South-East Asian contemporary artists finally join the big names on the world stage, says Iola Lenzi 



















Avant-garde avatars Local contemporary work, like 'Catatan Pinggir' (left) and 'Mr.Cool', round out the new guard.


For the past decade, South-East Asian contemporary art has been one of the art world’s best-kept secrets. The industry and scene – dominated by Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian and Filipino artists, but including a smattering of Vietnamese and Singaporean names – has for years been the exclusive domain of only a handful of regional collectors and a tiny coterie of specialist dealers.

All this changed at the Christie’s Hong Kong auction of modern and South-East Asian art in May this year, when an extraordinary surge in the market took place. There, the works of then-obscure and predominantly Indonesian artists, such as Yunizar, Putu Sutawijaya, I Nyoman Masriadi and Rudi Mantofani, sold for up to 15 times their pre-sale estimates. The auction netted HK$51.5 million, including premium against the pre-sale estimate of HK$27.4 million. Works by neighbourhood painters, including locals Jimmy Ong and David Chan, climbed to equally astonishing heights at Sotheby’s September sale of South-East Asian art at Singapore’s Regent Hotel. A little like a fire sale at Prada, a sense of near panic hit the hotel’s Royal Pavilion Ballroom as bidders, all of a sudden aware of the absurdly low prices being asked for works as artistically proficient and creatively meaningful as anything coming out of China and India, could not buy them fast enough. 

Capitalising on the market’s newfound confidence, Jakarta-based auctioneer Borobudur held the first-ever sale devoted exclusively to contemporary regional works of art, including those by locals Ong, Ian Woo, Jason Lim and Hong Sek Chern, in Singapore this October. The auction included paintings, photography, sculpture, prints, textile works and installations. And the auction’s catalogue, though reading like a who’s who of the field, actually introduced many of the region’s top artists to a wider commercial audience for the very first time. 

Though the intimate pairing of auctioneers and dealers (more often competitors than collaborators) raised eyebrows – the sale was co-organised by Kuala Lumpur South-East Asian contemporary dealer Valentine Willie – the reality is that by taking many of the most respected and cutting-edge regional artists to the rostrum, the recently established Borobudur, along with Willie, have put our corner of the world on the international art map. The sale made close to $2.5 million, double its initial estimate, and became one of the most successful debut auctions in local history. 

‘There is no reason for our regional artists not to appreciate very considerably,’ says Singaporean dealer Jasdeep Sandhu of Gajah Gallery, who’s been selling contemporary art for more than a decade. ‘They are intrinsically great, particularly the Indonesians. Chinese contemporary art has surged in the past few years and is now sought after by a global audience. Though regional art can’t compete in numbers with that of the Chinese and Indian [artists], it is certainly up there in technical quality, diversity and originality. And despite its recent surge in price, it’s probably still undervalued.’ 

Undervalued or not, quality and diversity are there, spawned by the culturally rich hybrid that is South-East Asia. What is surprising, however, is the market’s potential appeal to international buyers who are presumably unfamiliar with the socio-political context that provides the background for the substance of the work. Indeed, if new art is frequently a product of difficult or revolutionary conditions, South-East Asia has lived through its fair share of turmoil and revolution in the past 50 years. Think of the bloody coups in Thailand; Indonesia’s civil war against the Dutch followed by repressive regimes; the Singapore-Malaysia separation; Vietnam’s war against the French, and subsequent partition and Communist takeover; the Philippines’ repressive regimes and popular revolution…the list goes on. Even if few beyond the region are aware of its complex history, the art has an intensity and dignity – as well as a confi dence borne of a recent sense of emancipation, budding democratisation and greater prosperity – that speaks a universal language. 

‘Let’s not mention its price,’ says Art Forum Gallery’s owner Marjorie Chu. ‘Many are suggesting that Chinese contemporary has gone up too fast recently, and that the prices of some of our artists may also be attributed to the same bubble phenomenon. Beyond the money, this is about the quality, the vision, the unique feel of art from this region. Our young painters and sculptors have the maturity and confidence to speak their own language now. It began with the indigenous modernists: the day we stopped making art for the outside world and made it only for ourselves, we acquired a voice. I only hope that despite outside attention, our people stay true to themselves.’


WHERE TO BUY►ART-2 Gallery for the abstract work of emerging Singapore painter Peck Joy, on display from 5-31 December. 
#01-03 MICA Building, 140 Hill St, 6338 8713, www.art2.com.sg 
►Art Forum, for local contemporary work in general. 
82 Cairnhill Rd, 6737 3448, www.artforum.com.sg 
►Gajah Gallery for Singaporean Jason Lim, and Indonesians Yunizar, Putu Sutawijaya and I Nyoman Masriadi. 
#01-08 MICA Building, 140 Hill St, 6737 4202, www.gajahgallery.com 
►Gallerie Taksu for principally Singaporean, Malaysian and Filipino contemporary art. 
#02-74 Jalan Merah Saga, Blk 43 Work Loft, Chip Bee Gardens, 6476 4788, www.taksu.com 
►Jendela Visual Arts Space is currently showing the contemporary ceramic art of regional talent from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore in a show called ‘Mapping Thoughts’, until 2 January 2008. Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Dr, 6828 8222 ►LASALLE College of the Arts degree shows – the fine arts degree show in May 2008. Until 16 December, check out a new generation of Singapore photographers in ‘Identity: photograph’ in the Praxis Space. 
1 McNally St, 6496 5000, www.lasalle.edu.sg 
►NAFA degree shows. Check out the satirical art of locals Joshua Yang, Cheo Chai-Hiang and Cheng Yi-Cheng in a show called ‘Laughing Matter’, running from 21 December to 17 January 2008. Degree shows will take place in May 2008. 
NAFA Gallery 3, Campus 1, 80 Bencoolen St, 6512 4000, www.nafa.edu.sg  ►Plastique Kinetic Worms is home to a collaboration between Singapore photographer and performance artist Juliana Yasin and Australian Karee Dahl in December. 
61 Kerbau Rd, 6292 7783, www.pkworms.org.sg  ►Post-Museum for contemporary photographer Chua Chye Teck’s work in December, and Jason Lim’s ceramics in early 2008. 
107/109 Rowell Rd, 6396 3598, www.post-museum.org  ►Singapore Art Museum. The permanent collection (through December 2009), ‘A Passage Through Time: Glimpses of Art’, presents a diverse selection of Singaporean modern art. 
►Your Mother Gallery features the work of local Dan Yeo in December, and the fi lm and performance art of Singaporean Ezzam Rahman in January. 
91A Hindoo Rd, 9787 7874, www.geocities.com/yourmothergallery.