SUDJANA KERTON

Born in Bandung, Indonesia, Kerton's talent and universal appeal have made him an indelible part of Indonesia's history and culture. He began his art career in the Japanese established art association Keimin Bunka Sidhoso from 1942-1945, before joining up with the rebels during the Indonesian struggle for independence and becoming an artist/sketcher for the newspaper Patriot during the Revolution. Through his sketches and drawings, he immortalized several important and historical events that took place, when the Dutch handed over sovereignty to the Republic of Indonesia at the end of 1949. Kerton's fierce sense of nationalism carried over into his work and many of his paintings convey a sense of pride in his country.

In the early 1950's, he set off to paint in Europe where he studied art and life in very different cultures, traveling and painting in Holland, France and Mexico. After being accepted to the prestigious Art Student's League in New York City, he honed his skills under the tutelage of masters like Sternberg and Kuneyoshi, both very influential teachers in Kerton's life. A woodcut, entitled "Homeward" depicting a family on their way home from a day's work in the fields, was chosen by UNICEF through tight competition and printed on Unicef's Christmas card in 1964, and distributed throughout the world. Kerton settled down in New York, marrying and raising a family, before returning to Indonesia in 1976 and embarking upon, arguably, the most outstanding and prolific period of his career. This next phase was a departure from the understated, muted tones of his earlier work. Once back in his homeland, he exploded onto his canvasses with a profusion of colors and vivid, fantastical scenes. These paintings are infused with a gentle sense of humour, and respect for the common man. Considered one of his best periods, the 80's were very prolific years for Kerton. As one of Indonesia's most respected masters, today, Kerton's artistic influence on others can be clearly observed, as young, upcoming new Indonesian artists have eagerly embraced his style of painting.

In 1997, the largest art theft in the history of modern art occurred at the Kerton Gallery in Indonesia. Nineteen of Kerton's paintings were stolen and are still missing. This bit of news has garnered a lot of media attention in the last few years, and the FBI and other international crime units remain on alert. Their whereabouts have proven to be a great mystery; however, select stolen works are available as limited edition giclée reproductions, such as "Gunung Merapi", and "Fond Love".

At present, Kerton is recognized as one of Indonesia's most original and controversial artists, and his works are highly sought after world-wide.

www.kertonart.com

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Vincent van Gogh

Movements & Styles

Post-Impressionism
Van Gogh's style was very expressive and later influenced many Expressionist artists. Vincent's Life story is just as famous as his art. He produced landscapes, portraits, interiors, still lifes and cityscapes. Still lifes included everyday objects ; shoes, potatoes, a chair, books, etc.

