New art gallery opened for public

JAKARTA: Indonesian man Leksmono Santosa has opened an art gallery in South Jakarta to display and sell thousands of unique items collected during his extensive travels through Indonesia.

The gallery, Roemah Djawa, at Jl. Lebak Bulus Raya I No. 85Z, is home to thousands of unique items, including a beautifully- carved ship's mast from Madura, statues from the Asmat tribe in West Papua and male dance bags from the Dani tribe in Papua.

The two-storey Javanese style gallery also has a huge collection of traditional clothes, some of which are rare.

Items that are rare and difficult to find are not for sale.

Leksmono also acts as a "guide", telling stories about every item he has collected.

"If you like to visit the gallery and hear the stories behind the items, you have to make an appointment with me first," he said.

"But if you only want to visit and see, you can always come here any time," he added.--JP