Art & about: Big bucks with Asean works
LUCIEN de GUISE
Older works from Southeast Asia also did well: RM4 million for Walter Spies
I Nyoman Masriadi broke more records at Sotheby’s
FALLING markets will not sound like news to anyone. The surprise feature of recent auctions is how Southeast Asia has stepped in as the saviour of Asian contemporary art.
The southeastern corner of the continent is usually seen by the big boys of Asia as inconsequential, a country cousin with some nice forests and beaches but no billion-plus population. China and India are where the money is, and until recently they were where everyone looked for the latest record-breaking art prices.
This time round it was Indonesian and other regional painters who got the applause in Hong Kong when the latest Sotheby’s auction produced a new world record for Southeast Asia.
Artists from China, on the other hand, are experiencing what auctioneers like to call “a levelling off”.
India’s hottest youngish artist, Subodh Gupta, has also seen his prices frozen.
In the case of China, it was long overdue. Enthusiasts of Chinese contemporary art are almost Maoist in their commitment. They will berate nay-sayers for failing to honour the natural supremacy of these artists.
Their biggest gripe has been how Western paintings can be worth 10 times as much as a made-in-China product. The tide of history is on their side they will say. And they can put on a better Olympics than anyone else.
Even when the good times were rolling with Chinese art, up to a few weeks ago, the prices were well short of Western artists but at least headlines were being generated. Every auction saw old records being toppled and there was less moaning about the unfairness of it all then.
Rising prices are not what collectors always like to see, unless they are planning to sell their babies. It’s speculators who like to see the sales graphs going up, and these lines have been almost vertical in recent years.
Chinese art could prove to be the biggest bubble of all, although there are at least some indigenous collectors.
At one time it was Western expats who created the market. Most Chinese buyers looked on in disbelief at what the crazy gweilos were wasting their money on.
A good old bird-and-flower painting was what the average connoisseur would like to grace his home with, and sure enough traditional Chinese art has been less badly damaged than the avant-garde. Imperial seals did exceptionally well at Sotheby’s, and there are few collectibles that shout “buy me, hedge-fund manager” as softly as these. Real collectors must have been present as that category ended up being 100 per cent sold.
The type of buyer is a crucial factor. For contemporary Chinese art, two of the top three paintings went to collectors from Europe.
For Southeast Asian art, every one of the top 10 buyers was from Asia. Sotheby’s decision to move its Southeast Asian sales away from Singapore and hold them in Hong Kong appears to be working. It is not only Southeast Asians who are buying. There are collectors from China who would like a break from the high prices, endless social commentary and Mao memorabilia that makes up art from the People’s Republic.
Southeast Asia seems be sitting on a goldmine. The regional artist pulling it all together is I Nyoman Masriadi.
Being Balinese seems to give him an edge over most of his Indonesian peers, and something much larger than an edge over artists from China. He tackles social issues with wit and a cartoon-like immediacy.
When I wrote about him a year ago, it didn’t look like his prices could continue to rise at anything like the rate they had done, which was many hundred per cent over a few years. A year later, the record has gone from RM900,000 to over RM3 million.
His painting technique is unique – for the moment – although other Indonesian artists are already knocking off the shiny three-dimensional look that Masriadi pioneered.
Another attraction is pithy titles in Bahasa Indonesia. So basic I can understand some of them. A recent record breaker featured Superman and Batman as they never appeared in DC Comics, with the title Sorry Hero, Saya Lupa.
After enlivening Sotheby’s Asian contemporary sale by setting a record with this work on Oct 4, two days later Masriadi beat his record and took three of the top 10 places at Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art.
Almost every lot was sold at this one. Malaysian artists such as Ibrahim Hussein and Ahmad Zakii Anwar were represented at the Southeast Asian sale, although not the pan-Asian. Their works fetched were about one twentieth of Masriadi’s show-stopping view of a boxing match.
Indonesia is not only way ahead of the Asean pack in terms of prices. It also seems to be taking regional art to a wider audience.
Jakarta-based Larasati Auctioneers is probably the first Asian auction house of any sort to organise a sale in Europe. This happened in June. Given the state of world markets, they might not be doing this again for a while.
• Lucien de Guise is curator of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. You may write to him at luciendeguise@yahoo.com
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Art therapy
Art therapy
VIMALA SENEVIRATNE
Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan with some of the exhibits.
Anger raged
Rainbow
A unique exhibition shows how art helps to heal the emotionally injured soul. VIMALA SENEVIRATNE takes a journey into the mind of the mentally ill
PAIN, sorrow, fear, guilt, hallucination and delusion have found an outlet in something quite simple - paintings and sketches.
The collection of 100 artworks that brighten the otherwise plain walls of the Annexe Gallery at the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur is a window into the minds of mental health patients.
