ART MOMENTS JAKARTA 2019 BOOTH B23
LI CHEN
ARTHUR FLEISCHMANN
GREGORIUS SIDHARTA
RITA WIDAGDO
SHERATON GRAND JAKARTA GANDARIA CITY
3- 5 MAY 2019
GAMUT surveys modern sculpture in Indonesia through the works of three 20th-century artists Arthur Fleischmann, Gregarious Sidharta and Rita Widagdo. The story of modern sculpture in Indonesian art history bears shrouded beginnings and unclear historical developments, and is often sidelined to painting. The presentation at Art Moments Jakarta 2019 will identify new anchor points in the historical narrative from which we can establish a canon and apprehend a clearer picture of the diversity and character of modern sculpture in Indonesia. In addition, GAMUT features the first solo exhibition in Indonesia of the internationally celebrated sculptor, Li Chen with iconic works from his landmark Spiritual Journey through the Great Ether series and his latest Ethereal Cloud series. GAMUT features a number of other firsts: the first ever presentation of works by Indo-European sculptor Arthur Fleischmann in Indonesia; the first art fair presentation of the Bandung-based sculptor Rita Widagdo; and the first full-fledged collaboration between art agency, Art Agenda, S.E.A., and design firm, alvinT, to present a customdesigned booth that synthesises art and design. Rejecting the neutral and blanc receptacle of the white cube gallery, GAMUT juxtaposes design pieces with sculptures against backdrops of rattan and soft, warm pink walls - emblematic of a culturally located and yet decidedly challenging environment in which to apprehend, and appreciate, sculptures of the modern age.
About ART AGENDA, S.E.A. Art Agenda, S.E.A. is an art agency in Singapore comprising of an art advisory and a curatorial unit founded by Wang Zineng. Brokering private sales principally in the area of 20th century modern Asian art, and with an original and innovative set of exhibition and curatorial projects realised with gallery partners and at art fairs, Art Agenda, S.E.A. also advises and provides a full suite of advisory services to private and institutional clients, and presents an adept organizational structure for today’s multivariate artworld. About alvinT Founded in 2006, alvinT is a Jakarta-based design firm that amalgamates Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and artisanal approach with contemporary sensibilities. Authenticity remains the driving force behind our innovation. While we revere tradition, we would like our products to stand as a testament of character in an increasingly homogenized world. As much as design should be seen, it should also be felt. All of our products are hand-made by skilled local artisans because we believe in delivering honest products that inspire genuine engagement, transcending the tethers of trend and time.
Li Chen (b. 1963) has accomplished a style which has fully liberated itself from the confines of tradition by incorporating feelings of self-mindfulness and interpretations of Chinese classics, blended with contemporary thought, evincing a remarkably refreshing and natural effect of appearing both heavy and light. The underlying aesthetic principles in Li’s sculpture are based not only on a ”dual composition” of Eastern traditions and Western sculptural language but also on an ongoing dialogue with the spiritual and material cultures of Africa and Oceania. Li Chen has participated in numerous important solo and group exhibitions all around the world, and is collected by various international art institutions. He lives and works in Taichung, Taiwan and Shanghai, China.
Arthur Fleischmann (1896-1990) is the first and only Indo-European artist to have worked wholly in sculpture, and is one of the most under-exposed artists of his generation. Fleischmann's earliest works before he left Europe bore the aesthetics of classicist religious sculptures. Having arrived in Bali in 1937, he encountered and was enthralled by the dances and ritual life of the Balinese, and his figurative sculptures began to take on a distinctive cultural inflexion. The onset of World War II curtailed his time in Bali and led him to move to Sydney, and subsequently London. Despite his departure from Bali, Fleischmann continued to make Balinese subjects a central theme in his works all through the post-war years. t
Gregorius Sidharta (1932-2006), a Yogyakarta born sculptor and painter, studied under the tutelage of Hendra Gunawan in the late 1940s before furthering his studies at Jan van Eyck Kunst Academie in Maastricht, The Netherlands from 1953-1956. As part of the Bandung School during the post-war period, he started teaching at the Department of Fine Arts in Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1965, alongside Rita Widagdo and But Mochtar. Sidharta’s multi-disciplinary practice that was inspired by Western modernist trends and traditional Indonesian artistry won him multiple awards and opportunities for solo and group exhibitions internationally throughout his lifetime.
Rita Widagdo (b. 1938) is a German-born artist who moved to Bandung, Indonesia in 1965 following her marriage to Professor Widagdo. Having taught at the Department of Fine Arts in Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) for 36 years, Rita’s practice in the discipline of sculpture has remained rooted in abstraction and the exploration of materials. Rita, along with But Mochtar and Gregorius Sidharta, were the most prominent artists working in sculpture who were part of the Bandung School and they worked together to develop the sculpture program at the Department of Fine Arts in ITB. Rita lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia.
ART MOMENTS JAKARTA 2019 BOOTH B23
LI CHEN 1.
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1. Reverberance, 2015, bronze, 51.5 x 30 x 85 cm // 2. Nothing in the Heart, 2015, bronze, 80 x 60 x 84 cm // 3. Sky, 2012, bronze, 69 x 87 x 160 4. Dragon-Riding Buddha, Wisdom Bodhisattva and Fulfillment Bodhisattva, 2001, bronze, 118 x 40 x 55 cm // 5. Human Nature, 2013, bronze, 108 x 59 x 125.5 6. Lord of Wind and Lord of Fire, 2008, bronze, 121 x 42 x 86.5 cm // 7. Eclipse . Twilight Breeze, 2016, bronze, 30 x 16 x 25 8. Forsaken Relic．Hairpin (I), 2018, bronze, 71 x 20.5 x 123 cm // 9. Radiance．Burgeon, 2018, bronze, 44.5 x 36 x 76 cm // 10. Moving On, 2011, bronze, 73 x 50 x
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ARTHUR FLEISCHMANN 1.
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1. House Man, 1970s, bronze affixed on marble base, 26 x 25.5 x 13 cm // 2. House Woman, 1950s, bronze affixed on marble base, 29 x 25 x 13 cm // 3. Runding and Rmpang Returning Home, 1949, terracota, 54 x 60 x 30 cm // 4. Mother and Son, 1949, walnut, 53 x 30 x 30 cm // 5. Sadri, The Legong Dancer, c.1939, bronze affixed on marble base, 120 x 50 x 37 cm //
GREGORIUS SIDHARTA 1.
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1. Mother and Child, 1966, oil on canvas, 76 x 60 cm // 2. Garuda, 1965, mixed media on canvas, 80 x 80 cm // 3. 3 Figur, bronze, 55 x 40 x 20 cm
RITA WIDAGDO 1.
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1. Mother and Child, 1973, aluminium casting, 36 cm // 2. Young Woman, 1986, brass sheets, 177 cm // 3. Sculpture V, 1979, brass casting, 112 cm 4. Pair II, 1985, brass, 177 cm // 5. Relief VII, 1997, aluminium-Dural, partly anodised in red, 70 x 106 cm 6. Silver and Blue, 1999, aluminium-Dural, partly anodised, 55 x 112 cm // 7. White, Grey and Black, 2000, granite and carrara marble, 73.5 x 87.5 cm 8. Forsaken RelicHairpin (I), 2018, bronze, 71 x 20.5 x 123
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