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.