The commercialisation of art in Indonesia grew out of the
influence of an international art boom which started in Japan in
1985 — the year the yen started its rapid climb against the US
dollar, almost doubling its value in two years. The highlight of this
international art boom has been the incredible increase in value of
European paintings.1 Due to ignorance, art collectors in Indonesia
did not search for European paintings. Instead, they bought
Indonesian paintings at incredibly high prices, without being
aware there was a big difference between the commodification of
European paintings in Europe and America and purchasing
paintings in Indonesia. The sudden increase of prices saw the
number of art galleries in Indonesia explode from only a few in the
1970s and 1980s to hundreds in the 1990s. International auction
companies such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s opened branches in
Singapore and actively sold Indonesian paintings which they
called ‘Indonesian masters’.