This is the first year for Art Stage Jakarta, and from the consumer's point of view, it was quite a good one. Held at the Sheraton Grand Grandaria in Jakarta from 5-7 August 2016, the art fair extended beyond the ballroom, and spread its feelers out into the attached shopping mall and right into collectors' homes.
It also helps that the owner of the hotel and mall is a collector so wherever you walk within the hotel, you will see pieces of art in the lobby, lift lobby, and corridors. Some are there permanently, while others were there only during the period of the fair. Similarly, when you stroll through the Grandaria City shopping mall, huge sculptures greet you with the strategically placed "Art Stage Jakarta" signs right next to them. Think they were installed specifically for the fair too. There were many moments where a piece of art stopped me in my tracks to stand and stare, while looking for a snack or cafe (and believe me, when I'm on a mission to look for something to eat, not many things can stop me in my tracks other than gorgeous shoes).
The fair itself had many familiar gallery names, with some showing works seen before in previous fairs. Quite a hefty participation of Singapore galleries too. But the reason that I was keen on visiting the fair, was to see a wider showcase of good Indonesian art. There was a special exhibition dedicated to Indonesian masters in separate function rooms, and I found this quite interesting. But the best works are already in the hands of collectors, so there were visits to Indonesian collectors' homes to see their vast collections. However, these visits were mostly limited to VVIPs so the average art enthusiast would not have had access to these visits.
Still, for someone who's not very familiar with Indonesian art, to some extent Art Stage Jakarta provided a good introduction to the top Indonesian artists and their range of works. Whether the art was displayed in the art fair itself or in the public areas, they were really eye-catching works that make you peer more closely to find out the artist's name, so that was a good thing.
I would have liked to see a wider range of young, emerging contemporary Indonesian artists though, so that one gets a sense of where Indonesian art is going in the years to come. There were some, but after a while, I got the sense that there was a concerted effort to show the 'brand' names of Indonesian art, and signature pieces associated with very established artists. Maybe that's the nature of the Indonesian art scene, where collectors rule and artists who are not yet in the radar of significant collectors are deemed too risky to show at an international art fair like Art Stage.
Buy ratings: yes, buy.
It also helps that the owner of the hotel and mall is a collector so wherever you walk within the hotel, you will see pieces of art in the lobby, lift lobby, and corridors. Some are there permanently, while others were there only during the period of the fair. Similarly, when you stroll through the Grandaria City shopping mall, huge sculptures greet you with the strategically placed "Art Stage Jakarta" signs right next to them. Think they were installed specifically for the fair too. There were many moments where a piece of art stopped me in my tracks to stand and stare, while looking for a snack or cafe (and believe me, when I'm on a mission to look for something to eat, not many things can stop me in my tracks other than gorgeous shoes).
The fair itself had many familiar gallery names, with some showing works seen before in previous fairs. Quite a hefty participation of Singapore galleries too. But the reason that I was keen on visiting the fair, was to see a wider showcase of good Indonesian art. There was a special exhibition dedicated to Indonesian masters in separate function rooms, and I found this quite interesting. But the best works are already in the hands of collectors, so there were visits to Indonesian collectors' homes to see their vast collections. However, these visits were mostly limited to VVIPs so the average art enthusiast would not have had access to these visits.
Still, for someone who's not very familiar with Indonesian art, to some extent Art Stage Jakarta provided a good introduction to the top Indonesian artists and their range of works. Whether the art was displayed in the art fair itself or in the public areas, they were really eye-catching works that make you peer more closely to find out the artist's name, so that was a good thing.
I would have liked to see a wider range of young, emerging contemporary Indonesian artists though, so that one gets a sense of where Indonesian art is going in the years to come. There were some, but after a while, I got the sense that there was a concerted effort to show the 'brand' names of Indonesian art, and signature pieces associated with very established artists. Maybe that's the nature of the Indonesian art scene, where collectors rule and artists who are not yet in the radar of significant collectors are deemed too risky to show at an international art fair like Art Stage.
"Di Kamar Hotel" by Handiwirman Saputra
"Conversation Unknown" by Aditya Novali
Some of Affandi's works at the Special Exhibition
"Promising Land #2" by Entang Wiharso
"Live for Life #2" by Erianto
"Gamber dari pemimpin yang" by Erizal As
Other works by Indonesian artists
A few of many works in common / public areas
Buy ratings: yes, buy.
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