Oei Hong Djien, artwork curator

Oei Hong Djien, artwork curator

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Magelang, Central Java

It never crossed Oei Hong Djien's mind when he bought his first
painting in 1965 that it would mark an important beginning for
him and the country.

Intrigued, he bought a painting by an then-unknown artist.
Over time, a similar irresistible drive made him buy more and
more paintings from local artists -- both noted and unknown.

By the early 1980s, Oei had started buying the works of one of
the country's modern masters, Affandi.

"I never intended to become a collector. In fact, I never call
myself one. It's the result of a process that I never realized
until people referred to me as a collector," said Oei, a
physician, who graduated from the University of Indonesia's
School of Medicine in 1964.

Oei said he was unlike those "instant" wealthy collectors who
could afford to buy up hundreds of paintings in a relatively
short time. He usually bought paintings when they were still
cheap. He had learned that when the artists became more famous,
their works became more expensive.

Currently, Oei has about 1,000 paintings, which fill up the
walls of his house in Magelang, Central Java. Then there are the
sculptures and installations.

In 1997, space concerns and a desire to preserve his
collection led him to build a two-story private gallery on a 200-
square meter plot of land next to his home.

To maintain the collection's condition, Oei has equipped the
gallery with a humidity control device and another to prevent
fungus from growing on the works.

"I only display the paintings that I like. I never display
those I don't like," Oei said.

Among Oei's selected painting collections include those of
first generation Indonesian moderns Raden Basoeki Abdullah,
Affandi, Widayat, S. Soedjojono, Hendra Gunawan, and Lee Man
Fong; and the younger generation -- Made Djirna, Nasirun, Dadang
Christanto, Entang Wiharsa and Ivan Sagito.

For artists such as Affandi and Widayat, Oei has tried hard to
collect works that best represent and describe the creative
journey of the artists from the time they began painting until
they died.

"(The late) Pak Widayat, for example, he began painting in an
abstract style in the 1950s and changed his style many times on
his creative journey. Yet, he went back to an abstract style (not
long before) he passed away. The same thing also happened to Pak
Affandi, who started with realism and ended with it too," Oei
said.

Like the many of the artists who began unknown, Oei's life's
work -- his collection -- is now getting praise from many
quarters.

"I find Dr. Oei's collection very interesting. It's almost
unlimited. It's like a sample of the history of modern Indonesian
fine arts," says Dutch art historian Helena Spanjaard, who has
just written a book with Oei entitled Exploring Modern Indonesian
Art; The Collection of Dr Oei Hong Djien recently published here
at Museum Haji Widayat.

Oei said the motivation to make the book came from being
disappointed when searching for art books abroad. He never found
reference books on the Indonesian arts, much less on modern
artists.

"I realized that modern Indonesian art is little-known abroad
despite its richness and good quality," he said.

The 312-page coffee table book, sold for Rp 750,000 per copy,
contains the works of about 130 artists. The first edition had a
print run of 3,000 and would be distributed mostly to museums,
art galleries, universities and art schools, with some books
being given away.

Oei said he deliberately focused on modern Indonesian
paintings for two reasons -- because he liked them and because he
could afford to buy them.

"Of course I liked Picassos and Rembrants. But with the money
I had I could not buy the best of them. It's better for me to
have the best of Nasirun's work rather than art of lesser
quality. I'd rather go to the Netherlands to see a good
Rembrant," he said.

A widower with two children, his wife Wilowaty died in 1992,
Oei spends much of his time doing curatorial work for art
exhibitions, opening exhibitions, writing art catalogs and
helping institutions and individuals organize shows.

He also sometimes lends out works in his collection to be
exhibited in Indonesia and abroad.

Having retired from his task as a volunteer physician for a
Catholic missionary some years ago, Oei is now an exclusive
tobacco tester for cigarette producer PT Djarum.

"But I only work at the job for three months a year, during
the tobacco harvest time," said Oei, adding that his earnings as
a tobacco tester now financed his art collecting.