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.