Sidharta Asian Fine Art April 12, 2020 | Top Lots

Lot #331, Mochtar Sarman, Kylo Ren

Mochtar Sarman received his Industrial Design degree from Pasadena Art Center College of Design and worked in Disney for more than 21 years. His trademark industrial stokes and selection of animation and famous icons as subjects of this works are  derived from his design and professional background.  

Mochtar’s  use of bold colors, simple messages and often playful compositions in his works invite us to celebrate our childhood fantasies and happy memories. He is also known to be the first artist in Indonesia to apply the Chromadepth technique in the paintings which evokes an element of surprise once we put on the special glasses to view his works.

Mochtar also painted on 3D objects such as sculptures packaging boxes, sneakers and mobile phones. He also applied augmented reality technology on some of his paintings, again being among the few artists to apply the technology on his works..

Lot #364, Salim, Chez Armand

Lot #357, Salim, Donabella

Salim, Our Artist in Paris, Now at Our Auction in Jakarta
(lots #350 - 364)
Until he passed away in Paris over a decade ago at the age of 100, the Indonesian artist Salim has lived there since 1957, and also for a few years in the 1920s. Since he moved to Europe in 1912, he only visited Indonesia five or six times. In the Indonesian art world, he was known as our man in Paris.
In a 1946 article on Salim published by Merdeka weekly it is said that nobody knows where Salim came from. It mentions that he emerged in Holland as a young foster child of a former planter from Deli, East Sumatra. Even to his closest friends he never revealed who he really was. An article published in the Konfrontasi periodical in 1956 mentions that he was born in Medan, North Sumatra on 3 September 1908.
After completing his high school studies at Arnhem, he left his foster parents to pursue his interest in art. In particular, he was a believer of lart pour lart (art for arts sake), and therefore le was bound for Paris. When he arrived
in Paris with very little money, he was faced with the reality that becoming
an artist was not as easy as he imagined. Therefore he had to accept a job
as a doorman at the Académie de La Grande Chaumière, an art academy. Due to his handsome appearance, the owner of the academy, apparently a French aristocratic lady, eventually allowed him to study there. Not only did he not have to become the guard the entrance and do the chores of a porter anymore but he also became one of the favorite students of the owner of the academy. The following year, 1929, he attended Académie Léger an academy that Fernand Léger set up with his colleagues and friends, including Amédée Ozenfant, where art students could study art, free of charge.
After his adventures in Paris he returned to Amsterdam and became acquainted with Indonesian students who studied there, among others Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir. They often discussed matters about art, culture, and society. This sparked his interests towards his home country. He intended to visit the Netherlands Indies, where he hoped to propagate his ideals of lart pour lart.
In the early 1930s Sjahrir's brother-in-law, Djoehana Wiradikarta, obtained his medical degree in Holland and was returning home with his family. By working as the caretaker of Djoehanas children during the month-long journey, Salim was able to join them to the Indies. In Batavia, he worked at an

advertising company called the Java Neon Company. He also assisted Sjahrir and Hatta both at their PNI-Pendidikan party and the Daulat Ra'jat magazine. The two prominent politicians were eventually exiled to Boven Digoel, and this left Salim to introspect. Throughout his stay in the Indies, he faced the grim reality that it was under colonial rule. Whereas in Europe he lived as an equal to others, in his own home country he was subject to the colonial social structure that was based on racial classification. He faced discrimination and subordination, something that he had not experienced before. Therefore he decided to return to Europe. I prefer to die hungry in the artistic center of the world, rather than to live full of abundance in a colonized land, feeling depressed, he is quoted to have said in the periodical Konfrontasi in 1956, reminiscing his experiences in the Indies in the 1930s.
He started exhibiting in Holland, initially in a joint exhibition with artist Theo Bennes in the Santee Landweer gallery, October to November 1936 and then with J. Sjollema at Helen Spooi Gallery, Oct 1939. After World War II, disappointed with the Netherlands return to claim Indonesia as its colony, the artist moved to Sète, a town in France. He held his first solo exhibition there in 1948. In October the following year, Salim held a solo exhibition at the M. L. de Boer Gallery, which was opened by noted Dutch artist Charles Roelofsz. The show was attended by the Indonesian delegation who came to Holland for the Round Table Conference held in The Hague that year, which led to the Dutch recognition of Dutch sovereignty.
In this exhibition, Salim received praise from Dutch critics. It is clear that in a part of his works exhibited, Salim underwent the influence of Raoul Dufy, the French painter, illustrator, designer of gobelins and printed fabrics and ceramist. This can be seen, for example, in a festive face on a Séte decorated with flags, where sailing competitions are held in front of a large public; in bathers on the beach; in the half figures of girls or a fisherwoman in her stall on a stock of ships populated; in his parks and houses. The strong colors radiate joy, healthy optimism, writes one critic. This artist from the belt of the emerald around the equator has the view of a European painter. There
is nothing in this work that reminds us of the land of his birth, or it must be the fierce flare of the sun, all of which glow. Salim upholstered his works, paintings, gouaches and pastels, gladly with figures, sometimes one or two women in the foreground, then another swarm of people like at the Feast
in Sète', numerous figures, quickly set up, lively and lively, as part of the celebration. The park in Montpellier reminds us of Cezanne, although this in no way means that Salim would be a slave follower of the European master. On the contrary, he has a personal perspective on what inspires him to paint, while the sun's glow from his native country appears to accompany him on his many wanderings through Europe and thereby lends his art a special charm, writes another.

