Collection of a Pioneering Gallery Owner

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Collection of a Pioneering Gallery Owner

Lots 051 to 066 in our Fine Art Auction on 11 December  are from the collection of pioneering gallery owner. Indonesian collector Joseph Solaiman (Ong Pok Koey) started collecting art since the 1960s and was among the very first collectors of art in Indonesia. After living in the United States, he returned to Indonesia in the late 1980s and decided to continue his passion for fine art by providing an outlet for artists to be able to showcase their works. He established Galeri Santi, named after his dear wife.

Since its establishment and all through the decade of the 1990s, Galeri Santi became an important institution in the development of art in Indonesia and more importantly, in the appreciation of Indonesian art. Joseph Solaiman was able to share his passion for art in such a way that he managed to convince many young collectors to also become passionate about the artistic value of art. To him, collecting art was meant as long term artistic investment, and certainly not about making financial gains from short term buying and selling.

Following Joseph Solaiman’s death in 1999, Galeri Santi continued to operate for a few years. However, without the presence of Oom Jo, as most of the young collectors intimately called him, the gallery was never the same again.

Many of the pieces presented here in this auction are works that Oom Jo had kept dearly as part of his personal collection and have only now been offered for sale. This is a wonderful opportunity to be able to acquire works of true artistic value.