There was a small gallery event last November (this was a busy month for Jakarta) for an Indonesian artist named Teguh Ostenrik. It was a collection of near 100 of his mini paintings (10 cm x 10 cm) that could be purchased in whatever order or however many pieces you like, each costing approximately $100.
His usual work is not my favorite kind of art, but I thought this one was rather pretty, very straightforward, perhaps because it was targeted at the younger Jakarta crowd, and nicely presnted.
The theme was his broken heart and the NYC Subway. The artist had painted this series at a subway station right after someone broke his heart - which gave the art work a sense of beaten-ness and shakiness. Very literal.
The work was very 80s. Literally painted in the early 80s but also perfect that the artist's playground is Berlin, where it seems everything will be eternally preserved in the 80s. Jakarta seems to also keep the 80s trend for a while.
As the artist chose to have his work displayed at, and by the owner of AOD art space and Koi Restaurant & Gallery (a favorite expat hangout in Jakarta), I felt it came out really simple, approachable, and easy to absorb. I would like to see more of these exhibitions here, and I am looking forward to buying something nice too.
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