Vincent van Gogh Life - Chronology - Biography

1853
Vincent Willem van Gogh
Born on the 30th March, Groot-Zundert, the Netherlands
1857
Vincent's brother Theodorus (Theo) van Gogh was born on the 1st May
1864-68
Attends boarding school at Jan Povily in Zevenbergen (up until 1866)
Attends the state Secondary School King Willem II at Tilburg (up until 1868)
1868
Returns home to his parents in Zundert
1869
Starts working as a junior Clerk for the art firm of Goupil and Co. in the Hague.
1873
Van Gogh is transferred to the London branch of the art firm Goupil and Co.
Lodges with Sarah Ursula Loyer and falls in love with her daughter Eugenie.
1874
Learns that Eugenie is engaged to be married, then returns home to Holland for 3 weeks.
Moved to the Paris branch of Goupils temporarily against his will.
1875
Vincent returned to the London branch for several months before being permanently assigned to the Paris branch of Goupils.
1876
After being discharged from Goupils in Paris, Vincent van Gogh reterns to England.
Teaches elementary French, German & arithmatic at a school in Ramsgate.
Works as as a teacher at a boys' school in Isleworth, Vincent also works as a parish and sometimes preaches.
1877
Finds employment in a bookshop in Tolbrugstraatje.
Prepares for entrance exams for the faculty of theology in Amsterdam, stays with his uncle Jan/ Johannes van Gogh.
1878
Quits theological studies to enroll in a preparatory course for evangelists in Brussels.
Fails to qualify at the mission school in Laeken and returns home to his parents.
Van Gogh moves to Borinage, a coal mining district of Belgium and begins missionary work.
1879
Dismissed as a mission preacher in Wasmes after 6 months.
Vincent continues to work to do missionary work on his own.
1880
After abandoning evangelical work Vincent van Gogh begins to draw with a passion and has serious ambitions of becoming an artist.
Moves to Brussels.
Prepares to enter the Academie des Beaux-Arts
1881
Returns to Etten (where his parents are)
Falls in love with his widowed cousin Kee Vos Stricker but she denies his affections.
Visits The Hague and is instructed by his cousin, the noted Hague School painter of peasant life, Anton Mauve.
1882
Moves into a small studio in The Hague with a pregnant prostitute, Clasina Maria Hoornik ( Sien ) and her five year old daughter.
Paints street scenes.
Commisisioned to do a series of 12 drawings of city views from his art dealer uncle Cornelius Marinus van Gogh.
Receives a second commission by his uncle Cornelius to a further 6 views, but more detailed.
Is treated for a venereal disease at the Municipal Hospital on the Brouwersgracht.
Sien and Van Gogh move into larger quaters next door after she has her second child.
Vincent van Gogh begins to work with oil paints.
Van Gogh also experiments with lithography.
Contemplates the thought of working as an illustrator in possibly England.
1883
Vincent and Sien break up and he moves to Drenthe, then to Nieuw Amsterdam.
Returns to his parent home for 2 years, (now in Nuenen).
Has a love affair with an older woman, Margo Begemann, wich leads to a scandal and her attempted suicide.
Van Gogh gives painting lessons to 3 people.
1885
26th March, Reverend Theodorus van Gogh, father of Vincent dies.
Paint dealer agrees to exhibit some of Van Goghs work in the shop windows in his store in The Hague.
Spends several days in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum, admiring Rembrandt and Hals in particular.
1886
Enrols at the Academy at Antwerp and studies painting and drawing.
Works from live models during the night.
Vincent meets his brother Theo in Paris. Theo is working as an art dealer in Barbizon and Impressionist paintings for the Boussod & Valadon group at the Louvre.
Vincent moves into Theo's apartment.
Studies at the atelier of Fernarnd-Anne Piestre, called Cormon.
Experiments with colors, abandoning his sombre palette.
Moves to Lepic in Montmatre with Theo.
Art dealer Portier takes four paintings of Van Gogh on commission.
Vincent and Camille Pissarro (1831-1903) become friends.
Meets Emile Bernard (1868-1941) at the shop of Juien Pere Tanguy and they exchange paintings.
1887
Van Gogh meets Paul Signac (1863-1935)
Receives 2 Portrait commissions from Julien "Pere" Tanguy.
Vincent purchases many Japanese prints from a dealer in oriental art.
Paints outdoors with Paul Signac along the banks of the Seine at Asienres and St Ouen.
Meets Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
1888
Moves to Arles into the Hotel-Restaurant Carrel
Van Gogh exhibits 3 paintings with the Societe des Artistes Independants.
Moves into the "Yellow House" but soon moves out over a dispute with the owner over his bill.
Moves into another hotel close by.
Meets the postmaster, Joseph Roulin (1855-1941)
Vincent moves into the Yellow House and Gauguin arrives in Arles soon after.
Experiments with drawing from memory after being prompted by Gauguin.
Vincent van Gogh cuts off the lower part of his after an argument with Gauguin. He then presents his ear to a prostitute.
Admitted to the hospital after being found in a critical state by the police and is attended to by Doctor Felix Rey (1867-1932)
Theo comes to Arles, then soon returns home to Paris with Gauguin.
1889
Van Gogh is hospitalised for 10 days after having hallucinations and fearing that he is being poisoned.
Theo van Gogh marries Johanna Bonger (1862-1925)
Vincent admits himself to a mental asylum in Saint Remy and is diagnosed as having an epilectic disorder.
Paints in the gardens and environs of the hospital.
"Irises" and "Starry Night on the Rhone" are included in the Independants exhibition in Paris.
Spends 2 days in Arles.
Vincent has a week long relapse.
1890
Six paintings exhibited in the exhibition of Les Vingt in Brussels.
31 January, Birth of Theo's first son, Vincent Wilhelm van Gogh
Suffers a severe attack during a 2 day visit to Arles and is then brought back to hospital.
Exhibits 10 paintings with the Independants in Paris.
Van Gogh leaves the asylum on May 16 and spend several days in Paris with his brother Theo and his family.
Moves to Auvers.
Dr. Paul Ferdinand Gachet (1828-1909) looks after Vincent.
On the 27th of July, Vincent van Gogh shoots himself in the countryside in Auvers.
Struggles back to the inn where he was staying.
29th July, Vincent dies with Theo by his side.
Buried on the 30th of July.
Theo organises an exhibition of Vincent's paintings in an apartment in Montmatre.
October, Theo becomes seriously ill.
1891
25th of January, Vincent's brother Theo dies in the Netherlands.

