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Ciputra Artpreneur held a series of activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Hendra Gunawan, one of the best modern artists in Indonesia. In this very significant year, Ciputra Artpreneur celebrates the journey of life and the work of Hendra Gunawan with two prestigious exhibitions which begin on August 4 at Ciputra Museum and Ciputra Gallery – Hendra Gunawan: Prisoner of Hope and Spectrum Hendra Gunawan.

Hendra Gunawan was born in Bandung, June 11, 1918. Since then his name was recorded in the history of Indonesia and the world of art. Hendra is an artist with a strong nationalist spirit, making Indonesia the most beloved motherland. With his involvement in the battle for the sake of independence, and the bitter years that lived behind bars from 1965 to 1978, the name Hendra Gunawan was engraved in the history of the Indonesian nation. As an artist, Hendra Gunawan’s works come with bold and distinctive colors, depicting the aesthetics and tropical side of the Indonesian nation. His passion for the people and his homeland gave a unique characteristic to his paintings, radiating a popular spirit that inspired the artistic style with the very characteristic of Indonesia.

The center of this hundred year celebration is the theme of Prisoner of Hope, this is reflected in the new permanent exhibition of Ciputra Museum which presents 32 works by Hendra Gunawan. The addition of this number is quite significant, from the previous exhibition with only 10 works. Hendra Gunawan exhibition, Prisoner of Hope curated by Agus Dermawan T. and Aminudin TH Siregar. The exhibition features works by Ir. Ciputra who does have a close and extraordinary friendship with the artist. This exhibition is a tribute to Hendra Gunawan which he describes as an artist who “… is capable of displaying a deep humanitarian theme.” Hendra Gunawan’s biggest exhibition to be presented in Indonesia, will also feature a large number of works from collections that have never been exhibited to the public.

The Prisoner of Hope show refers to the 13 years that Hendra Gunawan lived in Waru Gardens prison for his alleged involvement in the activities of Lekra, the Indonesian People’s Cultural Institute which was active in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in addition to the physical confinement experienced by Hendra, this exhibition wants to express the idea of ​​the hope that has always existed in Hendra during his life. This hope manifests in his sacrifice for his first love – Indonesia, with efforts to express freedom, artistic energy and a new vision of the Indonesian people.

He describes the Indonesian people as hard-working people, as he describes them as fishermen, traders, farmers in rice fields, husbands and wives who work shoulder to work, children and parents in a family. This hope continued to be brought until he died in Bali in 1983, passing his ideas, idealism, and artwork to Indonesia and the world. This idea is also clearly illuminated in a painting of historical value with the title of Prince Diponegoro Injured which became one of the works of art to be displayed in this exhibition.

In this painting Prince Diponegoro is described as fighting against Dutch forces in Java and a symbol of hope and a source of inspiration to seize Indonesia’s independence. The idea of ​​hope in Hendra Gunawan also appears in this painting. Through the concept of Hendra as a prisoner of hope, hopefully we can better understand the journey of life and work and his figure as a painter with a high human spirit.

(Text and Photo by Boni Pramudya, extracted from press release Ciputra Artpreneur)