KAYU : DOMESTICITY V

Lucie Fontaine is pleased to present “Domesticity V” the opening exhibition of Kayu [“wood” in Indonesian], Lucie Fontaine’s new branch in Bali, Indonesia.

The project celebrates 2014 the year of the Yang Wood Horse in accordance to the Chinese calendar; the artists invited are : Leonardiansyah Allenda, Arahmaiani, Lupo Borgonovo & Lisa Rampilli, Radu Comşa, Patrizio Di Massimo, Fendry Ekel, Erianto, Claire Fontaine, Dor Guez, Mella Jaarsma, Alfi Jumaldi, Agnieszka Kurant, Daniella Isamit Morales, Corrado Levi, Alice Mandelli, Ciprian Mureşan, Eli Petel Luigi Ontani, Matteo Rubbi, Abdi Setiawan, Melati Suryodarmo, Alice Tomaselli, Júlia Vécsei, Lina Viste Grønli, Jessica Warboys, Entang Wiharso and books provided by IVVA.

The fifth iteration of a series of exhibitions previously presented in Prague, Stockholm, Miami and New York, “Domesticity V” continues to investigate the relationship – or lack thereof – between contemporary art and domestic spaces. This presentation specifically reflects upon issues linking Indonesia to Italy, especially the importance given to the notion of family and bonds, whether they are genetic or not; furthermore the project is located in a house, or Joglo referring to the context of Rumah Topeng dan Wayang [the house of masks and puppets].

A traditional Javanese vernacular for house, Joglo consists of two parts: the pendopo or front section that has a large roofed space with columns and no walls; the dalem refers to the inner sections including the bedrooms and kitchen. Pendopo is the living room, while the dalem is more private. The term “Joglo” usually refers to the distinctive roof with a rising central part supported by four or more main wooden columns, while the outer row of columns with a rectangular plan creates expansion spaces. It is said that this kind of roof is constructed to mimic a mountain. Joglos mostly originate from Middle Eastern Java and are made of teak wood.

Rumah Topeng dan Wayang is an intimate place in Mas, Bali, Indonesia that aims to preserve and show Indonesian traditional culture through a collection of masks and puppets but also through artistic activities, such as art exhibitions, music concerts, performance, dance and culinary events. Underlining the intimate and domestic way of collecting and preserving art, the owner has deliberately decided to call his initiative rumah [house], instead of calling it a museum, and to host his collection of masks and puppets (approximately 4660 pieces) in four different Joglos.

Within this context and on the occasion of “Domesticity V,” Lucie Fontaine brought one of the four Joglos back to its original function : a house, a living space in which contemporary art from Indonesia and abroad is displayed alongside antique furniture from the collection of Hadi Sunyoto and selected by Lucie Fontaine’s employee at Kayu. In a continuous interchange between past and present, this new encounter between this traditional environment and contemporary art gives new life and new meaning to the artworks and to the place.

The identity of Lucie Fontaine’s Indonesian branch comes from a feeling of intimacy and memory; it comes from the desire to transform the house in a mental space in which the furniture, and its memories of distant domestic use, are put in dialogue with the intimate feeling that characterizes the creation of artworks. The environment created by Lucie Fontaine follows the tradition of the French salon, where visitors are invited to interact with the space, sit, read and learn about contemporary art* within a space that gives time to “look at how things move, talk, collide.”** Through this first exhibition, Lucie Fontaine will present the modus operandi that will distinguish the first year of programming at Kayu, her Indonesian branch, open only by appointment. You can contact Lucie Fontaine’s employee in Bali through this email: kayu@luciefontaine.com and connect through its website www.kayu-luciefontaine.com

* The books are provided by IVAA’s archive (Indonesian Visual Art Archive), a non-profit organization founded in Yogyakarta in April 2007 and evolving from the Cemeti Art Foundation (1995-2007) following a new format in which a center for documentation and art archive provision functions as library and research facilitator.

** Elio Grazioli, La collezione come forma d’arte (Monza : Johan & Levi, 2012) : pag. 96.