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I WAYAN PENGSONG

Born in Cakra Negara, December 15, 1943. I Wayan Pengsong is a Balinese –born painter who now lives in Lombok. He is considered to be an Impressionist Decoratif artist. His painting have close relationship with the unique Lombok’s architectures because he is an at fighter that search images from his beloved country. He has an ability to change monochrom colors into an amazing image of beautiful Lombok surroudings. He had held many single and group exhibitions. Since 1963, he has already done several collective exhibition with other artists at GNI Mataram, Suranadi Hotel, Lombok, Lombok University Student Hall, Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Darwin Australia, Trienlle at Denpasar Art Center Bali, Mitra Budaya Jakarta, Hilton Hotel Jakarta. In 1995 and 1996, he participated in an exhibition held by YSRI in Jakarta. The next year, he held an exhibition with a theme of “ World Fund “ at Peng Song Gallery, Cakranegara. In 1998, he attended the Ministry of Educational and Culture Collection Exhibition at Republic of Indonesia Ministry of Educational and Culture Exhibition Building

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CHEN HONGZHU

Chen Hongzhu was born 1982 in Chongqing, Sichuan province, China. She graduated from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (Oil painting Department) in 2006. She held both solo and group exhibitions in Singapore, China and Korea. In 2006, she participated in "Man and Great Ideals" , an exhibition held in Seoul, South Korea, and the following year, a group exhibition entitled "Pure Expectation" Youth Art Exhibition held in Beijing, China. In Dec 2008, she participated in "Surfing Animamax" which featured young contemporary Chinese artists.

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Eric Chan (B. 1975)

Born in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, Eric Chan now is based in Singapore. Between 1993 and 1996, he studied in LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts in Singapore where he obtained Diploma in Fine Art (Painting) with Distinction. In 1997, he graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Painting) with Distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Between 1999 and 2000, he obtained Master of Fine Art (Painting) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Since then, he has 9 solo exhibitions held in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Dubai

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AGUS SUWAGE (B. 1959)

Born in Purworejo in 1959. He studied at Bandung Institute of Technology (1979-1986), Artist in Residence in QUT, Brisbane, Australia (1996), and Artist Residence in “Sai-no-kuni” Saitama, the Museum of Modern Art, Japan (1999-2000). He performed his solo exhibitions in H Block Gallery, QUT, Brisbane, Australia (1996), Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery, Yogyakarta (1998), Gen Gallery & Public Center Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan (2000), and Nadi Gallery, Jakarta (2001-2002). He joined several groups exhibitions in Indonesia and overseas; Jakarta Art and Design Expo, Jakarta (1992), Art Gallery Conink, the Netherlands (1993), Cheju Pre-Biennale, South Korea (1995), Phillip Morris ASEAN Art Awards, National Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand (1996), Tachikawa International Art Festival (1999), Museo de la Cuida de Mexico, Museum of Mexico (2000), Circle Point Gallery, Washington DC, USA (2002), etc.

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HENDRA GUNAWAN (1918 – 1983)

As a teenager, Hendra Gunawan painted props and scenery for a theatre group. He also studied under Wahdi. In 1940 he joined the Five painters Group in Bandung along with Affandi, Barli, Sudarso and Wahdi. During the Japanese Occuption, he taught painting at the Keimin Bunka Shidoso Cultural Centre in Jakarta. The revolution found Hendra in Yogyakarta where he fought in the Indonesian army. He established Pelukia Rakyat / People’s Painters in 1947, and taught painting and sculpture in ASRI / Indinesian academy of Fine Arts, Yogyakarta from 1950-57. Hendera became a member of the central committee of the communist-spnsored art organization LEKRA / People’s Cultural Institute. Backed by the Indonesian Communist Party, he was elected as a non-party member to the Cunstituent Assembly in 1955. Hendra was imprisoned in the communist purge that followed the failed coup in October 1965. He continued to paint while in prison, producing some of his best works. After his release in 1978, he established a studio in Bali.

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DJOKO PEKIK (B. 1938)

Djoko Pekik was born 1938 in Grobogan, Purwodadi in Central Java. In 1958, he enrolled at the Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia (ASRI) where one of his lecturers was Widayat, an accomplished artist. Joko Pekik's art is typically Javanese in style and he has become one of the country¹ s foremost greatest artists in satirizing the society he lives in. From 1990 to 1991, his works were part of a travelling exhibition of contemporary works for the Festival of Indonesia in USA. Since then, he had held numerous solo and group exhibitions in various parts of Indonesia and overseas. "The Art Gallery of Djoko Pekik" is owned by the artist and showcases many of his own collection

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