This first Malaysian Art in Psychiatry exhibition, themed “Journey into the Minds” is held in conjunction with the World Mental Health Day on Oct 10. It is organised by University of Malaya’s Department of Psychological Medicine and Janssen Cilag, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
The exhibition is an important milestone in mental health public awareness and showcases the positive results of art therapy in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental health patients.
The patients, whose ages range from seven to 53, are from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Seremban General Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Kuala Pilah Hospital.
According to the Malaysian Psychiatry Association, one out of every 10 people suffers from mental illness ranging from depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. “There is still a stigma associated with those seeking psychiatric help. We hope to educate the public, that not all those suffering from mental illness are violent. Through this exhibition we hope to boost the self-esteem of the patients,” says Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan, the main force behind the exhibition.
“Art is their tool to communicate their feelings through imagery, to connect with the outside world. As you can see, some of them are very good artists.”
Art therapy is used in most hospitals in treating or healing the mentally disturbed patients. “As art is a creative process, it allows the patients to focus on their creation which in turn helps to contain the turmoil in their minds. It helps them explore personal issues.”
As you browse through the exhibits, you cannot help but appreciate the imagination, the emotional tension and skill that emanate from the images produced by the patients.
One patient, a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has several images of the sky, sun and rainbow as well as a portrait of a mother and child in bright colours.
A youngster has drawn a picture of his dream home - a peaceful and safe environment he longs for. “You can understand what this child is trying to tell you - the longing for a loving and safe home environment. The child comes from a difficult home environment and was found to have been abused by the maid,” says Jambunathan, a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
There are also sketches of brooding figures, a single eye peering through dark surroundings, swirling lines in sombre colours, a self-portrait of a young patient with stitch marks running from her left forehead to her cheek - images that depict the turmoil, anxiety, anger and fear in patients.
“It’s not all doom and gloom for these people. There is hope for them that with the right diagnosis, care and treatment they can eventually assimilate into main stream society,” says Jambunathan.
Proceeds from the sale of the paintings go directly to the artist. There will be interactive workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition which ends on Oct 24. The free workshops today are at 11am and 4pm and from Monday – Friday at 12pm.
VIMALA SENEVIRATNE
Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan with some of the exhibits.
Anger raged
Rainbow
A unique exhibition shows how art helps to heal the emotionally injured soul. VIMALA SENEVIRATNE takes a journey into the mind of the mentally ill
PAIN, sorrow, fear, guilt, hallucination and delusion have found an outlet in something quite simple - paintings and sketches.
The collection of 100 artworks that brighten the otherwise plain walls of the Annexe Gallery at the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur is a window into the minds of mental health patients.
This first Malaysian Art in Psychiatry exhibition, themed “Journey into the Minds” is held in conjunction with the World Mental Health Day on Oct 10. It is organised by University of Malaya’s Department of Psychological Medicine and Janssen Cilag, a division of Johnson & Johnson.
The exhibition is an important milestone in mental health public awareness and showcases the positive results of art therapy in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental health patients.
The patients, whose ages range from seven to 53, are from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Seremban General Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Kuala Pilah Hospital.
According to the Malaysian Psychiatry Association, one out of every 10 people suffers from mental illness ranging from depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. “There is still a stigma associated with those seeking psychiatric help. We hope to educate the public, that not all those suffering from mental illness are violent. Through this exhibition we hope to boost the self-esteem of the patients,” says Associate Professor Stephen Jambunathan, the main force behind the exhibition.
“Art is their tool to communicate their feelings through imagery, to connect with the outside world. As you can see, some of them are very good artists.”
Art therapy is used in most hospitals in treating or healing the mentally disturbed patients. “As art is a creative process, it allows the patients to focus on their creation which in turn helps to contain the turmoil in their minds. It helps them explore personal issues.”
As you browse through the exhibits, you cannot help but appreciate the imagination, the emotional tension and skill that emanate from the images produced by the patients.
One patient, a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has several images of the sky, sun and rainbow as well as a portrait of a mother and child in bright colours.
A youngster has drawn a picture of his dream home - a peaceful and safe environment he longs for. “You can understand what this child is trying to tell you - the longing for a loving and safe home environment. The child comes from a difficult home environment and was found to have been abused by the maid,” says Jambunathan, a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
There are also sketches of brooding figures, a single eye peering through dark surroundings, swirling lines in sombre colours, a self-portrait of a young patient with stitch marks running from her left forehead to her cheek - images that depict the turmoil, anxiety, anger and fear in patients.
“It’s not all doom and gloom for these people. There is hope for them that with the right diagnosis, care and treatment they can eventually assimilate into main stream society,” says Jambunathan.
Proceeds from the sale of the paintings go directly to the artist. There will be interactive workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition which ends on Oct 24. The free workshops today are at 11am and 4pm and from Monday – Friday at 12pm.
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