Martha's labor of love

Martha Gunawan, the owner and director of Galeri Mon Decor, has been instrumental in the publication of the book telling Renato Cristiano's complete life story.

In recruiting one of the best writers and the most outstanding publishers, obviously no cost was too much to obtain the best results.

So, of all painters, why did she select Renato Cristiano?

Martha, an architect by training who founded her gallery 15 years ago, says she was initially struck by the graceful combination of East and West in his paintings, particularly by his distinct treatment of Balinese women.

As she learned more about him, she discovered that he was among the most important expatriate artists who had lived and worked in Bali, a man whose works caused a stir in the European art scene.

She eventually came to understand why so few people in the Indonesian artistic scene of the 1990s were aware of his works.

"He is a person who is very introverted and avoids mingling with the self-promoting crowd and very careful in giving his trust to someone."

Martha organized a solo exhibition in 1996, and others in 1997 and 2001, convinced of the significance of bringing his works to a wider public here (she is currently holding an exhibition of 27 of his most recent works at her gallery at Jl. Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, until Nov. 13).

Martha contacted author Bruce Carpenter about two years ago, then asked her daughter Monica, who was studying art restoration in Florence, to do some more research about Cristiano.

Monica found that his works were hanging alongside Picasso, Monet and other celebrated artists in the MoMa New York. Fortunately, Cristiano, now an octogenarian, believed in Martha Gunawan's good intentions, and it is thus that the book could come to fruition. -- Carla Bianpoen