New art galleries emerge despite crisis

New art galleries emerge despite crisis

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Three interesting new art galleries have just
been opened in South Jakarta. Each has their own distinct
characteristics: Galeri Milenium occupies the ground floor and
basement of a shophouse in a complex of shophouses in Cilandak;
Java Gallery is set in a mixed residential and commercial zone in
Kemang; and Galeri Inggil is a modern gallery in an office
building just off Kuningan boulevard.

This is certainly a very interesting development, particularly
considering the fact that the country is facing a monetary
crisis. How can this paradox be explained?

First of all, with the drop of the rupiah against the US
dollar, Indonesian art suddenly has become much more affordable
to buyers who are paid in dollars. Thus, expatriates and
executives with dollar salaries have found that this is the time
to buy Indonesian art.

However, this is not the only reason for the opening of the
three new galleries. An art dealer explained the situation:

Last month alone, he sold many paintings, far more than he
ever did during the economic boom. His buyers were businessmen,
mostly in real estate or securities. These businessmen originally
were sporadic collectors, only occasionally being able to pay
attention to the pieces they bought. Now, with the economic
downturn, they have the time to pay more attention to their
hobby.

Therefore, they are now spending their money, which they kept
in dollars, on paintings. The art dealer has a radical view of
the situation. He predicts that when the economy gets back on
track, these businessmen will no longer be able to pay as much
attention to paintings, and the art business will stagnate.

A prominent art collector sees the situation differently. He
tells the story of a relative of his. This relative, whose
business is in both real estate and securities, also collects
paintings. During the economic crisis, neither his real estate
business or his securities business have performed. It has been
difficult for him to sell land or houses, and stock prices have
remained stagnant. However, he has been able to sell pieces of
his painting collection for a profit. According to the collector,
his relative will always remember this experience and will
continue to invest in art. Therefore, according to the collector,
an economic boom in the future will stimulate an art boom.

Whatever the reasons behind these recent gallery openings, one
thing is undeniably true: the new galleries have benefited mainly
from young artists, particularly those who began to make names
for themselves before the economic crisis. These new galleries
have provided the artists with new and better venues to show
their work to a range of audiences and markets.

The Milenium Gallery, a fresh albeit modest gallery, seems to
be focusing on avant-garde artists. Their current exhibition
features Agus Suwage's rather gruesome and weird, yet curious,
drawings and paintings.

Suwage is an artist who recently participated in contemporary
art exhibitions in Japan and Cuba. He won the Philip Morris
Indonesian Art Award for his series of strong drawings on canvas
titled Daughter of Democrazy. Part of this series is on display
at the gallery.

The artist's works on paper are offered between Rp 750,000 and
Rp 3 million, which is rather affordable to those who are
interested in starting an art collection. The paintings are more
expensive, priced up to Rp 13 million.

Java Gallery also is focusing on artists who can still be
considered young, but whose works are more widely accepted. The
gallery's first exhibition featured Yogyakarta artist Iswanto.
The artist presents colorful, abstract impressions of figures.
Iswanto's paintings are certainly easier to comprehend and accept
than Suwage's angry and often depressing images.

The choice of artist and artistic style was based on Java
Gallery's target audience. Located on the main strip of Kemang,
the gallery targets the city's suburban elite and expatriate
community. The gallery is set in a simple house in the
neighborhood. It consists of rather small rooms with terra-cotta
walls, giving the gallery an intimate nuance.

Galeri Inggil offers the extreme opposite atmosphere. On the
ground floor of an ultramodern office building, the gallery
mimics the look of the building in which it is located. The tall
exhibition panels, which seem to come from a design for an
airplane or cruise liner, make the exhibition space, which is
rather small, seem like a grand hallway. It provides an
appropriate space to show the works of young artists who like to
work on large canvases.

The gallery's inaugural exhibition features the works of five
artists. On display are the fluid figures of I Made Djirna, S.
Yadi K's pleasant impressions of dancers and Yuswantoro Adi's
superrealistic social commentaries. Also in the exhibition are
the works of two female sculptors, Dolorosa Sinaga and Yani
Mariani. There seems to be a conscious attempt to present a
balanced mix of artists and artwork in terms of place of origin
of the artists, artistic style, art form and the artist's gender.

The three galleries will certainly pose some competition to
existing galleries. Yet, not all existing galleries feel
threatened by the emergence of these new galleries. One owner of
an established gallery claims he is glad these new galleries have
appeared. "The more the merrier. This will make people no longer
so reluctant to continue to collect art. Also, every gallery will
find its own market segment."

That is certainly true. The real question is whether the new
galleries be able to survive the competition against the older
galleries, which have more experience and have proven themselves
able to face the fierce competition of the art market. Of course,
survival will depend on each of the galleries' vision, business
strategy and professionalism.