Roundup from Art Jakarta 2019

by Chloe Chu

Congratulatory floral plaques were lined up opposite the entrance to the convention center, where Art Jakarta 2019 was held, contrasting the fair’s sleeker branding, seen in the banners behind the plaques. All photos by Chloe Chu for ArtAsiaPacific.

The threat of a global economic recession cast no shadows over Art Jakarta (August 30–September 1). Presented annually from 2008 to 2017 as Bazaar Art Jakarta—and known thereafter as Art Jakarta—by Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia, the event underwent a near-complete rehaul. The 2019 edition was spearheaded by a new management team comprising collector Tom Tandio and curator Enin Supriyanto, and rebirthed with major upgrades to the venue. Gone were the gaudy carpets and chandeliers of the Ritz Carlton ballroom; galleries hung their wares in concrete-floored booths across two halls of the Jakarta Convention Centre.

Art Jakarta’s nimble adjustments appealed to galleries, many of which had been spooked by the recent collapse of Art Stage Singapore and Jakarta. Art Jakarta 2019 included a total of 70 participants, 40 of whom hail from Southeast Asia, an increase from the 46 mostly local exhibitors in 2018. Galleries such as Anomaly (Tokyo) and TKG+ (Taipei) had previously exhibited once or twice at Art Stage Jakarta or Art Bazaar Jakarta, but returned to Art Jakarta to expand their collector bases. Likewise, Arario Gallery (Seoul/Cheonan/Shanghai) stated that following the fall of Art Stage Singapore, they were looking for a replacement fair in the region, and decided to test the waters at Art Jakarta, despite lukewarm experiences at Art Stage Jakarta 2017. Art Jakarta’s restructuring paid off in other ways. Jan Manton Art (Brisbane), Art Porters Gallery (Singapore), and Gajah Gallery (Singapore/Yogyakarta) all highlighted the fair’s outstanding support for installation, promotion, and logistics.

The true performance measure for a fair, however, are the sales. Before the opening night, Jan Manton Art sold two of Jumaadi’s pigment-on-buffalo-hide paintings to a Singaporean buyer, for IDR 92,000,000 (USD 6,500) each. At Art Porters Gallery, Naufal Abshar’s satirical painting-installation was snapped up by a Hong Kong collector before doors opened. First time participants Nova Contemporary (Bangkok) placed Nipan Oranniwesna’s installation with ground-up coins encased in pills, and a triptych by Aracha Cholitgul, in private collections before the end of the first evening. TKG+ sold Mit Jai Inn and Sawangwongse Yawnghwe’s canvases to local, Singaporean, and Taiwanese collectors, while Sullivan + Strumpf (Sydney/Singapore) reported high demand for Irfan Hendrian’s brick-based sculptures among local and Hong Kong buyers. Though international, blue-chip galleries were absent from the exhibitor roster, directors of major establishments were seen stalking the fair and the surrounding events, perhaps laying the groundwork before making more substantial investments. With the majority of the participating galleries planning on returning next year, the fair proved to be a success regardless. Here are some highlights.

Art Jakarta launched new sectors this year, such as “Spot,” where galleries highlighted a single work by one artist. Here, YOU JI IN’s installation from her North, K2 (2017) series comprises reproductions of the K2 rifle, which are traditionally passed down generations of South Korean men as they serve their mandatory military terms. The artist intends for the mirrors to implicate viewers in this phenomenon and prompt critical reflections on the customs that surround warfare. Presented by The Columns Gallery (Seoul).

JUMAADI renders narratives drawn from epics, folktales, and biblical stories using natural pigments and buffalo hides. These two works, Night Gown and Night Walk and Then We Talk (both 2019), were created in collaboration with traditional puppet artisans, and sold by Jan Manton Art to a Singaporean buyer before the fair opened.

ZICO ALBAIQUNI’s compositions typically include three tiers. In the background of Perusing the Perversion (2019), offered by Yavuz Gallery, are mountains drawn from the works of Indonesian pro-independence painter S. Sudjojono. The middle layer is a storied building in Hamburg, which has housed refugees, LGBTQ, and leftist organizations, as well as right-wing gatherings. The figures in the foreground are based on photos of the artist’s performance, where he snuck into a fundamentalist Islamic rally.

ANGKI PURBANDONO’s Evidence (2019) features the artist’s personal artefacts, and is a continuation of the “scanography” works that he produced during his ten-month sentence at a Yogyakarta prison, which he served for possession of marijuana. On view at the booth of Mizuma Gallery (Singapore).

SAWANGWONGSE YAWNGHWE’s Four Horsemen (2019) appropriates the symbols of a biblical story in Revelations, which details four major disasters, to suggest the dire situation of the world today. The color blocks on the canvas are echoed in Military Decoration (2019), comprising smaller square panels with colors alluding to military patches, and the aestheticization of hegemony.

I GAK MURNIASIH learned to paint from the Italian artist whom she worked for as a domestic servant. She was one of the few female Indonesian artists active in the 1980s, and explored issues of female representation and sexuality—taboo topics at the time. These paintings were brought to the fair by Gajah Gallery.

Art Porters Gallery brought NAUFAL ABSHAR’s satirical painting-installations, which critique various facets of contemporary society. Here, Iron Lady (Female Robot) and Robot Pekerja (Working Class Robot) (both 2019) lampoon the obsequious relationships individuals have with their bosses and jobs.

At Baik + Khneysser (Seoul/Los Angeles), a performer modelled MELLA JAARSMA’s The Farmers (2019), a tribute to the Indonesian farmers who revolted against Dutch colonizers in the 19th century, and the academics who gave these illiterate farmers a voice in history.

NIPAN ORANNIWESNA’s Lunar Eclipse (2019) includes a coin from Thailand and Myanmar, symbolizing the relationship between the two neighbors. In the background are canvases by younger artists ARACHA CHOLITGUL and PRAE PUPITYASTAPORN, all presented by Nova Contemporary.

With dogs representing the Indonesians and the chandelier symbolizing the Dutch, JOMPET KUSWIDANANTO’s On Paradise, On Affection (2018), on view at Arario’s booth, evokes the nation’s historical struggle for independence.

Richard Koh Fine Art (Kuala Lumpur/Singapore/Bangkok) had a solo presentation featuring acrylic-on-canvas paintings by HASANUL ISYRAF IDRIS. Primal Beast (2019) is drawn from the artist’s memories of cooking, and meditations on death.

Chloe Chu is the managing editor of ArtAsiaPacific.

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