teaming up with conglomerates to broaden their
financial horizons with increased backing and their own focus
centered more on the creative side.
"The days of independent fashion houses are long gone. We
require technology and finance to maximize our potential and I am
bringing this trend to Indonesia," Iwan said.
Iwan has designed batik clothing for presidents and kings, his
works covered in numerous international publications such as
Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, National Geographic and many others.
The gallery will continue his legacy of rich textiles in
unique batik designs but aims to take the Indonesian cloth to a
new level by branching out with silverware and porcelain, all
adorned in batik motifs.
His last collection of porcelain, themed The Phoenix and Peony
Flowers, was revered for its traditional lookcan motif and a
revival of the blue and white combination in porcelain.
This time around his kedaton (court) collection of 2005 with
Royal Doulton bears the classical Modang design, a bold pattern
of red, black and gold. Iwan recreated the fiery design, once
reserved for the ceremonial batik of the royal courts of Java,
depicting a symbolic love that ignites passion not only in
oneself but the entire world.
The Modang pattern also makes an appearance in silverware as
well in a coffee and tea set masterpiece. Mostly border work,
Iwan said most of the work was intricately embellished by hand
and the silver was of premier quality, befitting the beauty of
his designs.
The silverware was six years in the making, and Iwan said it
was "purely Indonesian with Javanese and Balinese influences...
There is no point in imitating foreign silverware."
With Turkish silver flooding the market, Iwan wanted to offer
something different while enlarging the span of batik.
His silverware carries two lines -- one less exclusive but
more affordable, and one for exclusive masterpieces. A favorite
from the latter includes brilliantly ornamented conch shells with
sterling silver borders that were handmade in Klungkung, Bali.
The visible disparity between his batik clothing and batik
silverware is the traditionalism in the patterns of the latter.
However, the idea of sterling silver handcrafted pillboxes in
the Chinese patterned lookcan motif of north Java is innovative
in itself.
Prices are still not fixed but they will be by the grand
launching on Oct. 29.
The gallery, in its half-done state, shows promise of variety
and extravagance.
And Iwan promises only more with plans for a cosmetic line
that is in keeping with his creative genius and love of glamour
and sophistication.
Will the gallery live up to the claims? The grand launch will
tell all.