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Three budding artists were setting up their easels with tubes of paint and brushes last Tuesday at LINGGARseni art space in South Jakarta.

Instructing them that day was noted artist Josephine Linggar, whose family owns the art space.

The main room was flooded with natural light and contemporary paintings stood out against the stark white walls.

“The gallery was established in 1996,” said Mia Maria, Josephine’s daughter.

That same year, Mia studied art in both Australia and the United States. Upon her return to Indonesia, she became involved in the family business and, in 2007, mother and daughter began art classes at LINGGARseni.

Initially, Josephine had wanted to close the gallery down and focus on her own work, but her daughter had other ideas.

“I took over the management of the gallery,” Mia said. Her first task was renovating the space.

“This used to be a very ethnic place,” she said. “I tore down some of the walls and painted everything white, because I wanted the gallery to be more contemporary.”

“Actually, I changed it according to my taste,” Mia added, with a laugh.

She said the approach of many art teachers in Jakarta was conformity.

“There are many so-called art schools in Jakarta that offer classes and courses in painting,” Mia said. “But the teachers tend to paint for the students and, in the end, the students’ works will look very similar to those of the teacher’s.”

Individual expression is encouraged at LINGGARseni, with teachers offering advice and guidance.

Mia said that in addition to her mother, they had another instructor for fine arts, Indyra, who focuses on teaching the beginners. “And we also offer photography classes. We work together with Neumatt [a center for photography studies].”

While the photography classes have up to 20 students, the drawing and painting classes are smaller, which allows Josephine to spend more time with each student.

“I am a painter myself, and I wanted to spread my knowledge about art and paintings,” Josephine said when asked why a renowned painter such as herself, who has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Singapore and Switzerland, had branched into teaching.

“I had actually wanted to push my daughter to paint a bit more professionally, and teach her. But she prefers to be a writer,” Josephine said.

Born in 1943, Josephine first made a name for herself as a fashion designer in the 1980s. It was not until the early 1990s that she seriously began painting.

Besides learning about different painting techniques, Josephine wants her students to develop confidence in their own work.

“They should be patient and they should be secure about their own paintings,” she said. “I am a self-taught artist, but I had a very strong will.”

The students in her class begin with simple drawings, before moving on to painting.

They work from photographs because it is easier that way to learn how to control the paint, Josephine said. She doesn’t teach beginners, leaving that up to Indyra.

“They start with the basics,” Mia said. “They learn how to draw empty bottles and glasses.

Wanda, an architecture lecturer at the University of Indonesia, has been a regular attendee of the drawing and figure painting class for more than a year.

Peter, another participant in the class, moved to Jakarta three months ago from Australia.

“I have done painting before, but it’s been a long time actually, and I wanted to start again” he said. “Then I saw an ad for this class at the embassy, and I had also heard about it from friends.”

Peter’s canvas was mostly bare on Tuesday as he had just begun his painting, but Wanda was putting the finishing touches to her portrait.

Mia said that she was thinking about inviting a model to the class for life drawing.

“We used to have one for six months, but some of the students were not too happy about that,” Mia said, smiling. “They felt uncomfortable having a half-naked person sitting in front of them. It depends on the students, really. If the majority want to do it, we’ll do it.”

LINGGARseni
Jl. Kemang Timur 36
South Jakarta
Tel. 0812 10429 029
www.linggarseni.com

Drawing & Painting, with Indyra
Tuesdays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturdays 10 a.m. to 12 noon
Rp 500,000 (5 sessions)

Drawing & Figure Painting, with Josephine
Tuesdays 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Rp 600,000 (4 sessions)

Photography, with Neumatt
Every Saturday