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Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, is one of the modern art centers of Indonesia; its significance in the history of Indonesian arts is as strong as Yogyakarta, a city some consider its artistic rival.

So says Andonowati from ArtSociates, explaining the idea behind an exhibition being held at Roemah Roepa in Kemang. “Those cities have given birth to artists who have brought impressive qualities to our art history.”

“[5+4] nine” is being promoted as “a showcase of emerging artists from Yogyakarta and Bandung.” Among its impressive line-up are I Made Adinata Mahendra, Iwan Effendi, Lia Mareza, Ronald Ef fendi and Wibowo Adi Utama from Yogyakarta; and Cinanti Astria, Duto Hardono, Erik Pauhrizi and Roumy Handayani Pesona from Bandung.

“We are exposing emerging artists, and it is important to see how arts have changed in Indonesia as the wheel of history has turned,” says Andonowati, who organized the exhibition.

A boom in the art market in the last couple of years has been followed by a stream of fresh-faced contributors. Older artists, meanwhile, have announced their return to the art scene. It is obvious that compared to five years ago, the number of people calling themselves ‘artists’ has increased two or three-fold, says Sujud Dartanto, one of the curators of the exhibition.

Meanwhile, press articles and advertisements promote exhibitions and artists like never before. At the heart of this revitalization is Yogyakarta and Bandung, Andonowati says. “The two cities represent contemporary arts in Indonesia as a whole,” she says. “If there is any change within the art scene in Indonesia, then Yogyakarta and Bandung are good sites to see how the change is happening.”

The new exhibition may promote both Yogyakarta and Bandung on equal terms, but the historical tale of the two cities reveals a long-standing artistic animosity between them. This, Andonowati says, is not necessarily a bad thing.

“The dichotomy of Yogyakarta and Bandung has made a significant contribution to Indonesian arts,” says Yoga Partha, a Bandung-based arts observer attending the exhibition. “Bandung and Yogyakarta are the channels of artistic intellectualism. They are not merely places where art has developed.”

Bandung art schools’ allegiance to formalism produces works that focus on forms, lines, shape, volume and color, Sudjud and another curator of the exhibition, Agung Hujatnikajennong, write in their curatorial note. Art in Bandung, they say, is produced for art’s sake. While in schools in Yogyakarta, art explores ideology, politics and the social, grounded in a sense of realism.

“The perspectives of Bandung and Yogyakarta are indeed important. They have been taken beyond their borders,” Yoga says.

“Even in Bali, the art debate is often regarded as a Bandung versus Yogya clash.”

But the curators of “[5+4] nine” appear to be signaling an end to the war.

“Our understanding of formalism and realism, from our reading of Bandung and Yogya schools, is that it is no longer important to differentiate them,” Sujud says.

“If we see all the artists exposed in the exhibition, we have no doubt that the differences between Bandung and Yogya are history; it’s over,” said Vidyasari Utami, a Jakarta-based arts observer attending the exhibition. “Their paintings have the same feeling as each other.”

It is a sentiment repeated over and over by the attendees of the exhibition — the differences between art in Bandung and Yogyakarta are no longer important.

Instead, Sujud believes its time for the art world to look forward to the next generation of artists from Bandung and Yogyakarta.

“We need a new understanding to the new generation of artists, with new kind of artistic experiences,” he says. “The Internet and television have become channels to liberate artists from the borders of cultural territories. There are no boundaries between the local and the global nowadays.”

“If the power of information technology, as well as market, have influenced Yogyakarta and Bandung,” Vidyasari, the arts observer says, “then I’m sure that’s from what they’ve heard about the arts developing in China, Korea and Japan.”

For Vidyasari, the exhibition is evidence that East Asian countries have influenced Indonesian artists. Technology has allowed them to look beyond their cities and their country. “It has changed the artistic considerations of this generation of Indonesian artists.”

“It’s interesting to see,” Andonowati agrees. “This new generation of artists has very good visual skills, they can adopt any influence easily.”

The “[5+4] nine” exhibition will run until Dec. 4 at Roemah Roepa, located at Jalan Kemang Selatan VIII/55E, Jakarta . Call 021 - 719 8847 for more information.