“This work — this one — has made its rounds in the United States,” artist Baron Basuning was heard describing Arahmaiani’s acrylic-on-canvas painting Silent Rainbow VIII.

The painting was just one among many exhibited in the Pameran 20 Perupa Peduli Remy Sylado & Sutardji Calzoum Bachri (20 Artists for Remy Sylado & Sutardji Calzoum Bachri), which runs until Wednesday.

Remy Sylado is a prominent Indonesian author and painter known as a “walking encyclopedia of arts and humanities”, while Sutardji Calzoum Bachri is a widely known poet often hailed as the “President of Indonesian Poets”. As both are currently suffering from illnesses, other artists put their paintings for sale, and 75 percent of the money received will be donated to Remy and Sutardji.

Attended by former deputy trade minister Bayu Krisnamurthi and opened by former deputy tourism and creative economy minister Sapta Nirwandar, the exhibition was celebrated for its care of the two Indonesian literary figures.

“I’ve personally known Remy Sylado for a long time, ever since my time [studying] in Bandung West Java]. Both he and Sutardji need more attention from us Indonesians,” Sapta said to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

“In general, this is our show of care for Indonesian artists and culturalists, who are currently struggling like everyone else in this pandemic,” he added, hoping this exhibition becomes a moral and financial boost for all artists in the industry.

Baron Basuning, acting as the exhibition’s coordinator, also shared that this was the second time they tried to hold such an event for the two artists.

“To be honest, this event was already held a month ago by Jose Rizal Manua,” Baron said to the audience.

As a big figure in the Indonesian theater and art circles, Jose curated all the artworks in the exhibition. But none of the government officials invited for the event last month showed up, and none of the paintings were sold. So, Baron jumped in to help Jose this time.

“I am close to both of them, I’ve talked many times with bang [brother] Tardji, who personally gave notes for my own exhibition, and I’ve also interacted a lot with Bang Remy at Balai Budaya and Taman Ismail Marzuki,” he said to the Post.

Remy has suffered four strokes in the past year and a half. The Jakarta government has also helped Remy with other illnesses, such as a hernia. As for Sutardji, his old age has prevented him from writing poems.

The opening exhibition celebrated Remy and Sutardji through their works. Performer Shri Yogi Lestari read Sutardji’s poem “Tanah Air Mata” (Land of Tears) while Jose Rizal Manua read “Amuk” and brought out a musicalization of Remy’s poem “Biarin” (Forget It) to thunderous applause from the audience.

Other artists also attended the opening, from Bali rising painter Satya Cipta, Papuan painter and Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ) graduate Fauzan Musaad, to Jenny Mahastuti, who brought her collection of work from her time in the Baduy indigeneous community in Banten.

Many attendees constantly moved from one painting to another, with Baron telling them the backstory and significance of each work. He also explained Remy’s paintings to the Post.

“In this work, Remy tells the story of female workers who are sent to the Middle Eastern, sharing the same fate as the jasmine flower painted on their chests,” he said about Remy’s painting Senasib (Shared Fate).

“Aside from being a renowned poet, journalist, walking encyclopedia, Remy also paints well,” Baron proclaimed. “He has great visual power.”

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