Now it's art for business' sake

By Pandaya

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's art business is booming!

This news may not surprise anyone if it came during "normal" times, when life is not terrorized by economic hardship, the prospect of mass riots and all that.

News of a new gallery opening, a painting exhibition or an art bazaar comes hand-in-glove with news about a new wave of mob brutality, lay offs and rumors of impending price hikes.

As more companies go bankrupt in the face of an unrelenting economic crisis, the art business keeps on running -- and fast.

Art observer Agus Dermawan T. says, "Over the last six months, trade in artworks has shown a stunning upward trend in Indonesia. In that period, more than 1,300 paintings were sold. This is incredible."

When avant-garde artist Andi Suandi featured his paintings in an upscale restaurant in Jakarta last month, 80 percent of his "abstract realist" works on display were sold on the opening night. According to the organizer, most of the buyers were Japanese.

Abstract realist Barli Sasmitawinata from Bandung opened his recent exhibition at the Mandarin Hotel, Jakarta, with a big smile after he sold one piece for Rp 60 million.

A big art boom in Indonesia occurred between 1987 and 1989 but observers say the bang was not as loud as it is now, with 10 major galleries sprouting up in Jakarta within six months.

As galleries, hotels and upscale restaurants now organize exhibitions, artists are overwhelmed by invitations to take part in various events.

Sriwarso Wahono, a 52-year-old abstract painter from Jakarta, says, "Invitations (to participate in exhibitions) comes almost every day."

According to people in the business, it is the country's very economic crash that has given the art business a boost.

As the rupiah's value took a nosedive against the greenback, goods -- including artworks -- became "very cheap" for people with lots of dollars.

Art observer Ipong Purnomo Sidi notes, "Prices (of artworks) have not significantly risen during the crisis but buyers with dollars can have the work of top painters at very low prices."

Wealthy people, both local and expatriate, are seen spending their time in galleries. The Balindo exhibition area in the Citibank Tower, Pondok Indah, has been crammed with people lured by news that art pieces seized by the government from liquidated banks are being auctioned at only 60 percent of their market value.

It is now a time to sell for many art collectors with a troubled business that badly needs cash, and it is a good time for people to buy paintings and other works for investment.

Artists also benefit from the boom as demand for paintings rises. But it is art dealers who rake in the most profit because unlike the painters, they know how to do business, such as building networks with foreign companies.

"People from Japan, Singapore, the U.S. and Europe constitute a large bulk of the buyers due to the weak rupiah," says Ipong. "Many gallery owners in Singapore have come to buy paintings by avant-garde artists like Heri Dono, Anusapati, Nyoman Erawan and Arifin."

According to observers, the galleries are motivated by money rather than a sincere will to promote art appreciation. So, capitalists have opened galleries in vacated business blocks in prime sites because the art business has promising prospects and property owners will rent space at lower prices.

Lilin Rizwan Halim has her own reason for opening the modern Geleri Inggil in the commercial district of Kuningan, South Jakarta: Her home can no longer accommodate her art collection.

"So I opened the gallery so that other people, too, can enjoy art," she says. Lilin means to help young artists to develop by displaying their works in her gallery.

Forgery

The robust art business has also brought about unwanted side effects like organized forgery. The targets are works by famous artists Affandi, Widayat and Trubus. The problem is hard to tackle because the artists do not provide their works with a certificate of authenticity.

One well-known incident involved a collector who bought a painting by Widayat in an exhibition at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, in 1971. The collector went to Widayat's museum in Magelang, Central Java, for a certificate of authenticity only to be told that the painting was a forgery.

"Painting forgery is widespread, and is done almost openly," says Agus Darmawan.

If you happen to see that a not-so-well-known artist has the bulk of his/her work on display sold out in an unusually short time, you may be amazed but it could be a trick designed by the so-called "art mafia".

It is possible that the buyers are, in fact, people from the inner circle who intend to jack up an artist's popularity in a deceitful manner.

"All these tricks will undermine collectors' trust in artworks if this foul practice goes on unchecked," Agus says.

Another common problem is galleries cheating artists who rely on them to sell their works. The deceit includes imposing complicated procedures for the artist to get the money from sold works, refusing contract agreements and undervaluing the works.

Nurwati Sunoto, a painter from Jakarta, says, "It's sad to see artists being cheated by galleries. I prefer to hold my own exhibitions in multinational buildings although the outlay is higher than keeping your work in a gallery."

What? Boom?

Despite this business booming, some artists say this has not improved their welfare in a meaningful way, although it does lift their spirits to create.

Sutaji, 36, a naturalist based in Tuban, East Java, says, "Business is slow because many collectors won't go out for fear of riots and street crimes."

Sriwarso, one of Indonesia's well-know abstract painters, says he had heard about the boom but claims he did not really feel it, saying it was difficult to sell pieces worth Rp 10 million or more.

"I still work in a small studio in my house. My paintings are hung everywhere. Sometimes they fall off as my wife unintentionally brushes while she passed them."

Encouraging

The new galleries and the rigorous art exhibitions have been widely seen as an encouraging development of art appreciation in Indonesia.

Asikin Hasan, a curator for Galeri Lontar, Jakarta, notes that the current boom is greatly helping popularize avant-garde art, which has always been frowned upon.

"Contemporary artworks were rarely glanced at in the 1980s. Now many people buy them. Isn't it strange?" he asks. "In the past, people wouldn't buy anything but the works of conventional artists like Jeihan. The buyers were all the same people, like (business tycoon) Ciputra."

According to Asikin, the avant-garde works of Agus Suwage, Agung Kurniawan, Hanura and Tisna Sanjaya are the most sought after. Suwage's Democrazy carries a price tag of Rp 10 million, awesome for a piece of Indonesian avant-garde.

In Jakarta, he says, about 10 art exhibitions are held every day with the works being displayed becoming increasingly varied, ranging from paintings to ceramics. Collectors are also from various backgrounds: businesspeople, designers, doctors, etc.

It is generally agreed upon that the crisis has set off the arts boom.

Hey, somebody out there must be hoping hard for the crisis to go on a while longer.