Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Gallery day



I went to Galeri Nasional Indonesia today.

It was my first visit to one of Jakarta’s local attractions this year. Not that I’m indifferent towards visiting local museums, art space and monuments, it’s just I had had no time. Heck, I didn’t even have the time to think of visiting those place when I was still working a couple of weeks back.

I, myself, am a fan of museums. Well probably not the museum, but the mystery each museum has.

So today, after my 6-month hiatus of visiting museum (the last museum/art space I went to before Galeri Nasional was Melbourne’s NGV), I finally set foot on one of the capital’s topmost art space – thanks to my ex-housemate-cum-best-friend Dyota, who took me there. 


Galeri Nasional Indonesia. Written in soaking red metal-based capital letters with a perfect pale white background of the 19th century old building that was built during the Dutch colonialism era. As if they couldn’t make it any more conspicuous than this. That’s the first thing you see when you come out from Stasiun Gambir.

I began to notice the presence of Galeri Nasional about two months ago. At that time, I was on my way to the Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian’s office (Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs) to attend a press conference. I couldn’t remember now the issue I had to pursue on that day, but I think it was surrounding the resignation of the President Director of PT Pertamina Karen Agustiawan.

Anyway, I got off at TransJakarta bus stop, Halte Gambir 1, and trod along the pavement on the outer side of Gambir until I reached Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur. And there they were, the letters, right across the road. If I weren’t so busy at that time I would have crossed the road and walked straight into Galeri Nasional Indonesia.

It was all about ceramics today. Yes, the gallery is currently displaying an array of ceramic artworks created by more than 50 global artists as part of the third Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale. I would applaud the managers of the gallery, the curators, or whoever who works in the gallery for being such a splendid host for these talented artists. 


Everything in the gallery was so exquisite. Each artist has successfully conveyed their ideas, dreams and inspirations into their final creations. 







Aside from the artworks, what amazed me – and unforgettable as well – was the visitors of the gallery. Turns out, this gallery has become a photo shoot space for fashion bloggers and Instagrammers. I couldn't help but to held out a smile every time I saw a girl posed in front of an artwork. 

I ain't no fashion blogger meself, but I was happy with this picture. I'm allowed to do this once in a while, right? Please don't judge.



Right below are a couple of artworks I love from the gallery. You know how much I adore minuscule intricate objects, right? So these are my favourites from the gallery.




Aside from the artworks, the gallery itself is a gem. It's a perfect spot for a pre-wedding photo shoot. Old buildings with great white walls and pillars, coupled with a white lace wedding gown and pitch black tux. Hm, I could almost imagine it vividly in my head.





I look forward to another gallery slash museum visit in the nation's capital.



*all pictures in this post belongs to me.
** artists are welcome to claim their artworks displayed in this post through my comment box. I forgot to jot down all names and creators of the artworks. I apologise. 

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