Salim decided to visit his home country, now a new republic, once again.
In Indonesia, his solo exhibition was first held in 1951 with the support of the Foundation for Cultural Cooperation, featuring twenty-five paintings all done in France. The show was opened by Sjahrir, who mentioned that had known him for a long time. He said that during that time, while he himself was still unsure about his purpose in life, Salim had already known that his life would be a balance of beauty, justness, and honesty, and that is what we can see through his works in the exhibition. Critic Trisno Sumardjo was also fair in his review of the exhibition. He said that we have look at Salims art in context. It would not be appropriate to expect to see Eastern, nationalist nor proletariat values in his works. instead, if we view them using universal values, we can see that the world he reveals is beautiful, as he is an artist without prejudice nor pretense, a true modernist.
In 1956 Salim exhibited at the Balai Budaya, presenting thirty-three works he made during his four-month stay in Indonesia. In the Konfrontasi periodical, artist Baharudin Marasutan wrote that he found the painting Bunga (1950) most attractive. Through this painting Salim created beauty that cannot be translated with words. He has added an subtracted something to the forms, lines, colors of the object with a compassion, that leads us to converse with our emotions. Here he has created a decorative interpretation as a variation of batik motifs, he explained. In conclusion, Baharudin wrote that he hoped that Salims visit to Indonesia would be useful towards his further artistic development in Europe.
From 1957 until his death in 2008, Salim lived in an apartment in the city of Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris. How much his experience in Indonesia contributed to his progress as an artist might need further study, but he did become quite a successful artist, exhibiting in Europe every few years in the 1950s to the 1970s. In the 1970s he won prizes and medals from art festivals in which he participated. He returned to Indonesia to exhibit his works in Jakarta and Bandung in 1974 and 1990. Later he exhibited in Bali in 2001 and Osaka in 2002. As Salim has lived in Europe for most of his life, he is still considered an Indonesian artist, but as he has lived for over 60 years in Paris, he will always be considered as our man in Paris.
Now, we have a good opportunity to exhibit and auction some of the remaining works available by our artist in Paris, the late Salim. Most of the paintings featured here are works done towards the end of his life, yet still very much shows his mastery of his profession as a painter. There are also some works from the 1970s and 1980s that are astounding. We hope that this brief introduction to Salim and his works will be appreciated by our art enthusiasts here in Jakarta. 

                                             

Lot #385, Trubus Soedarsono, Seascape

Seascape by Trubus Soedarsono (lot #385) .

Although his collection of landscape paintings mostly shows the beauty of nature, in his speech welcoming the commemoration of Indonesian Independence in 1964, President Sukarno claimed:

everyone knows that I am a fan of fine arts, sculpture, painting, and others.  I prefer ocean paintings with waves lapping with passion, rather than painting the fields are cool and calm,

kadyo siniram banyu wayu sewindu lawasé.

Indeed, several paintings that show the great impact of waves on the beach are found in the Sukarno Collection. It is clear that the dynamism of the roar of the sea waves that caught his attention. For him, the wave paintings sparked a surge of enthusiasm.

For the President, paintings are not merely decoration, but can also reflect the dynamics of the nation and state. Sukarno saw the clash of sea waves on the coast or rocks as a metaphor of the movement and turmoil of discussion or even social, political, and economic debate that needed to be done for unity, not for the sake of division. Besides that, the paintings of waves always remind him that Indonesia is an archipelago surrounded by the sea. As a maritime country, we will always need  t0 face  the roar of the waves.

 In 1963 , while Air Marshall Omar Dhani was in office as Commander of the Indonesian Air Forces, he acquired this painting of waves, done by Trubus Soedarsono. It became a symbol of how President Sukarno looked at the Indonesian archipelago, full of debate and turmoil. Omar Dhani  has kept the painting until his death in 2009. Now, over a decade after his death, the painting is placed by his descendants for auction.

