Top Lots in SIdharta Auctioneer's Fine Art Auction, November 1st, 2015 at the Kunstkring Jakarta, Indonesia

lot #183 | Hendra Gunawan | Tukang Es Puter | oil on canvas | 149 x 69 cm

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lot #140 | Basoeki Abdullah | Nude with Child | oil on canvas | 94 x 80 cm

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lot #169 | Affandi | Sitor Situmorang, 1976| oil on canvas | 60 x 48 cm

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lot #090 | Gregorius Sidharta Sugiyo | Crucifix | forged steel | h: 55cm

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lot #089 | Gregorius Sidharta Sugiyo | Abstract Figures 1960 | oil on canvas | 120 x 72 cm

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lot #064 | Henk Ngantung | Kapuas Kalimantan | oil on canvas | 110 x 120 cm

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lot #125 | Alimin | Plebon 1961

 | oil on canvas | 100 x 140 cm

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lot #077 | Arifien "Neif" | I don't Know Why I love You

 | oil on canvas | 45 x 50 cm

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lot #008 | Irsam | Ibu dan Anak | oil on canvas | 150 x 105 cm

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Contemporary Art

lot #150 | Eddie Hara | Crowded Universe  2002| oil on canvas | 195 x 70 cm

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lot #167 | Tommy Wondra | Potret Intuisi | oil on canvas | 200 x 250 cm

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lot #162 | Tisna Sanjaya | Wilujeng Sumping 2001 | oil on canvas | 100 x 100 cm

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lot #168 | Vani Hidayatur Rahman | Unity 2013 | oil on canvas | 120 x 150 cm 

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Property of a Gentleman (from the collection of a relative of the painter and Governor of Jakarta, Henk Ngantung), Lots #061-065

Property of a Gentleman

Lots #061-065

In Sidharta's Fine Art Auction on November 1st, 2015, we present paintings that have been sourced from the collection of a relative of the painter and Governor of Jakarta, Henk Ngantung.

In the collection there are paintings by Yoshioka (lot #062) and Yamamoto (lot #063), two Japanese artists who were active at the Keimin Bunka Shidoso, the cultural agency during the Japanese Occupation of Indonesia from 1942-1945. Yoshioka’s painting of flowers and Yamamoto’s Landscape show expressive qualities that may have influenced Indonesian artists at the time. Unfortunately no further information about the artists are available.

Two paintings by Henk Ngantung are also among the pieces in the collection. Kapuas Kalimantan  (lot #064) dates from 1951, while the painting of a duck herder (lot #065), although unsigned and undated, also dates from the 1950s. Another Ngantung painting, not part of this collection, is also offered in this sale (lot #066) and dates earlier, from 1947.

Also in this collection a curious, unsigned painting of a woman with headdress, most likely Balinese. The style of the painting is reminiscent of a couple of artists who was active in the 1950-60s in Bali, however the artist responsible for this work remains uncertain.

Property of a Lady, Jakarta Lots #087-090 (and #010-012)

Property of a Lady, Jakarta

Lots #087-090 (and 010-012)

In this auction we feature a collection of artworks from the collection of a Lady living in Jakarta. The collection includes a early painting by Sapto Hoedoyo (lot #087) dated 1946, depicting painting equipment probably which he used during the period of the Indonesian Revolutionary War (1945-49). There is a magnificent sculpture of a nude entitled Dhenok by an artist  whom we unfortunately have not been able to identify (lot #088) and three wayang beber (lots #010-012). Two artworks by Gregorius Sidharta Soegiyo: and a Cubistic painting of a figure or figures dating from 1960 (lot #089), and an undated, early forged steel Crucifix (lot #090), are certainly the main highlights of this collection and this auction.

Sidharta’s Distinct Abstraction

Born in Yogyakarta, in 1932, Gregorius Sidharta Soegiyo, is clearly a unique master of Indonesian Modern Art.  He started his artistic journey when he joined the People’s Painters Studio in 1947, painting under the tutelage of Hendra Gunawan and Trubus Soedarsono. When the Indonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI) was opened in Yogyakarta in 1950, he immediately enrolled. There, along with other students, he founded the Young Indonesian Painters group. He continued his art education at the van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, The Netherlands from 1953-6, apparently with the assistance of the Catholic mission.

Upon his return to Indonesia, from 1958 to 1964 he taught at ASRI’s sculpture studio. However, in 1965 he moved to Bandung. Along with But Muchtar and Rita Widagdo, he set up the Bandung Institute of Technology’s sculpture studio.

Having been born, raised, studied and taught in Yogyakarta, and later having taught and worked in Bandung, Sidharta transverses both Yogya and Bandung schools. Most of his metal sculptures show the heavy influence of the Bandung school, which seems close to Western modernism. On the other hand, his wood sculptures show the influence of Yogyakarta’s Decorativism which is close to Indonesian crafts.

While his shift from painting to sculpture seems to have happened following his studies in The Netherlands, he continued to paint in the 1960s. His paintings show the influence of Cubism, like the other Bandung artists. However, Sidharta’s Cubism is distinct from his colleagues who studied painting in Bandung. As he did not study under Ries Mulder, his Cubism seems considerably freer than Mochtar Apin’s and But Muchtar’s approach of Analytical Cubism, and hence also more difficult to decipher.

Abstract Figures

(lot #089)

Some see the painting as a depiction of three figures: a tall man in the background, a bowing female figure in front of him and a small child in the middle of the composition, and consider that it is a depiction of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. However, the absence of any haloes surrounding the figures might signify that the painting is actually not at all a depiction of a religious theme. Be that as it may, the presence of at least one figure in the painting seems definite.

Crucifix

(lot #090)

Sidharta’s Crucifix featured in this auction, is quite distinct from the artist’s other crucifixes. Compared to the three other crucifixes that are made of bronze and date from 1970, this particular crucifix seems to be done using a much stronger linear quality. However, close inspection would reveal that this crucifix is no less expressive than the others. Made out of steel, the crucifix has been made using a technique of forging, which may contribute to the difference in feel. This crucifix also seems to indicate influences of Cubism, suggesting that it is a piece that dates earlier than the other three crucifixes.

Paintings by Basoeki Abdullah | From the Property of a Gentleman

Basoeki Abdullah  

From the Property of a Gentleman

Lots #139 & 140

This year marks the centennial of the birth of Indonesian realist Basoeki Abdullah (Solo, C. Java, 1915 – Jakarta 1993. As evidenced by the number of his works are present in his album of art collections, Basoeki Abdullah was clearly President Sukarno’s favorite painter. While the President banned Western style Indonesian music, which he labeled ““musik ngak-ngik-ngok” and even went as far as imprisoning them musicians, Basoeki’s renditions of beauty (landscapes and women) done in style of painting, instead, seemed to enchant him. 

Here we present two paintings by Basoeki Abdullah, that have come from a collection which was initially started in the 1950s, not long after the recognition of Indonesia as a sovereign nation. During that time, it seemed common for the master to employ different stylistic approaches when painting different genres. The painting of water buffaloes in a natural landscape (lot #139) was painted using a looser, rather impressionistic brushwork. Meanwhile, the painting of a woman in the nude with child (lot #140) is painted more meticulously and delicately and set in scene constructed through his imagination. Here the nudity is clearly far from any tendency toward pornography; instead it presents a certain innocence and beauty that is naïve and yet almost divine in quality.