“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him,” said John F. Kennedy.

With such a vision, the Indian Artists exhibition was opened on Thursday, June 23 at the National Art Gallery in Central Jakarta.

With approximately 80 paintings up in their own glorified light, each painting made you wonder what the inspiration behind it could be. Whether it was an abstract painting of shapes and colors or a painting of a woman in traditional Indian clothing reading a book, it was a blend of the traditional and new with an Indian element.
Good Morning Kolkata 1 by Ananta Mandal. JP/Varsha Venugopalan

A wonderful series of paintings, Good Morning Kolkata by artist Anata Mandal was truly inspirational with its photography-like feel of the town in the morning. Another truly enlightening oil painting was Bumishparsh by Sangeeta Abhay, of simple black hills with golden vine trails with a light aqua Buddha seated at the top under a golden leafed bodhi tree. A simply spiritual painting that makes even someone who’s not religious feel its peace.

A number of pieces to look out for are ones of everyday Indian people that are almost life-like, dressed in simple traditional Indian clothing found especially in villages. One such painting is We are not poor by Siddhartha Battajawargi, showing two women cooking with a smile. That could only be a visual message to tell us viewers that wealth is only a mindset as long as we appreciate what we have.

Each painting seemingly sparked a subconscious message or curiosity through not just paintings of people but also religious elements. A unique piece was the 99 names of Allah by Salva Imran Rasool, intricately painted onto a rope-stretched leather cloth. Another bunch of paintings pictorially narrated the stories of Indian Gods in painstaking detail. An example of one would be the story of Lord Krishna depicted in Krishna Lita by Prakash Mahaptra.

There are a few amusing paintings with a hint of expressionism that viewers would enjoy. Two examples are Evolution explosion by Anup Kumar Singh that has outlines of man-like figures exiting a dragon-pawed red creature and another called Confused Spiderman showing a glum Spiderman with angel-like wings seated on a rock and bowing.

Numerous artists have contributed their time and work to showcase their skills and their imagination through these paintings. The youngest artist among them all is 23-year-old Swati Pasari, with an impressionistic painting of a black and white Indian God – Lord Ganesha. She expressed that contrary to the Indian belief that the color black was a bad omen; in art any colour can be used to bring life to a painting.

Walking from painting to painting the speech of Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Biren Nanda echoed in my head as I saw Indians and Indonesians gather around to analyze the fine art.

In his speech, Nanda congratulated and thanked the organizers for promoting India’s fine arts and its artists in Indonesia. He explained that the relationship between Indian and Indonesian culture and art have been there from the beginning, whether in the common words in each other’s languages, the colors of textiles and even the shared epics — the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

He emphasized that ultimately culture, art and human relationships are the objective of relationships between two countries. Indonesia having many centers of art and culture like Jakarta, Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta, he said he hopes that just as Indians enjoy Indonesian art, Indonesians can also appreciate the traditional styles reflected in the Indian paintings.

This Indian painting exhibition is run with the joined hands of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center, the Indian Artists Network and the National Art Gallery of Indonesia at Gallery C from June 23 to July 3.

In a globalizing world, we all hope to find a common ground through cultural understanding. It is with that hope that viewers can come to feast their eyes on these fine works of art.

It is important to note that the paintings are all for sale. After your visit you can contact the organizer via email at admin@indianfinearts.com or ajitvahadane@gmail.com or call 081317489896

National Art Gallery of Indonesia (GALNAS), Gallery C
Near Jakarta Gambir Station
Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur No. 14
Jakarta 10110

Popular

More jobs, less value: Indonesia’s labor efficiency gap

Analysis: Judicial review surge: A verdict on flawed lawmaking

RI joins Board of Peace despite domestic unease