Spirituality, seduction and owls on display in Sydney this week
John McDonald
“If artists in Melbourne have been doing it tough, spare a thought for artists in Indonesia who receive no assistance from the government, and interact with a very small base of local collectors. Before the pandemic struck, a booming art scene was attracting a steady stream of international curators and collectors searching for the next global sensation.
I was bowled over when I spent time visiting Indonesian galleries and studios a few years ago – not only by the quality of the work, but by the mutually supportive nature of the art community. This spirit is reflected in Indonesia Calling 2020, a group show at John Cruthers’s 16albermarle project space intended as a fundraiser for Indonesian artists.
It’s a mixed bag, with none of the presiding superstars, but the work is diverse and accessibly priced. If I had to choose favourites, it’s hard to go past Sekarputri Sidhiawati’s witty ceramic pieces, or Citra Sasmita’s small pictures that draw on traditional styles of painting to make oblique feminist statements.
Other stand-outs include Mohamad Yusuf (Ucup), whose detailed woodblock prints are encyclopaedic in their scope, and Argya Dhyaksa’s tiny ceramic figures in bottles – a highly successful form of social distancing. There are 150 pieces in this series alone, which shows what happens when artists have time on their hands. "
Indonesia Calling 2020
16 Albermarle Project Space, until December 12
Citra Sasmita's The Passenger of land and sea.