Taking Indonesian paintings to the world

Taking Indonesian paintings to the world

Lila Fitri Aly, Contributor, Jakarta

Indonesia's painting maestri like Affandi, S. Sudjojono and
Hendra Gunawan became renowned throughout the world because they
traveled a long-tested journey and showed consistency in their
careers.

Undeniably focusing on their careers led them to attain a high
level of artistic achievement. Their success could also affect
the history of Indonesia's fine arts, as true collectors will
always be ready to hunt for the work of these old masters.

Fine arts observer Agus Dermawan T. attributes the success of
the maestri and their masterpieces to the challenges of their
times that they faced. They painted because they believed it was
a means of waging a struggle for freedom and for humanity, and
thus, their work could be accepted internationally. In time,
these old masters gave way to the next generation -- artists like
Srihadi Sudarsono, Sunaryo and Heri Dono.

"What's obvious is that the current young artists have no
challenges in their careers. Although they are quite productive,
they live in an era when life can be taken very lightly. Money is
their only challenge," said Dermawan, who is also consultant to
Christie's auction house.

Dermawan said that Indonesian paintings were in fact
introduced to the international market as far back as 1994, when
Christie's held an auction of paintings by Southeast Asian
artists.

An auction can be used as a platform to introduce Indonesian
paintings to the outside world. While an auction may be at a
regional level, it may still attract international collectors.
Therefore, one way to promote Indonesian paintings
internationally is to send them to such auctions and auction
houses.

Another way is for an Indonesian painter to organize his or
her own exhibition abroad. Affandi, for example, once held a
touring exhibition in Europe. Although it was not financially
successful for him, his name became known in the international
community of art buffs, a fact that would finally bring him
wealth.

"The market for Indonesian paintings is quite big," said
Dermawan, and generally, 60 percent of paintings at an auction
come from Indonesia. The remaining 40 percent come from
Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

International auction houses like Christie's realize that the
old masters from Indonesia are not only good commodities, but are
also important in terms of history, artistic achievement and
esthetics.

It must be borne in mind, however, that since 2000, Vietnamese
paintings have begun to attract the market and pose a threat to
Indonesian art. As Vietnam progresses in its economic growth,
this country has set its eyes on fine arts auction agencies.

In Indonesia, the economic boom of the 1980s, followed by the
property boom, led to a boom in fine arts, as paintings were
needed to decorate many new buildings. Auction agencies,
therefore, began to pay attention to Indonesian paintings.

Indonesian paintings have dominated the auctions organized by
such agencies because these works show a greater variety in terms
of theme and visualization. In Indonesia, paintings as a fine art
developed in a number of regions such as Jakarta, Bandung,
Yogyakarta and Bali, and carried the specific characteristics of
the regions.

Now that the old masters have passed on, the international
market now awaits the emergence of new figures in Indonesian fine
arts.

"They are usually disappointed because Indonesia's painting
world has yet to give birth to new masters," said Dermawan. While
the work of the old masters are no longer found on the market,
the work of new maestri have yet to appear, even though most
Indonesian artists are productive.

When auction agencies run out of Indonesian paintings,
particularly their stock of the old masters' works, their
enthusiasm for Indonesian paintings will diminish without new
masters to continue where the old maestri left off.

Catherine Cocca, a U.S.-based art manager and curator and wife
of artist Entang Wiharso, has said that American institutions
like museums and exhibition centers prefer to establish contact
with similar institutions in Indonesia like the National Museum,
the National Gallery, and private galleries or foundations,
rather than having to deal with individual artists and invite
them to exhibit their work overseas. Unfortunately, art
institutions are still few and far between in Indonesia.

"For U.S. institutions, contact with similar institutions in
Indonesia would facilitate their work," said Cocca. Dealing with
an institution means that curators can rest assured that it has
conducted preliminary examination of the paintings in its
collection.

American curators and the public now realize that Indonesia's
fine art paintings have a universal message. "They explore local
themes, but convey a universal message," Cocca said. In the past
eight years, U.S. collectors have begun to buy up Southeast Asian
contemporary artworks. "Although the number is still very small
now, this trend is developing," she said with optimism.

She believes one way an artist can establish contact with the
outside world is to apply for a scholarship or grant and live in
a particular country for some time. In this way, they will have
an opportunity to interact with the local community and begin to
establish an international reputation.

To enter the international market, Indonesian artists will
have to be able to communicate the ideas behind their work to the
international community. Also important are the way in which the
ideas are represented and their technique.

In this context, Dermawan suggested that Indonesian galleries
team up with Brad Pury, a London-based organization that brings
together small galleries across the world to hold joint
international exhibitions, featuring the best of each individual
collection.