Sculptor Sidharta holds a retrospective
Sculptor Sidharta holds a retrospective
Text and photos by Tarko Sudiarno
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Gregorius Sidharta Sugijo, one of Indonesia's
most prominent sculptors, is exhibiting his works in a
retrospective show at Museum Widayat in Magelang.
The exhibition, which opened last Saturday and will run until
Jan. 22, features 134 of his works that include sculptures,
paintings and sketches.
Sidharta, 68, is presenting works that span from the early
years of his career to his latest masterpieces, 1950 to 1999. He
says he intends to introduce "more of himself" to the local
public through the works on display.
The artist, one of the first alumnae of the Yogyakarta-based
Indonesian Arts Institute in the early 1950s, dedicated most of
his time teaching at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
He retired recently from his position as chief of ITB's
Painting and Sculpture Arts and is concentrating on creating
artworks.
Only selected works are presented to represent masterpieces of
each year of his career. The statues on show are not very large
in size. Many of his best works have been collected by major
museums both in Indonesia and abroad.
Among his monumental creations scattered around Indonesia and
Asia are a mural mosaic at Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta (1962),
relief on pulp and paper production process at Blabag, Magelang
(1963), Garuda Pancasila eagle at the House of Representatives,
Jakarta (1971), decorations of Sukarno's tomb in Blitar, East
Java (1978), the Proklamator Monument, Jakarta (1979), the Ocean
Monument in Tanjung Priok, Jakarta (1980), statue of children at
ASEAN Park in Manila, and Balance and Orientation statue at
Elgala Plaza in Fukuoka, Japan (1997).
Some of his latest statues in the show are Pengendang
(Drummer) and Kelahiran Seorang Dewi (The Birth of a Goddess).
Sidharta says that although he has retired from his teaching
job, he will not stop creating as an artist. He wants to exhibit
his work at least once a year as a "token of artist
accountability to the public".
He is worried that to stop creating would kill his creativity.
He opened the exhibition on Jan. 15 to coincide with the 50th
anniversary of the Indonesian Arts Institute.