National Gallery of Indonesia, State Fine Art Collection Exhibition

Galeri Nasional Indonesia (GNI) once again organizes an art exhibition that runs from October 15 to November 11. The exhibition showcases over fifty state collections from renowned artists curated by Teguh Margono and Alam Wisesha. Not only paintings are on display, but there are also installations that are a dozen years old.

The theme of this exhibition "Flâneur: The Wanderer Across the World". Says flâneur itself is taken from the French word for traveling. So, this exhibition tells the story of Indonesian artists who travel the world with their values and original identities in the international art scene. 

The exhibition is divided into four sub-themes, namely Migration: Education, Adventure, and Diaspora, Representation on the Global Stage, Cross-Cultural Art, and finally Local Identity in Global Dialogue. 

The first sub-theme will start with Migration: Education, Adventure and Diaspora. Consisting of several paintings by renowned artists, including painting Raden Saleh Ship Sinking. The painting was quite controversial at the time, there were two different beliefs when looking at the painting, some people thought that he supported the Dutch, but some others considered that he had a nationalistic side to him. 

The second sub-theme continued with Representation on the Global Stage, where collections of works have been exhibited abroad. Including works by artists S. Sudjojono, Henk Ngantung, Basuki Resobowo, and Hendra Gunawan that were exhibited in Moscow and Peking. 

Cross-Cultural Art as the third sub-theme, works that have been displayed at Indonesian exhibitions abroad several years ago through cultural diplomacy initiatives. The paintings displayed are by artist Harijadi Sumodidjojo. Self Portrait 1962 measuring 120 × 90 cm. And there is a painting by Sindudarsono Sudjojono entitled My Wife (Sewing Mom) with a size of 71 × 55.5 cm. 

Moving on to the final sub-theme, Local Identity in Global Dialogue, this section features more installations than paintings. The collection of works on display deals with local influences, traditions, and social issues to the point of being dubbed by Western critics as "marginal art."

Because at that time his work was considered not following universal standards. Upon entering the room, you will see Krisna Murti's installation entitled Learn to Queue from Ants created in 1996. The installation shows a lion watching ants on television. The message to visitors is that lions, as savage creatures, learn to stand in line from ants.

Besides seeing the country's collection, we can also do fun activities at the Children and Family Activity Room (RAK). This place is hosted by two communities namely KamiSketcha GalNas and SeniNGrafis, a community raised at the National Gallery.

At KamiSketcha GalNas, there are several interesting activities that can be done such as painting on tiles and seeing the process of processing used paper. Likewise, SeniNGrafis offers painting activities using vegetable, fruit, leaf and twig media. Both communities provide a comfortable place with a calm atmosphere. 

Exhibition Flâneur: The Wanderer Across the World can be enjoyed at Building A of the National Gallery of Indonesia, South Jakarta. The Children and Family Activity Room (RAK), located in Building D of the National Gallery of Indonesia, runs only from October 15 to November 3. But before visiting, don't forget to buy a ticket. Children aged 3-12 years old are charged Rp10,000, adults aged 13-60 Rp20,000, and foreigners are charged Rp50,000. Children under 3 years old and adults over 30 years old are free of charge. For more information, please access the official Instagram account @galerinational.