The First Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Sudjana Kertbn was born in 1922 in Bandung, Java, Indonesia. He was taught painting by several Dutch painters, and was already known as a young painter by the time he joined Keimin Bunka Sidosho, a cultural body organised by the Japanese authorities in 1943 to support the rise of Asian culture. After Japan's surrender he was involved in the struggle for independence from the Dutch. He worked as an illustrator and journalist with the Patriot newspaper during the period 1944-50, and was exposed to issues of politics, democracy and social change. Within this period he also joined Pelukis Rakyat (People's Painters), a radical artists' group committed to social justice. A long-term commitment to art, rather than politics, journalism or intellectual life, emerged in the early 1950s as Sudjana Kerton began to explore sculpture and printmaking as well as continuing to paint. The beginning of a long identity as an Indonesian artist abroad came in 1950 when he went to the Netherlands. In 1950-51 INDONESIA SUDJANA KERTON Kuda Kepang (Horse dance) 1990 Oil on canvas 120x140cm he studied painting and sculpture at the Academie de Ia Grande Chaumiere, Paris, France and in 1952 studied art at the Art Student League in NewYork. He also under- took courses at the American School of Design and Advertising in New York. Between 1952 and 1976, Sudjana Kerton worked as a professional artist in the United States and spent a year in Mexico (1962-63). He owned galleries in New York in which he exhibited his works and sold Indonesian art. Here, he was known as an Asian artist and in this role was invited to a conference on Modern Asian Art at Indiana University in 1966. He held several solo exhibitions in New York during this period as well as one in the Netherlands, and his work was represented in 'The Indonesian Painters' exhibition, National Arts Club, New York in 1951. In 1964 a print entitled Homeward won a UNICEF award. In 1976 he returned to Indonesia and built a studio in his home town, Bandung.This new period has seen his work well received, and since 1980 he has been actively involved in 16 both solo and group exhibitions. Solo exhibitions have been held in Jakarta at the Ismail Marzuki Cultural Center, Balai Budaya Gallery and Erasmus Huis. He participated in 'Modern Indonesian Art', Indonesian Festival, touring the United States in 1990-91, and in many group exhibitions within Indonesia. A retrospective exhibition of his work is in preparation. People- their work, play, places of living - form the fundamental subject matter of Sudjana Kerton's art. 'In all my painting,' he said, 'I show hardworking people who realise they do not need to be rich to enjoy life; who still, in work or play, find joy in living; who have learned to live harmoniously with nature and their fellow man, to accept their daily life.' Through his paintings, the viewer sees Indo- nesian life and traditions. Local, rather than universal human values are felt in his work. Cleaning hair depicts a common scene in Indonesian village life: a girl sitting patiently, playing with her cat, while her mother examines her long hair for parasites. Puppet show portrays a traditional feast, whose highlight is the wooden puppet show. Here, the artist has caught the excitement of the peasant people attending the feast and following the wayang stories performed in the puppet show. Though the puppet performance is placed in the centre of the canvas, the people surrounding the show are also vividly portrayed: children positioning themselves close to the stage, vendors selling snacks, adults gossiping with their friends. Leisure time is a street scene - a group of dominoes players, a beggar taking a nap, a noodle vendor watching the game. Sudjana Kerton's painting is far from social criticism. Though he has said, 'I am part of every subject I paint. I share the feelings, the happiness, the misery, the hunger or thirst, the rain, the heat'. What emerges in the traditional people, backgrounds and scenes of his paintings is a kind of natural, almost wild, life- his sense of the strong, instinctual energy developed through a fundamental human struggle to survive, but which is often lost in modern society. Jim Supangkat