Lot #386, Affandi, The Sun over Lake Anak Laut

Matahari di Atas Danau Anak Laut or The Sun over Lake Anak Laut by Affandi (1977) (lots #386)

Collection of Ibrahim Abdullah's family

Ibrahim Abdullah (1932-2015) was an Acehnese born in Sigli (in The Greater Aceh District). He studied industrial engineering — earning a bachelor's degree from New York University and a master's degree from the University of the Philippines. Since 1960 he joined the State Electricity Company and later the Ministry of Industry. He later became a member of a government's team called the Komando Pembangunan Proyek Pelabuhan Bebas Sabang (Sabang Free Port Development Project Command) formed in 1964. When Sabang (on Weh Island, in the province of Aceh) began to be realized as a free port and free trade zone, Ibrahim Abdullah became Head of the Sabang Free Port Development Authority during 1967-1980. In his later years he became a lecturer in political science and political economy at the National University (Jakarta) until his death.

During his role in developing the Sabang free port, Ibrahim Abdullah intended to place an art and cultural dimension into the economic and infrastructure development of Sabang and Pulau Weh. With a variety of efforts, he invited various national artists to take part in activities in the western tip of Indonesia, including playwright W.S Rendra (with his group Bengkel Theater, Yogyakarta) and painter Affandi. In March 1977 Affandi came to Sabang at the invitation of Ibrahim Abdullah; the painter was accompanied by his wife, Maryati, and painter Lian Sahar (Ibrahim's friend, also an Acehnese who had lived in Yogyakarta). For about a week, Affandi toured Pulau Weh. The painting of The Sun over Lake Anak Laut is a result of the event. He painted directly on location, precisely at Cot Ba ‘U (literally: Hill of Coconut Trees) in the afternoon before sundown; as is usual, Affandi painted using paints from their tubes directly on to the canvas, sometimes also using his fingers. In the painting, the visible bright sun lights up; in the foreground below, with an elongated oblong shape, is Lake Anak Laut; and on the right side to the center, is Sabang Bay. (Lake Anak Laut is, of course, a freshwater lake; when viewed from Cot Ba 'U, the lake is indeed like a fraction of the Sabang Bay sea.) The painter then gave final touch to the painting in the place where he stayed, Sabang Hill Guesthouse (also owned by the Sabang Free Port Development Authority).

The painting of The Sun over Lake Anak Laut was bought by Ibrahim Abdullah. When he and his family moved to Jakarta in 1980, the painting was brought along and is well preserved to this day — until the painting left the house for the first time, to appear at Sidharta Auctioneer’s Fine Art Auction.

Lot #387, Sudjojono, Sindudarsono, Srietje Membaca

Sudjojono, Sindudarsono

(Kisaran, N. Sumatra 1914 - Jakarta, 1986)

Srietje Membaca

1966

oil on canvas

101.5 x 85.5 cm

In this painting, Sudjojono depicts the eldest daughter of his wife Rose Pandanwangi, Sri “Srietje” Sara reading a book while seated on a wrought iron chair that he designed himself. Although she is fully and quite formally dressed in a baju kurung dress with a batik bottom, Srietje seems to be absorbed in her reading, oblivious to the fact that her stepfather is creating a portrait of her.

The 1960s was a difficult time for Indonesia, as well as for Sudjojono personally. However, it was during this time that he produced many of his best paintings, including this particular piece. In his paintings, he makes use of models, usually family members, neighbors or other acquaintances. In this painting, he paints his step daughter, taking attention to the details, especially of her dress, a peach colored baju kurung with a green bottom. She is seated in an elaborate white wrought iron chair, which reminds us of the rattan peacock chair popular in the 1960s, which is still with the Sudjojono family today. The painting is not done using his realist technique which he used in the 1950s, so we cannot see what book she is reading. The forms of the objects in the painting are instead painted with the artist’s comprehension of structures of the objects in the painting, the book, the dress, the table and the chair, in a much stronger painterly manner. With just a few swift brushstrokes, Sudjojono captures the nuances of the scene. Quietly, it is a very strong painting.

#Indonesia #art #Sudjojono #portraiture #painting #bajukurung #batik #RosePandanwangi

         Lot #330, Adi Suanjaya "kencut", I Putu,  My Choice

Educated at the  Faculty of Fine Arts, Indonesian Arts Institute, in Yogyakarta,

I Putu Adi Suanjaya "Kencut" is a young artist from Bali famous for his buttonhole puppet figures. Through bold colors and lines, he presents a world of parody through his figures as a form of human reflection today.

Kencut presents the subject of doll-shaped creatures with buttons that are presented in the form of paintings, sculptures and installations. It has a characteristic emphasis on contrasting colors and line strength.

The characters in Kencut's works are presented like dolls but are actually representations of humans and their lives. These inanimate puppets show a fragment scene of human life that contains a reflection on the current human situation.