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Sotheby’s Hong Kong will hold its Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings Autumn sale on October 4, offering works with a total estimate in excess of $3.9 million. Leading the sale will be A New Dawn by the Indonesia master S. Sudjojono. The new painting was executed in 1956, a period marked by Sudjojono’s deepening involvement in politics and restlessness, which led to a body of many unfinished works. The large work is one of the rare paintings that the artist completed during this period. Depicting the morning rituals of a village, three central figures of different genders and generations stand side by side gazing at the dawn of a new day. Created the same year that Indonesia severed its last ties as a colony from the Netherlands and during the time when Sudjojono began his relationship with the love of his life, Rose Pandanwangi, the painting speaks of new beginnings, hope and progress. A work of importance on both an art historical and personal level, the painting epitomises the depth of Sudjojono’s role in shaping the progress of Modern Indonesian Art.
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In the contemporary section, there is a very interesting painting by Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi. The witty, multilayered Sok Ngirit (Pretending to be Prudent) is just fresh off the artist’s easel and comprise the artist’s usual powerful muscled men. Here Masriadi depicts a man monopolising a phone booth while a hoard of people angrily awaits him. They have stripped down to their underwear – from agitation, heat and perhaps to draw attention to themselves – yet their efforts are in vain. Very rarely does Masriadi feature so many protagonists in his composition; apart from one or two central subjects, other figures are usually relegated to the background.