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.