The Ciptadana Art Program exhibition officially opened on Thursday at the Plaza Asia building in Central Jakarta.

The exhibition, themed "Run for Manhattan," showcases a total of 42 works from Balinese artist Made Wianta.

Born in 1949, Made is a renowned Indonesian contemporary artist. During his career, the artist has produced various works inspired by the Treaty of Breda, an agreement between the Dutch and the English to trade Run Island for Manhattan, New York, in 1667.

Exhibition curator Emmo Italiaander said in a press conference that people commonly misunderstood the theme, thinking it was a marathon event. As Made is a lover of puns, "run" in the exhibition's title refers to Run island of the Banda Islands.

Read also: ‘Banda’ delivers more than just the islands’ history

The theme was chosen on the 350^th anniversary of the Treaty of Breda. Italiaander explained that they had been wanting to showcase Made’s work; however, last year, they managed to produce only a calendar.

At a glance, although "Run for Manhattan" seems to focus on Made’s artworks inspired by the treaty, Italiaander said the solo exhibition showcases the different periods of Made’s paintings, including his Karangasem period, dot period, quadrangle period, and others, presenting changes in Made’s works from surrealist to abstract.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see Made’s works involving different media, such as needles, Chinese ink and even a mixed-media work titled City of Destruction, which was actually made from parts of a wall.

"Run for Manhattan" is running until Dec. 8. The exhibition is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (asw)

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